Slashdot Mirror
Goodbye, Google Voice
itwbennett writes "The trouble with Google Voice is that the way we use phones has changed — and it hasn't kept up with the times: 'Fewer people have a mobile phone and a business line and a home line that might make One Number For All so. Text message costs (which are actually close to nothing) are almost always bundled into contract costs. Automatic voice transcription, while still a mean feat, is no longer such a magic trick,' writes Kevin Purdy in a blog post explaining why he's breaking up with Google Voice. The main problem is that, despite some very cool features, Google Voice doesn't play well with others — even apps in its own family. And it doesn't look as though that's going to get better anytime soon." I've been very happy with Google Voice for a few years now, and one reason is the transcribed voice messages, which may get hilariously garbled sometimes, but are almost always correct enough to be useful.
Google Voice is not being phased out (yet) by google.
This is just some doosh on itworld ranting about junk on his blog.
I use Google Voice as my primary phone number. This is because (like Stephen Hawking), I am quadriplegic and unable to speak due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). I use it to text and for the relatively few "voice" telephone conversations I have (using my eyegaze computer which - via text-to-speech - "speaks" what I type). I use it for texts daily and for at least one vocal conversation a week (I use web-based video conference multiple times per week to conduct my biomedical and technology research business).
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
Is that you? To reiterate another poster's comment, this is just some dude's blog entry.
Seriously? WTF with the headline, Timothy? Is /. Into sensationalist, eye-grabbing headlines now? How about maybe only showing comments 5 at a time while you're at it? That should garner some ad revenue. That title is *very* misleading.
Some of the complaints in this blog were mentioned in a post by a google employee 4.5 months ago:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+N...
... rest assured, weâ(TM)re working to support SMS messages for all Google Voice phone numbers ... we are listening and working hard to make this happen, but we need to work with carriers and this can take some time.
It will take some time before Google Voice is fully integrated into Hangouts, and we appreciate your patience along the way.ï
there is also mention of third-party apps which, on android, use various methods to achieve VOIP through Google Voice on the handset, which isnt a feature that Google Voice currently allows (it must route your call via an actual phone call).. these apps have been warned that they will be no longer to do that by May 15th of this year..
im guessing that we will be seeing some changes to Google Voice in the coming few months... maybe even things that make this itworld blog post seem kind of silly.
(disclosure: been using google voice since its first year, wish it could be better... 'breaking up' with it over the stuff in TFA is silly, some of those gripes are silly)
I use Google voice exclusively. It allows me to have a phone number separated from my service provider which I probably won't have forever (so I don't have to worry whether I'll be able to port my number over). It allows me to make phone calls from my computer for phone interviews and the like (headset/mic so I can type). It also allows me to text people without paying Verizon a dime for bullshit reasons.
-SaNo
Say goodbye to Kevin Purdy.
I use google voice a lot.
....they've always been worthless content free clickbait, but it seems like we're seeing them more often lately.
MMS texts (and images) come through but only if sent from a Sprint phone. I was rather surprised one day when I received one - I assumed google finally added support for mms. It wasn't until after a lot of trial and error and sleuthing that I figured out it was only if the mms was from a sprint phone.
The article is correct - google voice should be alerting someone (sender or receiver) the message wasn't delivered, but my hunch is that Sprint is providing the connectivity for Google Voice and they just throw away 3rd party MMS messages as part of the contract in order to keep bandwidth down.
Better known as 318230.
Wait! One dickhead stops using Google Voice and that earns a frontpage article on Slashdot??
SERIOUSLY?!?
Ok, come the fuck on!!!
Can this site make even a minimal effort to not be total shit? For quite a long time, Slashdot was very educational and informative but, over the past few years, it has sunk to near-uselessness. It's only because some people steadfastly refuse to give up despite the fact they are fighting a losing battle that the site isn't entirely crap.
One guy stops using Google Voice and that earns a Slashdot article.
Wow.
Dear Kevin,
That is pretty cool, I guess. Not that I care what you think.
Signed,
Everyone else
while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
In other news, I had hotdogs today. Though I suppose that would be on slashdot too if I had written a fucking dissertation about it. Who gives a fuck if some random jackass stops using one of Google's apps?
I am currently living outside of the U.S.. I still have a Google Voice number, because my permenant address is still in the United States. With Google Voice, we can make calls to people living in the United States still for free. That's a pretty epic usage.