Using Google Voice with Outlook’s Dialer
Microsoft Outlook has this very nifty feature where you can connect your computer to the phone line and use your Outlook Contact List to instantly dial someone’s number. Of course, when they created this they needed to add support for using a calling card, as long distance in the same country hadn’t even begun to be free.
Now if you use Google Voice, you can use this to your advantage with the simple addition of just a few seconds to the call.
Continue Reading for Instructions on how to Outlook up to dial through Google Voice
Features Wanted in Skype
I realized there are some neat little features I would love to see in Skype (while playing around with Microsoft Outlook and getting it to call out using Google Voice, I’ll blog about that next).
Calls Out Using Modem
Doesn’t Skype do some fantastic Skype-Out thing where you can even use a specific number as a calling card and call out using it? A whole crapload of notebooks and desktops still ship with modems, why not utilize it! If you don’t have a connection to the net (or you’re just crazy), you could call out using a Skype-Out Call-In Number! Wouldn’t that be AWESOME?
Calls Out with Calling Card through Modem
Yeah, yeah, companies don’t like competition or whatnot, but if the previous is supported, why not spice it up a little and allow us to use a different calling card through the settings? That would allow Google Voice users to make outbound calls using Google Voice through Skype, and that would just be AWESOME.
Answering Calls Through Modem
Is your phone ringing? Yeah, don’t you wish you could pick it up using Skype? All it has to do is learn to speak through the modem and BABOOSH, you can now answer your landline ON SKYPE (GOOGLE VOICE MAKES THIS MORE AWESOME).
Contact Synchronization with Google
Come ON. EVERYTHING needs this.
Google Voice is still Lacking
I’ve been a religious Google Voice user for awhile now, so it really bothers me that it is still lacking feature wise. Of course, I’ve been helping with some of these missing features (re: Google Voice for Outlook) but there are still plenty more missing as well as some minor issues I have with the service.
Multimedia Messaging (MMS)
For some reason, Google Voice still lacks this functionality. It can’t be THAT difficult, can it? I mean, the iPhone managed to add it before Google Voice, and if you really want to compete in the mobile business, its kind of necessary to have MMS, as SMS is pretty much irrelevant now.
Not only that, but any MMS that is sent to a Google Voice number is just lost. Couldn’t they at least be forwarded to my email address? I don’t like the fact that I could be losing incoming messages to /dev/null, and its even more annoying having to give out two different phone numbers (one for MMS and one for SMS).
Shortcodes
It is all well and good that Google’s own shortcodes work through Google Voice, but not so fantastic that nobody else’s does. I don’t want to be passing around two sets of phone numbers, and I’d love the ability to just set to spam a shortcode that is getting out of hand and won’t let me unsubscribe (if that ever happens). Developers pay tons of money to set up shortcodes, so why doesn’t Google Voice support them?
API
Google Voice is a Service. I use it with my cell, with my home phone, and with my computer. But in order to make desktop apps or things like Google Voice for Outlook possible, an API is almost necessary. I’ve managed to do it without one, but it still pretty much sucks.
Outlook Mobile Service
Companies charge tons of money for people to have the ability to send text messages through Microsoft Outlook. Adding the very simplistic SOAP server to the Google Voice backend would allow anyone with Microsoft Office to send text messages, forward emails, and receive reminders and notifications for FREE, something that is usually charged 10 cents or more per message. (Combine this with MMS as mentioned above, and it gets EVEN BETTER!)
Internet Fax Service
Google Voice already has “Receive Faxes” as a “Suggest a Feature.” Adding this and providing users on computers a way to send faxes would increase productivity and make the service even more useful to small companies and freelancers.
Keep in mind, these are just a few ways that Google could improve Google Voice, there are tons more.
What do you want to see added?
Somebody loves Google Voice Outlook Mobile Service~ ♥
BareBones Networking (Picture is linked) wanted to use my Google Voice OMS Code, so I took all day customizing the code and getting it working on his server, I’m proud to announce that he is willing to allow public use (please be reasonable with it though, please?) So head on over to the BareBones Networking OMS page, type in your GMail Login, click Setup, and follow Outlook (2007 or 2010)’s Instructions and you’ll be ready to send Text Messages FOR FREE through Microsoft Outlook.
I’ll set up a landing page/site soon that gives the whole setup experience a pretty web interface too (maybe with FAQ for the technically challenged).
Enjoy =)
Y’all Don’t Love Me, Do Ya?
Remember way back in November when I created something so ridiculously awesome I had to learn two whole new web technologies to do it?
If you don’t, or if you just picked up on my blog, that very incredibly awesome something was called Google Voice OMS – It allows you to send text messages through Outlook using your Google Voice account, without having to pay a third party company per-message. Essentially making this very awesome feature in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 FREE.
At first, I didn’t want to Open Source it. I wanted to keep it for awhile and sell it to Google or something if it caught on – but there seemed to be so tiny of a reaction to the post that I published it on Github. Do you guys seriously not like it? I asked for SSL Hosting or Donations three months ago and I haven’t received a single cent to pay for the cost (nor an offer to host).
Not that there was really anything left to add to it, but I’ve pretty much just let the project die. Nobody’s approached me about funding it, or providing hosting for it, and definitely not Google although it would be the best thing in the world to kick-start Google Voice for Businesses.
And I was even thinking of doing something cool like seeing if I could create a twitter client replica of it. But you know what? Never Mind.
How Google Could Change The Industry (And Take Over Your Life)
So, the one thing that you’ll find on any and all news websites who are of any quality at all would be the brand new Google Phone, the Nexus One – the one device that’s making me cringe and go “WHY DIDNT I CREATE A YOUTUBE SHOW BEFORE NOW?” Since, you know, just about every single YouTube partner has gotten a free Nexus One. FEEL MY ENVY, YOUTUBERS.
But, there is definitely one thing that could be different. One thing that they could change the entire industry with. And all they’d have to do is partner up with cell phone providers, and convince them to let you get an account without a phone number.
What? What’s that Navarr? You’re absolutely INSANE! You can’t get a cell phone without a cell phone number? Why would you want to? What possible use could that be? What would you do??
Well, if you really are asking all those questions, than shut the hell up and think for a moment. What two things does Google own that would allow them to do something so spectacularly crazy?
Google Voice, and Gizmo5. Gizmo5 would only be necessary if they decided to do Voice over Data, which I personally am not sure the cell phone backend is ready for – but could you imagine purchasing a Nexus One, signing in with your Google (apps?) Account, and then if you already have Google Voice it simply works? And if you don’t it gets you started on creating an account, including choosing your own phone number (for life, although changeable).
Google would store your basic account numbers and information, and if you ever wanted a new android phone, you would simply log in. It’d automatically use your phone number and all your other details, too.
Maybe though, just maybe Google could do this – and make actual cellular calling free, with the only thing you’re paying for being data.
Google Voice OMS Code on Github
I pushed the 子猫ちゃん Google Voice OMS service’s code to github, so you can now download it – albeit, to make it work it’ll take a lot of hacking and a lot more editing.
Either way, I’ve gotten no donations and no offers for free SSL hosting, so it looks like this project just will not be seeing the light of day. It’s a shame, I worked a long time to make it work, and it’s obviously something a lot of business professionals would be able to find a use for.
Oh well, you can find the project on github.
Remember to abide by the Usage License!
Google Voice in Outlook
If you’re a regular reader to my blog, I’m sure you read yesterday’s post about how Google Voice could gain a head in the business world. At that time, my dream of connecting Google Voice and Outlook via OMS was far from completion, with the only work I’d managed to accomplish being a simple reading over of the related technologies.
Well, late last night a certain gear clicked in my brain, and I spent the entire night awake and coding PHP on a local XAMPP server. But my end result was fruitful – I finished successfully coding an Outlook Mobile Service that allows the delivery of SMS through the Google Voice system.
Here is a video showing it off:
I’m not yet prepared to release the source code for this, though. (Messy, Messy, Mess! as Double D would say). There’s a lot in my mind about it, it took a lot of work and I’m not ready to see forks and duplicate services pop up. (Sorry guys =S). Be on the look out for follow up posts that describe some of the technologies I had to learn to make this possible.
Oh, also – If you’d like; Help sponsor this project (I can’t afford to make it public ATM) with either Free (VERIFIED) SSL Hosting for a subdomain of a domain I own [contact me], or the money to make it public using my current host ($62.40/yr) [donate through my host]. I would be most appreciative if you could offer either of these to get this thing up and running!
How Google Voice Could Gain a Head in the Business World
Google Voice, albeit still in Beta, is a very popular Google application for creating a single phone number to manage all your phones, with texting, and times to ring and not ring them. It’s very powerful.
One of the nicest additions is the ability to read and reply to SMS on your computer. I, personally, find this one of Google Voice’s best features. Even if you don’t have a Cell Phone – you can sign up for Google Voice and now you have free texting. What could be better?
Well, I can think of one thing – Connecting it with Outlook
Outlook has, in the last few versions, supported adding a SMS Bridge using whatever protocol it is they use in addition to a MAPI store. It wouldn’t be very hard for Google Voice to tap into this, and provide free text messages for all Outlook Users – It would even gain a competitive edge over other service providers, in that your text messages from outlook would come from your actual phone number, and replies to them would be sent to your computer and your phones.
Now, I was going to be mean and keep this idea all to myself – but not only do I NOT have hosting with SSL (I can’t afford it~) but I don’t know anything about the various protocols I would need to know in order to make this work.
So Google, don’t you think it’s time to take the Business World by storm with your revolutionary phone service?
(PS: I would also like MMS. Even the iPhone got it before you did, and that’s sad.)
Improvements for @GoogleVoice
Google Voice is in dire need of some few improvements if it wants to be useful:
- Archive & Labels feature of Gmail
This one is fairly self-explanatory. It allows us to keep records of voicemails, calls, SMS, and the likes, but it doesn’t allow us to archive, label, or tag them. This would make organization much simpler.
- MMS
Google Voice does wonderfully with it’s support of SMS; but it’s lacking in one thing that more and more phones are getting: MMS. Without MMS, or at least an MMS to email forwarding system, it’s impossible to receive those cute and funny picture, sound, and/or video messages from your friends. This is a much needed feature.
- Contact Bridge
This is another issue I can see with Google Voice. How am I supposed to randomly SMS someone from my phone? Right now, it’s impossible. But doing something simple (that US carriers support) would make it super-easy to SMS people, and would remove the requirement for Google Voice to send the contacts name with each SMS.
CONTACT_NUMBER@YOUR_GOOGLE_VOICE_NUMBER.gvoice.com
ex. 15555555555@13055085676.gvoice.com
Verify that the sender is indeed the phone number supported, and then send the text from the email, and reply back from that email. SMS and MMS over email is supported by many (if not all) US carriers. Like this, I would be able to add my contacts to my phone’s address book, and message them seamlessly.
- UTF-8 Texting
So far, through my tests (in SMSing an iPhone, since they have a world keyboard) I have only been able to receive Japanese text messages through Google Voice. Attempting to send a text that's either partially or completely Japanese appears garbled on the receiver’s iPhone.
- Shortcode SMS
Maybe? This may not be cost-effective for Google.
- Ringback Tones
GrandCentral had them, and we want them back. At least the basic ones, like “Russian Ring” and “Japanese Ring.”
- Alias Numbers
One Forever number is pretty good; but you know what’s even better? Two forever numbers. Unfortunately, not all landlines have free long distance yet (Heck, not even all cell phones do yet!) So even (at least) a paid model for another number would be nice.
- Skype
Seriously, you bridge over to Gizmo but not Skype? Adding a Skype bridge would be pure awesome. PURE AWESOME. I don’t think anybody can argue with that.