Avoid Cell Phone Charges with Google Voice

Google Voice is a great service. You sign up for free. You get a free number, and you make online calls for free. If you own a Smart Phone with unlimited Web access but limited call time, you can use this service to your advantage. Here's how...

To avoid charges for calls received the process works if you have a calling plan that includes a free list of numbers like AT&T's "A-Team", Verizon's "Family and Friends", T-Mobile's MyFaves or Sprint's "Pick 3" (not advertised).

1. Go to http://voice.google.com/ and create a free Google Voice account.



2. Add your Google Voice number to your list of favorites.



3. In your Google Voice Account (voice.google.com) go to "Settings" and forward your Google number to youir Cell number.



4. Click the "Calls" tab under "Caller ID" seletct "Display my Google Voice Number"

As for outgoing calls, the process is easy if you have an Android-based smart-phone or a Blackberry. Download "Google Voice For Mobile" to your Phone available at http://www.google.com/mobile/voice/. The installer will guide you through the installation. It is a little bit trickier if you have an iPhone, a Palm or others. But you can still make free calls by pointing your phone's browser to http://m.google.com/voice.

That's it! Have Fun!

Update: Google Voice now uses an "intermediate" number that they call a "routing number" to connect you to your party. There is a way to work around this, though it needs a bit more work. First find an older version of Google Voice. I use build 0.3.4 (#13) and it works great. Next step: look at your phone call log. You'll see that whenever you make a call using Google Voice, a "routing number" will appear instead of the number you dialed. That's the number that Google Voice uses to connect you to your party. All you have to do is add that number to your "Friends and Family" list too. This won't work with the newer versions of Google Voice, so after you install the older version you need to be careful to not accept any updates to the GVoice application.

Windows 7 Compatibility Checker: A Trojan

There being thousands of malware applications out there, normally we wouldn't comment on a specific method or strain. But our customers have been reporting this one repeatedly, so we though it would be worth mentioning. The infection is called "Windows 7 Compatibility Checker" and it is transmitted mostly by e-mail, but a quick search on Google has shown that links to it have been provided (inocently) on "Computer Advice" forums.

Bottom line: never run or open a file that you receive by email from somebody you don't know (and be careful even when from people you do know). And if you want to know if your computer can support Windows 7, trust only your computer vendor's site, Microsoft's site, or a Professional to whom you can speak directly. Microsoft has set up a very useful site for this purpose called Windows 7 Compatibility Center

Microsoft Ending Support for Windows XP SP2

As of July 13, Microsoft will no longer support XP SP2. This means that there will be no more patches, no more updates, no more security fixes...

So why isn't everybody upgrading to SP3? I mean, it's free! And it includes all the updates and additional features you could ever want, or get... short of upgrading to Windows 7, right?

Well... not so fast.

SP3 has been reported as causing many problems with drivers, certain applications, and even with certain processors. Most of the issues have been solved. And others require fixes that would be considered "easy" for a novice computer enthusiast. But the fact is that there are many who are unconfortable meddling with settings, drivers or installing updates. And even those who are knowleadgeable might think twice before upgrading. They've had bad experiences. And there is no way to know for sure if their particular grievance was fixed or not, other than going for it. The bright side is that SP3 is easy to uninstall (through the Control Panel), and leaves no residues, in case you do encounter a problem.

Microsoft will no longer be searching for security holes that hackers might exploit. The problem is that hackers aren't going to stop so easily. And they will find those holes. Counting on the fact that many people will just not want to give up their tried and true systems.

Our advice: Microsoft will tell you that the best thing to do is upgrade to Windows 7. And I would say that's good advice, regardless. But if you use your computer just for email, Internet browsing, and Microsoft products, you'll be safe upgrading to SP3. The vast majority of users who use standard commercial programs like Office or Quickbooks will have no problems. Just go to the Microsoft Update Site and follow the instructions. But if you use a non-standard application, you might want to check with the vendor to make sure that SP3 is a good idea.