A closer look at Google voice

I tried Grand Central awhile back and now that Google’s changed it over to Google Voice, it’s time for a closer look. I’m in the process of figuring out the best way to use Grand Central with my current phone number. If you have suggestions how to use Google Voice with an existing phone number please let me know.

There’s a lot to like about one number (although I already have workarounds so folks can just dial one number and reach me anywhere in the world) but I have a few hesitations.
1. I’m now giving Google the control to be the primary access point for communication. It just feels odd (and not something I’d hand over to any small company in this space.) Granted, I use Gmail, so I’ve given them control of the second most important access point, my email address but this is a little different. I’m not sure why but it just feels different
2. I don’t want a new phone number. Now, if Google could port over the number I have been using for more than a decade, that would be interesting. Right now, I can have that number forwarded to Grand Central but it’s not ideal and it doesn’t seem to work well.
If you’re calling me, let me know how you like the service and if you have any hassles in reaching me.

What my home network does

I’ve had a home network for a long time. In 1999 ago all it was used for was to connect to a shared net-modem to dial into the internet and then to share a broadband connection using WiFi. Today, my home has several networks (five at last count) that enable the following:

• delivering content to PCs from TiVo and to TiVo from PCs
• streaming TV, Music and Pictures from a media center PC to an Xbox 360
• making phone calls over the Internet
• connecting all the various DVRs and Media Center PCs to the internet for EPG downloads
• streams music, Live TV, pictures and other video to my laptop and smartphone anywhere those devices have a connection using Orb or Slngbox
• Videoconferencing (mostly with using iChat)
allows me to access my PCs at home while I’m on the road and keeps backups of all my content
• it still shares an internet connection among the many PCs and other connected gadgets here

Getting all that stuff to work? Well, it wasn’t simple or easy to get it running and keep it running. Many of these activities are more demanding in usage models than what’s in use in many business environments. As more and more stuff gets built on top of the home network, expect the situation to get worse not better.
Vendors take note – Consumers do not want a network operations center in their den, Dad doesn’t want to be the CIO and Mom really doesn’t want to run the help desk. This stuff has got to be made a lot more user friendly or most folks simply won’t bother.
What does your home network do for you?

Four aspects of mobility when carrying devices

Whenever the discussion comes up regarding how many devices consumers will carry, one thing that’s often forgotten is that there are different mobile spaces. Some years ago, I came up with the following categories. I’m taking another look at them now to see how well they hold up.

Stuff you can’t carry (ex: desktop computers, large screen TVs)
Stuff that needs its own bag (ex: business projectors) – This appears to be a rapidly dying category
Stuff that goes into your bag (ex: laptops. large media players,)
Stuff that fits into your pocket (ex: cell phones, cameras, MIDs)
Stuff that’s invisible (ex: watches, key chains, clothing)

The most interesting space for me remains the invisible, although it too seems to be dying as vendors look at add larger screens to most devices making them less ubiquitous. Invisible devices free up space for other gadgets users could carry and most people will carry more than one. That creates a wonderful gap that is not yet being exploited by vendors but could be. Wristwatches are in that category and up until now were single function devcies taking up prime real estate. Devices like the Fossil’s Palm watch and Microsoft’s SPOT initiative were not successful at all but I wonder if we’ll see further attempts here, especially in phone based watches. Cell phones were at one time entering the invisible zone but that has changed with a trend of larger smart and feature phones with more functionality.