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Google Voice (grandcentral)!!!  (View post)

DPic [PersonRank 10]

Thursday, March 12, 2009
15 years ago15,050 views

It's here! Just saw from the youtube channel xD

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

www.grandcentral.com
www.google.com/voice
www.google.com/voice/m (for mobile)

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFVXAqFNgic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tw5yxxoz2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI4mhLZSyB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DRGMOXMSmM

Rohit Srivastwa [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Google Voice Help page is still the same
http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?answer=141993

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

There's a ton more video's i won't link to them all.

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?answer=141993
Waiting list: https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/
http://www.google.com/voice/about

I can't wait to upgrade!

JECShack [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

Say Hello to Google Voice.

Stats:
Help Center: Ready via http://www.google.com/support/voice/
Video Tutorial: Ready via http://www.youtube.com/user/Google
Help Center Forums: None
Login Page: Ready via https://www.google.com/voice OR via grandcentral.com

Info:
Launch Date: coming sooooon (April 1)
Cost: like any other Google services, its Free.

:]

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Help forums: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice?hl=en
Known issues: http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/static.py?page=known_issues.cs
Suggestions: http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/static.py?page=suggestions.cs
Contact support: http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/request.py?contact_type=contact_policy.cs

Rohit Srivastwa [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I'm sure it will get launched on this 1st April

Also have a twitter account to request an invite
http://twitter.com/googlevoice

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Officially posted: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-comes-google-voice.html

DaveB [PersonRank 3]

15 years ago #

http://gigaom.com/2009/03/11/grandcentral-reborn-as-google-voice-suite-of-voip-services/

[Moved ~ hebbet]

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Everybody should go to the suggestions page and suggest integration with gtalk!

Libran Lover [PersonRank 4]

15 years ago #

My GrandCentral login page looks different. However, it still takes my GC userID and password (not Google ID). Once logged in, it still looks the same as it did before. So, the new service is not fully rolled out to me yet.

Interesting tidbit: The blog link at the bottom of my GrandCentral page links to somebody's private person's blog: http://voiceblog.blogspot.com/. This does not appear to be an official Google blog for Voice. Earlier, that link used to point to http://blog.grandcentral.com/.

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

yes, yes. as the official post said, grandcentral users will be able to migrate from a notification in their inbox over the next couple days. and the new blog link is actually wrong haha, it should be http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/

David Mulder [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I hoped that it would become suported in more countries when they would release it under the google flag... guess my hopes were for nothing...

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Sorry David, i'm sure it's on the way! You can add your support on the suggestions page

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

First post is up on the new Google Voice Blog! http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/moving-to-google-voice.html

TOMHTML [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

"Voice" service is finally available!
It was discovered by Tony Ruscoe in... 2006! http://ruscoe.net/blog/2006/07/whats-in-googles-sandbox.asp

TOMHTML [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Oupps.... code name = grandcentral, no more no less. :-/

Luka [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Voice was mayby an internal code for the new GC 2.0

Above 18 comments were made in the forum before this was blogged,

Tony Ruscoe [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

> Oupps.... code name = grandcentral, no more no less. :-/

Yes, but Google still has an active "voice" service on their domain:

https://www.google.com/a/google.com/Login?service=voice

That service name in the sandbox pre-dates the Grandcentral acquisition, so perhaps that was Google Voice Search instead or something... who knows!

JEShack [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Okay, what's next... Google Voi(ce)P?
I see Skype as one of the recommendations in Google Pack including Twitter and Valve should they be next in line for acquisition.

David Mulder [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

In case you care, it got confirmed that there won't be any non-usa support for now when I asked: http://twitter.com/googlevoice/status/1314861471 ... a pity...

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

...I fell asleep with my keyboard and mouse (wireless) and downloaded and installed the ReloadEvery plugin for Firefox (although i'd rather be using Midori) to use on my Grandcentral inbo because the twitter said we should be able to upgrade this morning. I still don't see it though!!! ::impatient::

Jared Cherup [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I don't see it either. I am super exicited though. I was waiting for this. Now hopefully Google Talk completes the pyramid.

Jared Cherup [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Does anyone know if this integrates with Gmail contacts? That was the only thing I haven't seen anything about.

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Yeah it does integrate with Gmail contacts. I'm a little disappointed it can't integrate with google talk to make calls (perhaps even video calls in the future!). Hopefully they're working on that.

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Just got the upgrade!

Jared Cherup [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Lucky!

J. McNair [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]DPic and @Jared Cherup
GrandCentral built into Google Talk together would be worth...dare I say it...paying for (no more than $5 a month, but still).

Anyway, it's great to see GrandCentral is NOT a forgotten Google acquisition.

Bryan Price [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

Your account is not yet ready to be upgraded. Please check back shortly

Pooh!

gudipudi [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

tentatively when will it be open for the general public

Armin [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

It seems that there is 2 different numbers associated with your account. the one you chose, and second one based in northern cali.

When I send a text message from my phone to a grand central number, instead of showing the text message coming from my phone number it comes from this alternate number based in cali. When I called this number, my cell phone rang. This alternate number is also the same number that is associated with the gmail chat send to sms feature.

I'm thinking this is a oversight, and they will merge these two numbers in the future. Because as it stands, its NOT "one number rule them all"!

Anyone else seeing this?

Armin

Armin [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

On that note, just the fact that the number associated with gmail chat sms text, is integrated into google voice, is a sign the it will most likely be integrated fully into gmail chat, and possibly google talk desktop client.

Caleb E [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

My Google Talk SMS number is in area code 406, which Google tells me is based out of Montana, not California. What about everyone else?

Also, still have the "not ready to be upgraded" message here. :-(

Armin [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

oh yes you're right.... MT not cali....

JEShack [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

In Gmail, you can't create a label with the term 'voicemail'. Are they integrating it with Gmail as well?

Surly Teabag [PersonRank 2]

15 years ago #

To unupgraded GrandCentral users: It seems like, when you finally pull up your Inbox and get the message that you can upgrade, that that is your one shot. If you decide to put it off and return to it later, you will again go back to seeing "Your account is not yet ready to be upgraded. Please check back shortly.". It's not clear whether this is intentional or a bug.

Luka [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]JEShack : as mentioned before, this is from the integration of voicemail in Google Talk in 2007 if I remember correctly.

J. McNair [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]Luka
Wait, that's near when Google bought GrandCentral. Oh my gosh, Google DOES have a master plan...at least for communications :-)

DaveB [PersonRank 3]

15 years ago #

Armin & Caleb

From GoogleVoice help

"When you send an SMS through Google Voice, the SMS appears to be sent from your Google number. When someone sends an SMS to your Google number, and it's forwarded to your mobile phone, it won't appear as from the sender's actual number (e.g., the SMS may appear from 1-406-xxx-xxxx). This is so that when you reply to the 1-406-xxx-xxxx number from your phone, the SMS you send appears to be sent from your Google number and will be saved in your Google Voice inbox."

Justin Pfister [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I'm still waiting for Voice/Grandcentral Access .. I feel like I've been on the waiting list for over a year now. My belief is that Grandcentral/Voice is going to really mess with the companies who have a hold on phone numbers and phone services.. Essentially – Grandcentral is going to assign you a phone number and you can then have it forwarded to your cell phone. At that point – you can move around carriers and even use multiple carriers and not worry about it. This also includes aggrating multiple voice mail boxes.

If this is the case, at the point, they will have access to record and parse all phone conversations, including voicemails. I think that's a pretty incredible position. Imagine being able to call upon a 'Voice-Activated-GoogleBot' in the middle of conversation while trying to make plans about what movie to see and when to see it?

Ianf [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]Justin Pfister's "Grandcentral is going to assign you a phone number and you can then have it forwarded to your cell phone. At that point – you can move around carriers and even use multiple carriers and not worry about it"

Quite correct. Perhaps even do away with mobile abbo entirely?

"[Google] will have access to [all one's] recorded and parsed phone conversations, including the voicemails. I think that's a pretty incredible position."

Scary more like it. One small step for Grandcentral, one giant leap for Big Brother.

"Imagine being able to call upon a 'Voice-Activated-GoogleBot' in the middle of conversation while trying to make plans about what movie to see and when to see it?"

Real-time monitoring and parsing of mobile conversation leading to automatic voice response with a list of movies playing nearby? That's pretty scary as soon as we leave the realm of "movies," and enter that of government-mandated geo-tagged surveillance. Think about it.... once such a technology is in place, what's there to stop future, less benevolent than today's powers that be from turning it against the very citizens it has been entrusted with protecting? Quite a lot of wrong can be done in the name of, and within legal limits of various "Patriot Acts," etc. All the while the universal truth remains:

"IF you build it, they WILL come."

[Paraphrasing pastor Boenhoffer: "First they'll come for the verbal masochists, but you're not a masochist, so have no reason to voice(sic!) a protest...." and so on.]

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

A few things i want to experiment with on grandcentral:

if you SMS a google voice user from google voice to their gvoice number and the number it forwards two, does each get a different 406 number?

can you text a 406 number from a non-gvoice number?

Ianf [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

ADMINISTRIVIA: I need to correct my earlier improper attribution of the source for the paraphrase above:
» First they'll come for the verbal masochists, but you're not a masochist, so have no reason to voice(sic!) a protest...." and so on. «
http://blogoscoped.com/forum/151576.html#id151680

It was not pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who originally said it (and NOT Boenhoffer – although the incorrect spelling is ranked higher in Google, than proper one [go figure]), but who is often credited with it; e.g.
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/first-they-came-for-the-communists-but-i-was-not/1500680.html

but another German pastor, Martin Niemoeller von Sell. That original utterance has been validated/ authorized by his surviving wife, and one another scholar who spoke to Niemoeller about it:
http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-holocaust&month=0004&week=d&msg=5pU8V9ijjQOOqjIP6i/qsA

DPic [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Now, grandcentral says:
"Since you have migrated to the Google Voice Preview, you can now access your new messages and update your settings by logging in at google.com/voice. Feel free to continue to access grandcentral.com for your older voicemail messages. We're glad you dropped by."

What sticks out to me it "Google Voice Preview", even more specifically, the word "PREVIEW". What does this suggest?

mbegin [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

What it suggests is that it's an invite-only, private beta that GrandCentral users get to preview before anyone else.

mbegin [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Cool, my GrandCentral account just got updated!

mbegin [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Among the new features that Google Voice offers, it appears that there are a few that have been left out and are no longer available after you upgrade...

After you upgrade your GrandCentral account to Google Voice, your GrandCentral "Settings" page is no longer available. I have a couple GrandCentral accounts that still aren't upgraded to Google Voice, so I looked through the old settings page to see what was missing in my new Google Voice account...

1.) RingShare is not available in Google Voice. "Replace the "ring, ring" your callers hear with custom sounds."

2.) No special Google Voice email address, like mynumber[put at-character here]grandcentral.com. Unless of course they keep that @grandcentral.com email address working. But it's no where in the Google Voice control panel, so new accounts will probably never have that email address.

3.) While there is a Spam folder in Google Voice and an option to mark callers as spam, GrandCentral had more options on how to control suspected SPAM callers.

Old GrandCentral Spam Options:

<< Block suspected SPAM callers completely and play "Number not in Service message" >>

<< Send suspected SPAM callers to SPAM voicemail >>

<< Do not apply GrandCentral Phone SPAM filters >>

mbegin [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Temporary call forwarding was an option that was available in the GrandCentral web-based control panel... It's still available in Google Voice, but not through the web-based control panel anymore.

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=115084

Surly Teabag [PersonRank 2]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]mbegin: Thanks for investigating what Google Voice can do.

> 3.) While there is a Spam folder in Google Voice and an option to mark callers as spam, GrandCentral had more options on how to control suspected SPAM callers. <

Actually, the same options are available, just hidden away. If you go into the Contatcts, each contact has an "Edit Google Voice Settings" link. Then under "When this contact calls you:" click the "Edit" link. Click the radio button for "Send to Voicemail" and pull down the menu to reveal the other options ("Treat as Spam" and "Block Caller"). It's a very clicky interface at the moment (most of the Google Voice interface has keyboard shortcuts), but the options are there.

mbegin [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Thanks I just came back here myself to update this and clarify on this exact point! :)

In the Google Voice Inbox, you can click the "More" button to the far right of a call, and you will see "Block caller" as an option.

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=115089

While GrandCentral apparently used these spam settings as a global option for all suspected spam callers, Google Voice does it on a per-caller basis.

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