Google Voice-Changing the Rules

How would you like one phone number that could control all your phone calls? A number that you would never have to change regardless of how many times you moved? Or the ability to get rid of annoying telemarketers with the click of a button? Well you will get all of this and more with Google Voice.  Google purchased a company called Grand Central a few years ago and didn't do much with until last month when they revamped and renamed it Google Voice.

Features you can expect with Google Voice are listed below (as per the their website)


Why use it GV? Well it's a free local number and I love free stuff.  If you have a cell phone and live in an area where you have pretty good coverage then why keep a home phone and pay the extra money? Since my home coverage is pretty good I'm getting rid of my land line and I will save about $1200 dollars per year. With today's economy cutting corners are important to everyone.


Instead of giving out your cell phone number for everything give your Google Voice number.  Setup is quick and easy, and this will enable you to route your to calls to any number you choose. Get a copy of your voicemails sent directly to your email.  Also get a transcribed copy of what the caller has said if you don't have time to listen to the message. You can also send and receive text messages. GV also offer very low international rates, and mobile access.


As cell phones have really taken off in the last decade I think having a land line is not as important as it use to be. Most people always have their cell phone with them anyway. So why not receive calls through the medium you have most. Google Voice is still in the beta stage, but standby to see how the major players in the telecom industry react if people really take to it. I'm sure they will try to complain to congress how Google is not being fair by offering a free service (except for international calls)



Currently GV is only open to those who where Grand Central users, but if I where you I would sign up and get on the waiting list today. I've liked the features in Grand Central and I do believe Google Voice will take it to the next level.

Google number - One number for all your calls and SMS
Call screening - Announce and screen callers Listen in - Listen before taking a call Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS Place calls - Call US numbers for free Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
Google voicemail - Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts
Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
Voice features - More cool things you can do with Google Voice
Conference calling - Join people into a single call Call record - Record calls and store them online Call switch - Switch phones during a call Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance Manage groups - Set preferences by group

Avoid Internet Explorer for now.

Searching the net as I always do I came across a BBC article that warns of a malicious script in all versions of Internet Explorer that can steal your passwords. Security experts are advising you use another browser in the mean while until Microsoft completes a patch. This is exactly why I stopped using IE over a year ago. Mostly all malicious codes are written towards this browser. I use Fire Fox and Google Chrome , so do most of my readers.

BBC Story

Lap Top Alarm

Hello everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but my day job has had me out of he country, but things are slowing down some, and now I'm back to tell you about LapTop Alarm. This program allows you a little protection when your a Starbucks, and you need to grab something from the counter real quick, or when it's just another day at the library.




LapTop Alarm will unleash a loud sound when your laptop is disconnected from AC-power, if someone pulls the AC plug, or when someone removes or moves the USB. It's a simple program to use so give it a try. Until time next peace!

Recover deleted pictures

One wrong click on your digital camera and all your pictures are gone. Some recovery programs will cost you as much as $50, but don't panic there is a way to retrieve them, and it's free. When you initially delete a photo is not totally gone. It's still there, but if you take new pictures it will be gone for good. So the first thing is remove the memory card from your camera. Next download this program  Restoration. It's very simple and straight forward. Install the program on your desktop(Note-this program will not be installed on your computer you will have to click the icon in the folder for each use).

Unzip Restoration and select the destination folder. Click on the Unzipped folder and select the Restoration icon. Plug up your camera, or take out the memory card if you have a slot on your computer. Now just select the drive where your memory card is located and click "Search for deleted files". After it locates your files click "Restore by copying" Then just select where you would like the files saved. That's it your done and crisis averted.  You can also recover deleted files with this process.

Search for MP3's with Google

In this day and age we Google just about everything. What has made Google so popular is it's ability to index the internet and give you relevant search terms. Google also indexes college's and universities and other sites across the internet. Site's were people upload their songs, photos for easy access. Let's say you wanted to look up a Carrie Underwood, but to specifically keep the search to MP3's you would have to type this in the search bar (-inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" "Last modified" mp3 "Carrie underwood).




That's a lot of geek talk. GMP3 has taken this form and made into something you are use to.  A simple search box you can type the artist name or song in. Click on the song and see if it will automatically download as an MP3. If not then right click and select save file as MP3. Anytime you download something off the internet you should go to the file right click and hit the scan button to make sure that it is virus free. Another one you can give a try that does the same thing is at jimmyr.com Hope this helps and until next time peace.