Make and Receive Calls in Gmail

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Google has announced today that Gmail users will soon have the ability to make voice calls to any phone number from their PC. According to Google, the service will rolled out within the next few days.
 
Behold! The death of the landline. Henceforth anyone with a landline shall be known as a luddite.
 
I have been using Google Voice for a while and I should have realized that it was a very short step from Google giving me a free number and then using my GV account to punch in that number to first call my house or cell phone which then connects to the number I want to reach to the next step of just eliminating the middle man.. the telephone!!

Bye Alexander Graham Bell.. you have had a nice run.. of 134 years!!

alexandergrahambelldriv.jpg
 
GaryJohnson said:
Behold! The death of the landline. Henceforth anyone with a landline shall be known as a luddite.
Click to expand...

Not really, I get all of my services through my cable provider, one line for TV, internet, phone and security and I'm required to have the phone connection for the security system even thought it's has a cell backup connection, go figure. And every now and then I need to send and receive faxes, so while maybe most people don't have a need for landlines there's still reasons to have them.
 
I'm required to have a landline (and pay for it) if I want DSL, which is the only high speed option where I live. Another way the monopoly sticks it to us......
 
I wonder how much of THIS they are going to record and stash away for some future use...

In any event, I bet the Telco's just love this. I look for some sort of ridiculous law suit from one of them trying to stop it.
 
I wonder if they will be using speech reognition software to pick out more keywords to further improve their targeted advertising...
 
Either way this is pretty cool.

Maybe its finally time for me to buy and hook up a microphone to my computer.
 
Zarathustra[H];1036099672 said:
I wonder if they will be using speech reognition software to pick out more keywords to further improve their targeted advertising...
Click to expand...

I assumed that is how they would make it self-sustaining.
 
Now if only I can find a way to hook my regular phones into my computer...... as soon as I get this, I'm gonna ditch my land line. When I got my Google voice account, I really wanted to do it then, but cell service at my house is marginal at best, so I had to have a land line.
 
Bohica69 said:
Now if only I can find a way to hook my regular phones into my computer...... as soon as I get this, I'm gonna ditch my land line. When I got my Google voice account, I really wanted to do it then, but cell service at my house is marginal at best, so I had to have a land line.
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When we last moved, we never set up a land line. We got Vonage instead, and it has worked well thus far.
 
Actually I think this is going to cost money. I just loaded my Gmail account and there is an option now to call someone. It shows a .10 calling credit. So this would leave me to believe I will need "Credit" to make the calls.
 
ReconSniper said:
Actually I think this is going to cost money. I just loaded my Gmail account and there is an option now to call someone. It shows a .10 calling credit. So this would leave me to believe I will need "Credit" to make the calls.
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I just checked mine, it says free to U.S. and Canada, low rates for international calls.
 
Meh I hate making calls from my computer. Something always freaks out and it never works when I need it in an emergency (late for a conference call etc). Only works when I dick with it for 20 minutes before each call and have to reset all the volume levels etc. And half the time people on the other end say I sound like a robot in a metal box at the bottom of a canyon. Or if I push the mic sensitivity too high and it goes off into a feedback loop if I accidentally touch the mic.

I applaud the "for free" part but more times than not I have to reach for my cel phone when the intar-phone refuses to work properly.
 
ReconSniper said:
Actually I think this is going to cost money. I just loaded my Gmail account and there is an option now to call someone. It shows a .10 calling credit. So this would leave me to believe I will need "Credit" to make the calls.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly in line with google voice. US and Canada is still free, G voice accounts came with .10 free, i would assume for international calling.
 
I called my cell through my gmail!


THE CONSEQUENCES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!
 
damnit, currently only available in the US, even though my gmail chat settings show it
 
I just tried it and it isn't working. I've tried several numbers and it says it cannot make the call.
 
450 said:
Maybe I should stop paying for skype...
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Skype software is a piece of crap. Every so often I have a strange problem that randomly appears, and it'll take a new version of Skype to fix it.

I'd be glad to dump it.
 
I like the Google Voice one number setup :p That's a very cool feature which I already used. For free, to have my calls routed to my home, skype, and cell number all at once is pretty sweet.
 
ReconSniper said:
Actually I think this is going to cost money. I just loaded my Gmail account and there is an option now to call someone. It shows a .10 calling credit. So this would leave me to believe I will need "Credit" to make the calls.
Click to expand...

I've had a .10 credit on Google Voice since July of '09 when I first got it. Maybe that's what you're seeing?
 
Anyone find it interesting Google just made a Net Neutrality pact with Verizon? Interesting... Very interesting... I know Google Voice has been around for awhile but I wonder what's next.

As for copper lines. They have their place. Rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods have one thing in common, crap copper. I had a copper landline up until about 2 1/2 years ago. At the time my wife was out on Family Medical Leave and I was unemployed. When I sat down and looked at the bill. I was paying for 45 bucks for local service and another 20 for LD. Looked at adding voice with the cableco. It was a no brainer. $20 more a month. Unfortunately, had a few problems local cable service. Oh well.

However to Verizon's credit, never had a problem with copper line except for the price and they were not willing to offer a discount rate or DSL service. There was no real reason to keep the line. If Verizon ever got around FIOS deployment again and lit up my area, I would get it. Now they dropping copper fairly quickly as well as, unfortunately employees. I know a few people who worked for them that were laid off and were not offered the massive buyout packages that others got.
 
this is perfect timing.

i hope it stays free. i don't care how many ads they put on it. just keep it free.
 
oh yeah. fuck skype, and whatever else ebay owns.

i hope this is one thing google kills ebay at.

ebay can keep their ebay and paypal, and google can have this.
 
Ashbringer said:
Skype software is a piece of crap. Every so often I have a strange problem that randomly appears, and it'll take a new version of Skype to fix it.

I'd be glad to dump it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I bought a years worth of skype a few months ago, since at about $60-ish it saves me way more in overage fees.
 
aw crap.

i just saw this in my gmail, and it says free calls only in 2010.

so next year, they're gonna start charging. I'd rather it be ad supported.
 
Zarathustra[H];1036099672 said:
I wonder if they will be using speech reognition software to pick out more keywords to further improve their targeted advertising...
Click to expand...

Phone sex one minute, penis enlargement ads the next.
 
use it while it's free.

shit's gonna be no better than skype next year.

what i hate about skype is that you have to buy 10 euros minimum, and if you forget about it, your money expires.

I would like to be able to buy as little as $5 credit, and never have it expire, even if i don't dial shit in 180 days.

to steal skype customers, google is gonna have to have a no expiration policy, and undercut skype's usa phone rates.
 
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