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[ED-TECH] Google Voice – free long-distance, plus more
May 18th
Ed-Tech list members,
Google Voice is now available for anyone with an email address that ends with .edu. Go to http://www.google.com/googlevoice/students.html to request an “invite.” It will be sent to you within 24 hours.
The primary services offered by Google Voice, that I think may make it worth your while, are listed below.
1. You can get free long distance calls. Do you have friends and family that you call and would like to talk to for free? The process will seem strange at first. You go to your COMPUTER and specify the number you want to call and the number you want to call from. So if I am at work I specify that I want to call from my office phone. When I submit the form, almost instantly my office phone rings. This is Google Voice calling me. When I answer the phone, I hear a ring tone. This is Google Voice calling the other number. So the conversation takes place between two regular telephones. It is just set up on the computer. No charge, at least in the US. This is unlike Skype, where you need to call from the computer and have a headset connected to the computer to participate in the call.
2. You can get a number in most any area code, providing a local call for anyone in that area code. I created mine in the Miami area code, since I give it to everyone and most people calling me are local. But if I wanted, I could get an area code in Mississippi, where I have some close friends, or in Pennsylvania where my 94 year old father lives. Then people in that area code could call me using a local number. NOTE: you only get to pick one area code, so think about where you want it to be before setting up your account.
3. Your Google Voice number can be configured to ring any combination of different telephones. My phone number, below, is my Goggle Voice number. If you call that number, the phone on my desk, my cell phone, and my telephone at home all ring. Whichever one I answer, I will be talking to you. You can quickly change these from a web page. So I can add my home phone when i get home, and remove it when I leave, quickly and easily.
4. Messages left in you voice mail box, are converted to text and emailed to you. Now, the speech to text conversion is not perfect, but you can easily get a feel for what the message was about. So, if I am in a meeting and unable to take a call, and the caller leaves a message (most people don't, I have found), I get an email message that I can read to see what the call was about. If important, I can excuse myself from the meeting and call the person back, almost instantly.
5. (I turned off this feature, but some people really like it.) Google Voice can have people identify themselves so that you can hear the person's name before you connect with him or her. You hear the name and then decide whether to take the call or send it to the voice mail system. This can allow you to filter out telemarketers, surveys, or people you don't want to talk with.
And there is even more.
Normally you request an invite and it could be months before you get in. At the moment they have a special page for anyone with an edu email address. Well, it looks like they are directing it to students, but here is no way for them to know why you have an edu address. So if you act now, you can get an invite within 24 hours of requesting it.
Go to http://www.google.com/googlevoice/students.html to request your invite. Use your edu address and a link to get started will be sent to your edu account within 24 hours.
For more information on Google Voice, google “Google Voice guide” and check some of the links that are returned.
Bill Vilberg – bill.vilberg@miami.edu
Begin forwarded message:
From: “Vilberg, William R.” <bill.vilberg@miami.edu
Date: May 16, 2010 5:42:26 AM EDT
To: “Vilberg, William R.” <bill.vilberg@miami.edu
Subject: Google Voice for Students
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/students.html
Bill Vilberg – bill.vilberg@miami.edu
Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone
Mar 24th
I have to agree with the other reviewers who are rating this phone with five stars. I’ve been a software developer for over 30 years and have owned many cell phones; my last one was a Blackberry 8800
The one thing I do think the iPhone does better is the layout of the on-screen keyboard. The keys on the iPhone are spaced out a little further apart making them easier to hit and less chance of making a mistake. But the autospell feature on the Nexus One is much better than the iPhone
The other point I LOVE about the Nexus One that I bought from Google
I have been raving so much about my new phone that my wife is ready to buy one and she has just gotten a new LG View
If you’re thinking about a smart phone, this is the one to buy.
[News] Wonder Girls’ interest in Android phones
Mar 15th
YeEun said,” During our performance in the US,
we have to bring along our laptops, cameras and handphones in order for
us to access Twitter and Facebook. But with the android phone, we no
longer need to bring so many things”.
“When celebrating birthdays or chatting with fans on Twitter, with the
android phone, it reduces much inconveniences”, Sunye said.
On the interview with the Wonder Girls on 9th March, their conversation
included terms like “applications” and “directory manage”, and from time
to time, they mentioned about the different functions available in the
android phones. 2 months ago, the Wonder Girls were invited by Sony
Ericsson to endorse the latest Android phones, and from then, they have
been using these phones.
The Wonder Girls have been using laptops to access Twitter and Facebook
during their performace period in US, in order to upload photos, videos
and to communicate with the fans. Yubin mentioned,” During out
performance period in US, often we encounter problems uploading our
videos and photos. With these phones, we can take photos with it and
upload the photos immediately”.
When being asked about the most frequently-used application, Sunye
mentioned MSN and dictionary, Hye Lim said applications with chinese
content, and Yeeun used the phone the most.
Regarding the question about the ease-of-usage of the android phones,
Yubin expressed,” People of our age have much interest in handphones, so
there will not be much difficulty using it.” Sunye mentioned,” In the
beginning, we were unable to get used to the functions of the phone.
After getting used to it, it is very convenient”.
{source: ent.mop.com}
{trans: cofemix@wgspec}
Droid getting 2.1, Verizon Nexus One, Google Buzz, Gingerbread
Feb 11th
2 Really Good Twitter Apps this week
Jan 22nd
On Saturday I downloaded Xeeku Tweets thanks to @dandroidos And I thought it was love at first site. It’s a very very strong app look for it in the market as Xeeku Tweet.
I didn’t like that it said I was posting from generic API but hey thats on them they should fix the signature to show that it’s coming from Xeeku Tweets. That’s no biggie.
The GUI isn’t as pretty as seesmic or my favorite twitter gui which is Tweeteev but its functionality is actually in some cases better than other programs.
The Pro version (for some rason only available on Droid) is the only way to get multi-account support.
One Really Big Plus is it follows the conversatin on everything without having to click through an extra time like seesmic, it just shows the whole conversation if you pop open the tweet. A++ There.
My personal downsides with Xeeku:
I couldn’t paste on the go I tried to paste a link from href.to and no dice, no paste option into a tweet.
Also the nav bar at the bottom disappears when you’re anywhere but timeline so when I went into @messages I had to use the android back button to get back to timeline to go anywhere else
Otherwise though this is a SOLID tie for number 2.
The other really great twitter app I am testing now is Tweetcaster by Handmark the GUI is Beautiful it has multi account support. The only thing I really don’t like is that it has Native Retweet so if you want to retweet you have to retweet the whole message sometimes I like to retweet a question with my answer in case the original poster doesn’t have a way to see the conversation. This got to be a pain.
Other than that though its reall great one thing I really like about it is it shows you the link at the bottom if there is a link in the twit this is really really useful. Haven’t tried the paste thing and I’ve only had it about a day so look for more but these two are definitely way better than Twidroid.
I’d say my number 1 is still seesmic but tied at number 2 are Xeeku and Tweetcaster. Look for more though because really twitter apps are what i get the most questions about. I did get uno the other day and it was almost as fun as whipping my friends butts in the third grade.
Select Nexus One users complaining of touchscreen calibration, 3G connectivi…
Jan 19th
Sprint HTC Hero FAQ, Nexus One, Facebook, HTC Droid Eris touchscreen
Jan 4th
The Google Phone Is Here
Dec 14th
I tell my granddaughter all the time “No one listens to me”.
She agrees.
Here is an example…Two months ago after reading an article in a techie magazine, I told my wife that Google was going to start making and selling its own cell phone.
Here is the conversation that ensued
Wife: Where do you get this stuff? No way…why would Google make their own cell phone? Google is a search company!
Me: No, you’re wrong.
Wife: I’M wrong?
Me: What I mean is, you are not completely accurate.
Wife: That’s better.
Me: Google is far more that just a search company…it has already developed the Android software that runs Verizon’s Droid cell phone.
Wife: Why would Google want to get into the cell phone business?
Me: Remember when we rented the movie Titanic?
Wife: Yes
Me: Do you remember the scene when Leonardo DiCaprio hangs from the bow of the ship and declares, “I’m the King of the World”? That’s what Google wants to be, King of the World.
Wife: Are you sure you are not trying to get me to buy you a new iPhone for Christmas?
Me: No
Wife: So tell me, what is this so called Google cell phone going to be called? The iGoogle? Get it?
Me: Yeah, I get it…but its not funny. Google is calling its new cell phone Nexus One
Wife: Who was Nexus, the Roman god of text messaging or something?
Me: Actually the word is Latin, from past participle of nectere, meaning to bind. So the word Nexus means to connect… as in people.
Wife: When did you become a Latin scholar? Tell me more about it.
Me: The Nexus One is thinner than the iPhone and it is unlocked?
Wife: Hold on, hold on… “unlocked”? What does “unlocked” mean?
Me: It means you do not have to use a designated cell phone carrier. You know, like with my iPhone. I have to use AT&T. With Google’s Nexus One we could use any carrier we wanted.
Wife: “WE could use, any carrier WE wanted…I get it, so you want the Nexus One for Christmas.
Me: I didn’t say that, and it won’t be out until mid January anyway.
Wife: Does it have a camera?
Me: Yes
Wife: Is it touch screen like the iPhone or scroll wheel like the Blackberry?
Me: Both
Wife: How much is Google going to charge for it?
Me: I don’t know, pricing hasn’t been released yet.
Wife: I thought you were the all knowing, all seeing Google Nexus One guru. But I still don’t understand why you think this rumor is real?
Me: Well,Google employees are said to be experimenting with the company’s new phone right now.
Wife: If that’s the case and you are right, maybe, just maybe I’ll get you one for your 60th birthday.
Me: But I won’t be 60 for two years
Wife: I know, but you’re a patient person…Truthfully, I’ll believe this rumor about Google making a cell phone when I see one.
Me: OK then…Take a look at this. Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?
The Nexus One