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Google Officially Brings Voice To Gmail
siliconbits writes "Google has finally added voice support to its popular Gmail email service which means that users will soon be able to call landlines and mobiles worldwide for free or for extremely low prices. The announcement was made at a press conference in San Francisco in front of a few selected press members."
Now my mom can call me right away to tell me she sent me an email.
To remove the annoying phone icon: settings>>chat>>google voice (disable outbound voice calling)
and it works in Linux with just a plugin and a browser restart
Now where's the android client?
I send e-mail so I don't have to talk to people. It's the same reason I text.
Last time I checked Google voice services did not support encryption. Unless they are talking about implementing security measures similar to Skype, I am not interested.
my mom posts on slashdot.
At first, I kinda wondered if Gmail was going to call me and read my email to me.
That's just what I need. Ring ring... "Greetings. We are pleased to inform you of our new pharmaceutical offerings in your area..."
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
no thank you.
I have been always wondering, why is the public (over)concerned about Google mining and their users' data, but not Yahoo, Skype, Microsoft et al?
Also from today on /.
Google testing voice calling in GMail
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I am less concerned about them doing it because there is no secret there. I can be selective about what I do witheir products, or at least aware of what they might have.
It is big corporations that worry me. Big as Google? Maybe, maybe not but who knows how much info banks have on me. If it is as secure as their business models, I am in deep s**t. I know what Google seems to want to do with my info. Pretty much the same as spammers, but G. seems to be better organised. They are probably better organised than Microsoft etc as well and I still believe/hope that they have more principles. At least Google started with the intention of "do no evil". I have not heard many other companies with that motto.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
Maybe, maybe not but who knows how much info banks have on me.
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo et. al. are the least of your worries. So-called data aggregators like Choicepoint, for example, are far more of an issue, privacy-wise, because they don't just profile you with the intent to sell advertising and offer advanced free services. Choicepoint collects everything it can about us, in order to sell that information directly to anyone that can pay for it. No need to worry about security breaches (although Choicepoint has had their share of those) bad guys can just buy your personal info on the open market. Supposedly they only sell data to "legitimate" companies, but they got scammed a few years ago: some ne'er-do-wells set up fake companies so that Choicepoint would sell to them. Not that it cost Choicepoint anything, hell, they made money off the sale.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Google are honest and open about what they are collecting. Microsft, Yahoo et al. pretend like they dont collect anything thus Google is doing wrong.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Actually that would be a very smart idea. There is still a lot of people out there who have to keep a landline for faxing. While there is services on the internet that already do faxing, you either have to charge a fee for it or put up with advertisements. Plus there is no inbound faxing on them.
It would be nice to use that Google Voice (which as of writing this is still sadly not available here in Canada) to receive faxes through your phone number and have them pop up as an email with an attachment or something. They already have the infrastructure in place with Google Voice, adding a fax service to it I don't think would be too far of a stretch.
What, HTML5 isn't good enough? </snark>
I think this could help propel their social networking adoption rates as you will need to have a gmail account to sign up. I love the convenience of Buzz as I am a current gmail user, but Facebook obviously has the lion's share of the social networking market. If Google can get more people signed up to Buzz they can deliver more targeted advertisements as they learn more about the habits of their users through social networking. This further increases the value of AdSense and AdMob.
:-)
Also, they serve up ads at the top of gmail itself, not to mention I'm sure they could mine data of users' phone calls. They have great voice-to-text technology for Android that I am sure they could re-purpose for analytical uses.
Go Illini!!!
2011: You wake to find Gmail techs installing a camera in your bedroom so people you have no intention of contacting again can watch you sleep.
2014: Gmail now pays for a plane ticket for a relative/friend who you haven't talked to in a while to visit (based on how often you chat to them).
2030: Gmail clones a soulmate for you (based on conversations you've had using it's service), and delivers it to your door.
Seriously? I would submit just the opposite: DOING evil is the most basic of human instincts. At least, when you define "evil" as "whatever gets me more money/power/sex". NOT doing evil means giving up something that you want, in the name of some "greater good" that, likely as not, won't get you laid. Most days, it's hard to find someone who is willing to even give up the ten feet needed so that I can get off the damned highway. That sort of "evil" is humanity's most enduring feature.
For a company to even suggest that "do no evil" is a corporate value is amazing. They may not always reach that standard... but heck, most actual people don't even try.
(Note: there are also theological implications here that I won't get into...)
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
They make money by driving people into their product and disrupting other companies. It's awesome really how disruptive Google is to competitors. They're making a larger argument for getting rid of a landline and even in time a voice plan... hell... if wi-fi is available you don't even need a data plan just a tablet or laptop with wifi. Voila - free phone calls and you're even more in love with Google. It's a very disruptive scenario they've sprung on the telcos today. By increasing reliability and acquiring more behaviour from you - they know everything you do in another aspect of your life. It's easy with that info to target you with ads, or sell a connection with you to a company. **prediction** - this will interface with Google streetview some day. You'll be able to simply 'walk' down a street and click on a house or company to call. There goes all phone book / yellow pages cos. Businesses will be buying the virtual real estate on Streetview. GPS - Geolocation - you'll be able to simply ask your phone "Where is the closest (insert store here) and it'll dial that phone number for you.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, but my personal information isn't priceless, either - and I'm willing to trade parts of it for useful and convenient services that Google provides. Why not?