I heard an interesting interview with an engineer who worked on creating it and the question came up on the reasons for it's creation. One of the reasons (there was more then one) was to improve voice to text speech recognition and this was in fact a very cheap way to obtain a huge sample of human voices to work with. I believe this was a Science Friday show on NPR if you feel the urge to dig for it.
While the page you link is interesting, that is not actually the ToS for Google accounts (note accounts, as in any). This is: http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS There is no SLA in there. No gaurantee of service availability, no help desk to call if there are issues, no right to the phone number, etc.... Google voice is like Google, an ad platform with a service. If not now, then at some point in the future that data will be aggregated and sold. None of this is wrong. It is merely something that should be carefully considered and understood when you are leveraging the line in a business or personal use setting. WIth the various pay for VOIP services you can obtain a different surety of your SLA's and know the trade off's for filling your business or personal needs. Steven Peck http://www.blkmtn.org On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 8:14 PM, Richard Stovall <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.google.com/googlevoice/legal-notices.html > > <http://www.google.com/googlevoice/legal-notices.html>Which part is so > troubling? > > "Google has the right to restrict calls or connections to any telephone > numbers in its sole discretion. These may include, but are not limited to > certain geographic locations, special services numbers, satellite telephony > services, and other call forwarding services."? > > Just curious. > > On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 11:07 PM, Steven Peck <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I would have a very careful and cautious read of the ToS for Google Voice >> before I used that service. >> >> On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 6:29 PM, Micheal Espinola Jr < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I dont think Google Voice is applicable in your situation because you >>> cant have two GV numbers forward to the same number. >>> >>> -- >>> ME2 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> *From:* Chris Blair [mailto:[email protected]] >>>> *Sent:* Thursday, March 24, 2011 2:07 PM >>>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>>> *Subject:* RE: OT: Virtual Phone Service >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I thought about Google voice, but haven’t used it. Is it reliable? Any >>>> gotchas? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sorry, more info, I just want to port of 10 different phone numbers, >>>> from different area codes, to forward to one number at our main office. >>>> Some >>>> of these numbers are with small TelCo’s, so instead of just forwarding, >>>> there needs to be a physical phone setup. The call rings once at the >>>> physical phone, and then forwards to HQ. Others are with AT&T, which >>>> forward >>>> using a “virtual circuit”, but I get dinged from LD, and monthly service, >>>> plus I get 15 or so AT&T bills a month. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> >>>> Chris >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *From:* Andrew S. Baker [mailto:[email protected]] >>>> *Sent:* Thursday, March 24, 2011 1:50 PM >>>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>>> *Subject:* Re: OT: Virtual Phone Service >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Google Voice? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> More details needed for a potentially different answer. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *ASB *(Find me online via About.Me <http://about.me/Andrew.S.Baker/bio>) >>>> >>>> *Exploiting Technology for Business Advantage...** >>>> * >>>> * * >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Chris Blair <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>> I am looking to port over some local area code phone numbers that are >>>> scattered around the country, to a cloud/virtual service. I just need those >>>> local numbers to forward to our main office phone number. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Any suggestions would be appreciated. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> >>>> Chris >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >>>> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >>>> >>>> --- >>>> To manage subscriptions click here: >>>> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >>>> or send an email to [email protected] >>>> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >>>> >>>> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >>>> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >>>> >>>> --- >>>> To manage subscriptions click here: >>>> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >>>> or send an email to [email protected] >>>> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >>>> >>>> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >>>> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >>>> >>>> --- >>>> To manage subscriptions click here: >>>> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >>>> or send an email to [email protected] >>>> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >>>> >>>> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >>>> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >>>> >>>> --- >>>> To manage subscriptions click here: >>>> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >>>> or send an email to [email protected] >>>> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >>>> >>> >>> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >>> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >>> >>> --- >>> To manage subscriptions click here: >>> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >>> or send an email to [email protected] >>> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >>> >> >> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ >> ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> >> --- >> To manage subscriptions click here: >> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> or send an email to [email protected] >> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
