Google Voice - releasing today!

[ElZorro]

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... r-way.html

I won't quote it, some videos, bunch of links, etc.

I've been a user since Grand Central and I love it. Great way to free yourself from this 'number porting' issue, control who can call you where, makes voicemail easier to deal with, etc.

[schvin]

just saw that too - totally stoked!

[complacent]

still kicking myself for not getting in at grand central...

here's hoping they honor the existing requests for accounts.

[ElZorro]

Thats my understanding. I've signed up a couple times under different email addys and name variations, I should have an extra invite or two

[scheherazade]

Awesome.

Signed up.

-scheherazade

[Sabre]

Hope I get in on it too... been wanting it for awhile!

[Libra Monkee]

I requested an invite. Let's see what happens.

[Mr Kleen]

I requested an invite. Let's see what happens.

[schvin]

my invite just came through (had requested it several times, but stupidly w/ the same email address). playing with it... fun fun!

also have been kicking myself for some time for not getting in when it was grandcentral :p

[complacent]

Mine *finally* showed up this morning. Wewt!

(glad i kept an old addy forwarded, lol)

[ElZorro]

Very cool. Enjoy!

[complacent]

Lifehacker has two pretty good articles regarding GV, worth checking out for teh uninitiated.

Linky uno

Linky dos

[ElZorro]

definitely take note of the '406' issue. It powers a bunch of their functionality and provides some undocumented features.

When someone sms's your GV number for the first time, Google associates your GV#, their phone number, and a 406 area code number. From then on, if you sms or call the 406 number GV connects the call to their phone number with the caller ID showing your GV#. Add it to the numbers for that contact. This is much easier than using the call-through or web-initiated call out functionality.

Note, everyone's mapping of 406 numbers is different. So by sms'ing 406-555-1234 it may connect me to Colin, for someone else it may connect them to their mother.

Also note, if someone doesn't sms you a 406 association isn't made. So if you want to use your GV# with the local Pizza Joint, so it rings your cell and your house phone, you won't be able to call out to them using the 406 since one wasn't created. You'll need to do the call-through (call your GV#, pick 2, dial their number) or web initiated (log into website, find contact, pick 'call).

The 406 number is hidden from the other person, it is always substituted with your GV#. I don't know what happens if the other person calls it, since both Bob and Joe could have that same 406 associated with the same other person. (google could design it so this doesn't happen, but it could create some scaling problems)

some good details on the 406 if you do a search for 'power of 406'

[complacent]

a whole bunch of smrt words re: 406

I was sitting here thinking "carry the one, divide by blablabla." and then I got it. Very cool info, thanks!

[ElZorro]

Sorry, show me a cool technology and my first thought is

'mine!'

and my second is

'how does it work how does it scale how can I break it how can someone else break it how can I protect it how can I make it better what will come next'.

[complacent]

Note, everyone's mapping of 406 numbers is different. So by sms'ing 406-555-1234 it may connect me to Colin, for someone else it may connect them to their mother.

I think ^^ was the part that made me a bit woozy. Makes sense though.

I just don't want to even fathom what that db is going to look like 5 years into production.

[ElZorro]

Easy, it'll look like this:

Code: Select all

GV# (src)		406#				Dest#
703-555-1234	406-204-9845	202-555-4578
703-555-1234	406-204-4258	813-555-6580
703-555-1234	406-204-0014	414-555-4458
571-555-8439	406-204-9845	872-555-1056
571-555-8439	406-204-4258	213-555-0982

But with a billion or two more lines.

Basically when you call they do a lookup - what is the source, what is the 406, ok, that means I ring the dest. Two GV#'s can have the same 406 and things don't get confused.

Now lets have some fun. Instead of storing the GV# and the 406, lets store a MD5 of the two of them concatenated together... more secure, fewer columns.

[complacent]

Now lets have some fun. Instead of storing the GV# and the 406, lets store a MD5 of the two of them concatenated together... more secure, fewer columns.

And that's what I'm expecting from teh big G.

[Sabre]

'how does it work how does it scale how can I break it how can someone else break it how can I protect it how can I make it better what will come next'.

lol, me too

Hoping I get my GV soon

[Cereb Daithi]

Just got my invite!

[Libra Monkee]

I got one over the weekend. Haven't set it up yet though.

[Mr Kleen]

I got one over the weekend. Haven't set it up yet though.

[Sabre]

Me 3

[ElZorro]

Noticing some odd things when sms'ing from GV to GV (Julian). We'll have to play around with it some time and figure out whats up.

[Libra Monkee]

Still trying to find a 267 or 215 number that I like.