Nokia N900 SIP settings - Configure your phone for VoIP

The Nokia N900 is quite a capable mobile computer. For example, I use a VoIP provider to make cheap calls all over the world. And described below is how you would enable your N900 to make calls over the internet through the SIP protocol.

Pre-requisites: You have access to a broadband wireless LAN network and you've already set-up a VoIP service account (for example, an account at www.actionvoip.com).

Steps to set-up an SIP account on the N900:

1. Click on the status area (top row on the desktop). Connect to your wireless LAN if you haven't already.
   
 
2. Click on Availability.
3. Click Accounts. Then click New.
   
   
4. Click the blue SIP option.
   
   
5. In the Account Setup, see the settings below and customize them for your VoIP provider:
   
Address: username@sip.actionvoip.com
Password: accountpassword
Advanced:
[tick] Use for telephone numbers
User name: username (without server address)
Transport: auto
Outbound proxy: [leave blank]
Port: 5060
[tick] Discover public address
[untick] Loose routing
Keep-alive mechanism: Auto
Keep-alive period: Auto
[tick] Auto-detect STUN

   
6. Click Sign In. After less than a minute, you should now be logged in to your SIP account. Make sure your availability is not set to Offline in order to make SIP audio calls.

To make a call, simply click a contact and use the "SIP" option to call. It's that easy.

Great design decision - see through bus connectors

In Switzerland, the buses are quite long and can seat a number of people comfortably. The front part is connected to the back part of the bus using a fin-like elastic connector which you see in the picture below on the right-side. There is also some place to stand next to this connector, which I'll call the middle part of the bus.

It used to get quite dark standing in this middle part, even in broad daylight. Changing this to a see-through connector is one of the nicest innovations I've seen. In the new bus model from the manufacturer MAN, the connectors let the daylight pass through as shown in the picture below:

This lets the sunlight pass right through the fins, and brightens up the bus and my day. Great thinking and design.