4 ms·

it was originally a company called grandcentral and eventually acquired by google. they basically left it as it for YEARS

pasbesoin 9y ago
Exactly. There's a reason users/clients have come to fear the Google acquisition of a product they've come to depend on and in which they've vested hopes of continued improvements and solutions. At least Google hasn't outright put a bullet in Voice, yet.
- crankylinuxuser 9y ago
  Have any recommendations for commercially similar solutions, that also support a proper SIP interface? I'm preparing for that day, when GVoice dies.
  - ossguy 9y ago
    https://jmp.chat/ https://jmp.chat/ is a good alternative. Text and picture messaging over XMPP, and voice over real SIP (with voicemail transcribed to text). There are lots of great XMPP clients, such as Conversations on Android, and Gajim or Adium on desktop. Or use https://movim.eu/ https://movim.eu/ if you like a web client. iOS has a few options as well, including Tigase Messenger and IM+.
  - drewmol 9y ago
    I use Google voice # + OBI220 device for home phone service, and hangouts on mobile/tablets. The home phone service using obi device in nice bc it's portable, the hangouts integration is fragmented, frustrating and unreliable
- bootlooped 9y ago
  My understanding is that Google Voice has some partial cover in that it is the backbone of Google Fi.
  - pasbesoin 9y ago
    And just try keeping a distinct Google Voice set up, if/when you sign up for Fi. Unless you're very careful, they mush together your Voice and Fi accounts, irreversibly. When Fi was in its early days, a lot of Fi users found this out the hard way and were pissed about it. People who'd been using Voice, maintaining a separate Voice #, and who wanted to keep it that way. Who DIDN'T want that number suddenly tied to a/their cell phone. (Hint: Create a separate browser profile (not just a Google account, but an actual separate profile under its own sub-directory). Sign up for a different Gmail/Google account. Use one account for Google Voice, and the other for Google Fi. Don't accidentally cross-pollinate.)
polotics 9y ago
So basically an anti-competition move from search? (Don't ask your friends, they're unreachable anyway. Use search instead!) Suitably dystopian, I like it.

pasbesoin 9y ago

Exactly. There's a reason users/clients have come to fear the Google acquisition of a product they've come to depend on and in which they've vested hopes of continued improvements and solutions. At least Google hasn't outright put a bullet in Voice, yet.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago
Have any recommendations for commercially similar solutions, that also support a proper SIP interface? I'm preparing for that day, when GVoice dies.
- ossguy 9y ago
  https://jmp.chat/ https://jmp.chat/ is a good alternative. Text and picture messaging over XMPP, and voice over real SIP (with voicemail transcribed to text). There are lots of great XMPP clients, such as Conversations on Android, and Gajim or Adium on desktop. Or use https://movim.eu/ https://movim.eu/ if you like a web client. iOS has a few options as well, including Tigase Messenger and IM+.
- drewmol 9y ago
  I use Google voice # + OBI220 device for home phone service, and hangouts on mobile/tablets. The home phone service using obi device in nice bc it's portable, the hangouts integration is fragmented, frustrating and unreliable
bootlooped 9y ago
My understanding is that Google Voice has some partial cover in that it is the backbone of Google Fi.
- pasbesoin 9y ago
  And just try keeping a distinct Google Voice set up, if/when you sign up for Fi. Unless you're very careful, they mush together your Voice and Fi accounts, irreversibly. When Fi was in its early days, a lot of Fi users found this out the hard way and were pissed about it. People who'd been using Voice, maintaining a separate Voice #, and who wanted to keep it that way. Who DIDN'T want that number suddenly tied to a/their cell phone. (Hint: Create a separate browser profile (not just a Google account, but an actual separate profile under its own sub-directory). Sign up for a different Gmail/Google account. Use one account for Google Voice, and the other for Google Fi. Don't accidentally cross-pollinate.)

polotics 9y ago

So basically an anti-competition move from search? (Don't ask your friends, they're unreachable anyway. Use search instead!) Suitably dystopian, I like it.