Phone-In Buddy FAQs
The Frequently Asked Questions for Phone-In Buddy can be found under the following topics:
Evaluation and Purchase of Phone-In Buddy
Can I evaluate Phone-In Buddy, prior to purchase?
Yes! you may download and evaluate the software for 14 days. You must make sure that your PC is equipped to support Phone-In Buddy. You will need a voice modem to connect the PC to a telephone line. The evaluation software is restricted to two user definitions, and two input lines.
Are there any restrictions on how many hours of recordings that can be made with any of the purchase options?
No. Our license arrangements do not limit the amount of recording that may be made, in any way. The only limitation here is the size of your hard drive. Keep in mind, using the default settings, Phone-In Buddy can record more than 60 hours of recordings into 1 GigB of hard drive space.
How do I purchase Phone-In Buddy?
There are a number of purchase options listed on our web site. Please contact High Criteria to move ahead with any purchase. We can take credit card payments or we can Invoice if a P.O. is issued.
How is a purchase delivered and how long does it take?
If a user selects to purchase just the Phone-In Buddy software, then a license key can be delivered by email, usually the same day. If the user selects to purchase a "kit", including the software and either a voice modem or a voice card, then delivery should take place within 4 business days. Complete turn-key solutions, including PC, voice card and software, can be delivered within 10 business days. Please contact High Criteria to confirm delivery times.
Using Phone-In Buddy
What version of Windows do I need to run Phone-In Buddy?
Phone-In Buddy will run on Windows'98, Windows'ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. For larger implementations, we suggest either Windows 2000 or XP.
What kind of PC do I need to run Phone-In Buddy?
Phone-In Buddy runs on a standard PC that is capable of running one of the supported Windows operating systems. You will need a voice card from Dialogic or a voice modem, in order to connect the PC to the telephone line. See Phone-In Buddy Purchase Options for more information. You will also need a telephone line(s) to allow users to call-in to the PC and leave their recordings. Finally, the hard-drive on your PC should be large enough to save the recording files. With the default settings, 1 GigB of disk space should hold more than 60 hours of recordings.
Does Phone-In Buddy require a dedicated PC?
No. For users with smaller workloads (one or two line implementations) Phone-In Buddy can run on a PC that is also used for other purposes. If Phone-In Buddy is run on a non-dedicated PC, then for best results, High Criteria recommends either the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems. These operating systems have the best support for managing multiple active programs.
Do I need a dedicated phone line(s) for Phone-In Buddy?
No. You can use the same phone line for Phone-In Buddy and for other purposes. For example, you could use the line as a fax line as well as for Phone-In Buddy. Of course, if the line is in use by one application, to send a fax for example, then it cannot be used by the other application at the same instance in time.
Why do I need a voice modem or a voice card?
There must be a way to connect the PC to the telephone lines. This can be done with a voice modem or a voice card. Voice modems provide a low cost solution to this requirement and also provide an inexpensive method of evaluating Phone-In Buddy. Voice cards should be used at sites that require more than two lines for incoming dictation or where higher quality recordings are required. Please contact High Criteria for more details.
Do I need a network to use Phone-In Buddy?
No; Phone-In Buddy does not require a network and the PC on which Phone-In Buddy runs may be used for other purposes. In fact, a person can be transcribing a recording into Word, using headphones, at the same time that a user is leaving a new recording, using Phone-In Buddy and the voice modem.
If a separate PC is used for transcription, then you will probably want a network connection between the PCs to allow the transfer of the recording files, from the Phone-In Buddy PC, to the PC that will be used for transcription.
Sometimes the person leaving dictation is cut-off, and the phone-line hangs up before the dictation is finished. What should I do?
On some telephone lines it is possible that the call may terminate prematurely. This problem is not related to either the Dialogic hardware or Phone-In Buddy software. If you frequently experience this situation you must contact your local phone company and have them check the telephone line. Also, do not use high-speed Internet services on the same phone line that Phone-In Buddy uses. The high-speed Internet services (ADSL) can cause a problem on the phone line.
Please see the following pages for more information about Phone-In Buddy.
Purchase Options for Phone-In Buddy.
Please follow this link to the Phone-In Buddy home page.