OH MAN this is so cool! So when Google Voice opened, I had to sign up. I blogged earlier about the many nice features that the Google Voice service provides. As of today (8-25) (-2010), if you have a Google Voice account, to the right of your Gmail Inbox is a link that says "Call phone" and lets you put in a phone number to call.
So why is that special? Isn't that what Google Voice, or for that matter, phones do? Well, sorta... except this time, NO PHONES NEEDED! The voice part of the call comes out of your computer speakers, and your computer microphone picks up your voice. You can call either a phone (for free in the U.S. & Canada, at least free for 2010) or have a free video conference computer-to-computer!
So why is that special? Because I only have a cell phone, which currently gets 1,000 minutes a month (with no additional charge, at least). That's roughly half an hour total each day. So even though I'm stingey with the length of my phone calls, I bump up pretty close to the limit every month, like above 90% usage. So yes, I use the heck out of my Google Voice account... for 1,000 minutes a month and no more, since I'm using my cell phone to access Google Voice, I mean it is my only phone. BUT WITH THIS NEW HOTNESS, YOU ARE NO LONGER TIED TO A PHONE!!! I just had Gmail open, and used MY LAPTOP to call my parents' home phone! WHOA! Then, for a coup de grace, my folks & I had a video conference! PC-to-PC phone calls have been around for a while, a la Skype. But the new hotness is PC-to-phone calls! I don't believe this has ever been done before! The PC-to-PC video conferencing, yeah, sure, that's Skype all over again. But since home phones are unlimited minutes, this amounts to calling home phones AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hide -n- go seek
In between Q & S is Arrr!
My pirate name is:
Captain Jack Kidd
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.part of the fidius.org network
No comments:
Post a Comment
Say something here. In an ideal world, it would reference the post above...