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Google Voice Now Gives Priority to Students
theodp writes "Holy Logan's Run, Batman! Google on Friday began giving students priority access to its Google Voice service, which has remained in a closed beta since its transition from GrandCentral in March of last year. Typically, invites for the service can take anywhere from a few hours to several months to arrive after a user signs up. But Google is now promising students who cough up an .edu e-mail address access to the service within 24 hours. Good thing CMU closes e-mail accounts after graduation, or old fuddy-duddy alums like Brian Reid might try to sneak in!"
So much for all the students around the world who don't have email addresses ending in .edu
Well, i guess it is time to check if no-ip.com has hosts ending in .edu and set-up a home mail server :)
EULA : By reading the above message, you agree that I now own your soul.
Everything Google does is news-worthy.
it's under construction
My university's domain doesn't end with .edu you insensitive clod!
I've been using GV (and before that GC) for a bit over a year, and it's been pretty reliable. then again, I only have used it for voicemail. I don't use it for SMS or making calls. Making calls through it just seems convoluted and unnecessary.
I guess it's like Facebook: target the young crowds, who then grow up thinking privacy policies unimportant when they enter the workplace.
...local numbers where I am, or even number portability. If I want to use Google Voice, I'm stuck with a number in the same area code but long distance, or a number technically "local" but in a different geographical area code.
It's not that my local area code is full; other VoIP wholesalers do have local numbers in the correct area code.
Hyperbole much? How is this Logan's Run? My parents believe I'm possessed by a demon, so no help from them to get into college. I got used to waiting until they dropped off my FAFSA, so I'm currently saving up so I don't need massive loans and I'll probably be entering college when I'm 32 or 35 or so. Am I missing something?
Is getting reduced cost meals at some (otherwise) expensive restaurants downtown when one shows a student ID Logan's Run now? I must be missing something.
Join the Slashcott! Stay away entirely Feb 10 thru Feb 17! Close all tabs to prevent autorefresh!
One of the biggest IT companies in existance practically introduces a new service (Yeah, it existed before but was pretty unpractical due to those long registering times) for students (A huge amount of us students read this site, you know...)... How is this not exactly the type of news that SlashDot is for? Besides, it is not as if today would have been extraordinarily busy news day or anything. If you don't find it interesting, why waste your time with commenting? Not that you would have spent a lot of time for that as you didn't really write any arguments or such... Yeah. I'm getting pretty annoyed to people karmawhoring with the "How is this news worthy?" comment which you can find on practically every article on SlashDot. I would think of it as a running joke if those wouldn't get flagged +5 insightful pretty much every time.
Aaaaaanyways. Yeah, its nice that google does that. I would have hoped for something more sophisticated than just checking for .edu addresses, though. Not all students receive such (well, at least not outside USA. I don't know if all universities there use the .edu domain).
Great. I have no fewer than three student email addresses, but because they all end in .edu.au, no dice. Thanks, Google.
Didn't Google fire Brian Reid because he was too old?
Google is the largest datamining company in the world. I'm pretty sure they know everything imaginable about me. Whether or not my email ends in .edu, I should be able to tell them my address (Hell, even my home address) and they should be able to check whether I am a student or not.
Stop pretending I have any privacy the one time I don't want it!
Now, let us wait for next version of Android OS which will be completely integrated with google-account
What do you mean? "thinking privacy policies unimportant" doesn't say anything. I think you mean "thinking privacy policies [are] unimportant", but even that isn't clear, because a privacy policy could simply say "There is no privacy".
It might be a judgement call (just like "judgment"), but that comma after "crowds" breaks up the sentence, unnecessarily. If your first language isn't English, I'm just a little sorry.
I've been using Google Voice to make calls and last night got a "try again later" for the first time. So maybe all the lines were used by .edu users. I actually have a .edu address that is just forwarded to gmail.. maybe I'll invite myself if I ever get invites.
For some reason GV's systems make my voice more intelligible to my 70yo mom, who has a mild hearing loss. We've decided this is not an illusion...trying multiple calls from both my land line and mobile with and without GV. It always sounds better to her if GV makes the call.
Guy posts comment on website!
Google is the largest datamining company in the world.
I thought that was Wal*Mart or Tesco?
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
Yeah, except their alumni forwarding emails also end in .edu
Well, I'm not sure, but I'm glad I followed that last link and learned that Google is a motherfucking slimeball who fired somebody for being too old and not staying at work past 7 PM on a regular basis.
If you lose respect for experience, and respect for a work-life balance, your company becomes a ball of pure evil and incompetence. I'm actually completely shocked.
Email addresses ending with @alum.[your school].edu work just fine. I think most schools offer alumni forwarding.
Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?
I stopped caring about Google the moment they decided to support a new world order.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
How is this news worthy?
How is this comment post worthy?
I'm just curious, and felt the need to ask a question in a manner which would garner feedback.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
{{notability}}
And apparently I'm stupid too because I have no idea what the AC is talking about.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
n/t
I feel your pain, but let us be honest, every phone plan has "free" long distance.
And by "free" I mean "just as expensive as local calls".
Sure if you're on a landline you'll have to dial 1 first (really the landlines can't figure this out?).
But most places are 10 digit dialing anyhow.
And, I was under the impression that everyone had their phonebooks programed into their phones.
I don't even know my cell number. Granted I have a VoIP number that routes calls as desired, but still. Between work and personal I have 7 phone numbers and 4 phones.
If it really bugs you do what I do. Buy a VoIP number for ~$10 month. Have the VoIP number never ring to a real phone, but set it up to route calls to real phones based on time-of-day, calling number, etc.
I know and give out my VoIP number, but when you call it forwards to a different number (e.g., cell, work, home, etc.) that I don't care to remember.
If only I could do easy CallerID spoofing to always seem like I am calling from my VoIP number.
I can use GV to do that, but as you say GV doesn't have number portability.
I've been using GV (since GC days actually) with Gizmo as a landline at home , mostly as a number to give businesses that want my phone number (think cable/gas/credit card companies) and it's been swell. I've got an ATA to handle the SIP so I even got a traditional cordless handset from my landline days hooked up to it.
I want to get friends set up with something similar and want to play around more with GV with a cellphone + SIP as well but since folding Gizmo in, Google has closed off signups (you can find gizmo accounts being on auctioned off on ebay!), it's been a waiting game. I've tried other SIP providers but they never work as well (more lag, usually).
Besides, I figure they are working on something pretty awesome. I mean, if I can already rig up a free landline as it was, I can only imagine what actual integration with Gizmo technology can lead to. Death of the phone companies? One can dream right?
So hurry up Google! I want to see what you've been working on with this stuff for the past 6 months!