Google Voice: further proof that Google is taking over

‘ ‘ ‘ Additional evidence that Google is slowly taking over the world can be found in a… ‘ ‘ ‘ Additional evidence that Google is slowly taking over the world can be found in a Google service called Google Voice. ‘ ‘ ‘ The new service, originally an independent company called GrandCentral, allows people who normally switch between multiple telephone service providers to easily manage their lives with one. ‘ ‘ ‘ The situation can be rather grave. Suppose your apartment has a landline telephone, but you spend most of your time sitting in traffic. When in traffic, you can only be reached using your cellular telephone ‘- reachable with a different number that not everyone knows. You also have an office landline phone and commonly have to give contractors and your mechanic your work number. ‘ ‘ ‘ Normally, someone who wants to be guaranteed to reach you will need to know all three numbers and will have to try each. ‘ ‘ ‘ GrandCentral’s original solution to this problem was to combine all of your numbers. Members are assigned one number that rings all three telephones simultaneously. ‘ ‘ ‘ Because the system is interconnected, calls already in progress can even be transferred between phones. If you need to run and get off your landline, there is no interruption ‘- simply transfer your call seamlessly to your cellular phone. ‘ ‘ ‘ When Google got its hands on GrandCentral, it began making its normal alterations, giving it a better look and feel and more integration to user’s existing Google infrastructures. When Google Voice becomes available to non-GrandCentral customers, it will be able to fully integrate with Gmail and, more importantly, Gmail’s address book. ‘ ‘ ‘ You may think, ‘Fine, but I only have two phones, and I am perfectly capable of managing them myself.’ But Google Voice’s proposed features go far beyond the integration of multiple communication media. Google Voice allows recording of text messages in one simple, Gmail-like user interface. ‘ ‘ ‘ Voicemail messages are also, for free, translated into text format and saved on Gmail’s servers. Checking voicemail messages is as easy as checking e-mail. ‘ ‘ ‘ The entire idea is to provide an online hub for your voice communications. While before your voice communications could be spread across multitudes of providers that are not compatible with one another, Google Voice provides the capabilities to receive voice mail, text messages and telephone calls across multiple telephone carriers and telephone lines, using a single user interface. That single user interface is integrated with other Google services. ‘ ‘ ‘ Google Voice provides the functionality to record telephone calls for future reference, storing them online and making them available through the Google Voice user interface. Google has even gone so far as recreating some services of the telephone company, including directory assistance ‘- 411 ‘- and mobile Internet. ‘ ‘ ‘ Even conference calling is provided ‘- and everything for free. ‘ ‘ ‘ The service is not perfect. Apart from the fact that right now only previously ensconced GrandCentral customers have access, the system is vulnerable to all the problems inherent in digitizing analog voice signals. ‘ ‘ ‘ Transferring spoken voice mail messages ‘- especially voice mail messages left by callers using a cellular telephone ‘- might prove to be ultimately too inaccurate to be useful. Callers with speech impediments, those who speak too quickly or those callers who use odd vernacular might trick the system into leaving text versions that are nonsensical. ‘ ‘ ‘ It is also somewhat questionable whether storing your voice communications for long amount of times on a public server is a good idea. If you have too much of your life on Google, ultimately, you may get burned if Google is attacked. ‘ ‘ ‘ Google Voice sounds quite promising for business, however, as it provides extensive functionality for busy employees to keep track of communication and perform critical, collaborative corporate tasks like conference call meetings. ‘ ‘ ‘ Still … maybe it won’t be a good idea to check your Google e-mail using Google Voice on your cell phone running Google Android while you write a paper on Google Docs after taking a procrastination break to look up potentially pornographic words on Google Images. Too much Google?