Caller ID on your computer with NCID [LWN.net]

NCID, the Network Caller ID package, is a cross-platform system that provides telephone Caller ID information to networked computers:

NCID is Caller ID distributed over a network to a vari[e]ty of devices and computers. It consists of a Caller ID server that uses a modem to monitor a telephone line for Caller ID information, and various clients that obtain the information from the server and process it, either by displaying it, speaking it, or emailing it.

[NCID] NCID features include:

Support for multiple caller ID systems and multiple clients.
Provides a log of who called and when the call was made.
Can provide aliases for received names and numbers.
Uses modem lock files to support sharing with other applications.
Can run an external application when a telephone ring event happens.
Includes text, GUI and synthesized speech clients for output.
Can send output to a pager or cell phone.
Includes a TiVo client so incoming calls can be seen while watching TV.
Has an LCD client for systems without a normal display.
Includes a pop-up Caller ID clients that run on Mac OS-X and Windows.

NCID looks like it can be used as a building-block component for a variety of different telecom uses. It could be applied to embedded telecom appliances, business phone logging systems, and home-based telephone monitoring uses.

Version 0.60 of NCID and version 0.9.10 of NCIDpop, the pop-up client for Mac OS X and Windows, were released this week. "NCID release 0.60 adds support for slow responding modems, the NetCallerID standalone device, and for Distinctive Ring. The server configuration file has changed and aliases were moved to a separate alias file. Configuration files were added for the client, log file rotation, and for the various support scripts. There was also some code improvements and bug fixes."

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