Free phone number for voice messages via Net<\/p>\n
By Lim Tri Santosa<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The House of Representatives is upbeat about
\npassing the telecommunications bill by the end of August. Let's
\nhope their action is not merely cosmetic, to achieve the deadline
\nbefore they end their term. We need to be patient to wait for
\nreal action, rather than just a bill to declare that something
\nwill or will not be done. We are entering the third millennium,
\nbut our telecommunications service is still monopolized by state
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
PT. Indosat and PT. Satelindo hold exclusive rights for
\ninternational services until 2004. It's sad and a pity.<\/p>\n
Even though the Internet has gained popularity these days,
\npeople are not really relying on e-mail for day-to-day
\nactivities; they still feel more comfortable with voice
\ncommunication by phone. It is not a kind of cultural barrier
\nhere, but speaking what our minds are thinking is easier and more
\ncomfortable than writing it.<\/p>\n
The following story is about how to send and receive voice
\nmessages over the Internet between two parties, even if one of
\nthe parties doesn't have access to an Internet connection (as
\nlong as they have a telephone). Also, how to get your free
\nprivate phone number in the U.S. You can either choose a local
\nU.S. city phone number, or get a toll-free phone number with a
\nprivate extension (thus everyone who wants to leave voice
\nmessages for you will not be burdened by phone charges if they
\ncall within the U.S.).<\/p>\n
By the way, I am not talking about choppy lapsing Internet
\ntelephony anymore; these free services will deliver clear,
\nstreaming voices to both parties.<\/p>\n
We in Indonesia can leave voice messages to our friends,
\nfamily, or business associates in the U.S. They can hear the
\nvoice mail messages you sent via the Internet by dialing their
\nprivate phone number in the U.S. If they intend to leave voice
\nmessages for you, they can just dial your private phone number in
\nthe U.S., and the voice will be delivered as an attachment file
\nto your e-mail address or you can play it via the service's web
\nsite. Thus both parties can leave voice messages to each other.
\nIt's two-way communication, although not real online talking at
\nthe same time like phone conversations.<\/p>\n
The requirement to carry out the services are access to an
\nInternet connection, Windows 95 or 98, a sound card, including
\nspeakers, microphone and a browser -- Netscape 4 or above or
\nInternet Explorer 4 or above (Java script enabled).<\/p>\n
Deliver messages<\/p>\n
There are several free voice message services. I have tried
\nthem all, only the three best services are suitable for users in
\nIndonesia to communicate with U.S. callers. First, the Jfax
\ncompany (http:\/\/jfax.com) offers free voice service; the
\nregistrant will be given a local U.S. city phone number, free
\n(amazing). The downside is you can't choose
\nthe city. Callers can dial your personal phone number and leave
\nvoice messages after the \"beep\" as long as the caller wants to
\nspeak.<\/p>\n
After hanging up, the voice will be compressed into a \"gsm\"
\nvoice file and delivered as an attachment to your e-mail address.
\nTo hear the \"gsm\" file you need a specific \"gsm\" player that you
\ncan download at the Jfax homepage. I think Jfax services only
\ngive us one-way communication, because we can't send our voice
\nmail to recipients in the U.S. via the Internet.<\/p>\n
Second, Shoutmail (http:\/\/www.shoutmail.com) lets you send
\nvoice messages by e-mail without Internet connection access. All
\nthe caller need's is a telephone. Users need to sign up at
\nShoutmail's web site, and will be given a free e-mail address,
\nphone access code, and password code.<\/p>\n
The phone access and password codes are at least four digit
\nnumbers (not alphanumeric). Users should fill the address book,
\ntheir \"personal directory\", with recipients' contact names and e-
\nmail addresses. Avoid using the same first three letters in
\nrecipients' contact names. Why? Because to address a voice-email,
\nthe Shoutmail system will ask for the first three
\nletters of the intended recipient's name (using the number pad on
\nthe telephone) from your directory.<\/p>\n
It is easy to send voice e-mail with Shoutmail from a
\ntelephone. The procedure is like using a prepaid phone card.
\nFirst dial 1-800-713-6888, enter the phone access code and
\npassword code followed by the pound key (\"#\"). Press two (\"2\") on
\nthe touch-tone pad to send voice e-mail. The caller can send
\nmessages to anyone listed in his or her personal directory. The
\ncaller simply dictates the message over the phone; Shoutmail will
\nattach the recorded voice message.<\/p>\n
The advantage of Shoutmail is the toll-free number. Everyone
\nwho wants to send voice attachment e-mail to you will not be
\nburdened by phone charges as long as they call within USA. No
\nneed for computers or Internet connections, just an ordinary
\ntelephone, and speak as long as the caller wants. If you have
\nfriends or family in the U.S., who don't know about the Internet
\nor are too busy to write an e-mail for you, this service is
\nreally very helpful.<\/p>\n
Third is Onebox.com (http:\/\/onebox.com). When you sign up, you
\nget a free local phone number with a 4-digit private extension,
\n4-digit PIN password, and an e-mail address with 3 megabytes of
\nstorage capacity.<\/p>\n
The best thing is that you can choose the city, like New York,
\nOakland, San Francisco, New Jersey, Austin, to have your number
\nin. By the end of this year, Onebox phone numbers will be
\navailable in 80 percent of major U.S. cities.<\/p>\n
Onebox lets users funnels voice messages, e-mail and faxes to
\na free local phone number. All the messages can be retrieved via
\ntelephone or the World Wide Web. My main focus here is voice
\nmessages.<\/p>\n
Callers now can leave you a voice message by calling your
\nOnebox phone number and entering your 4-digit private extension.
\nThe 3-megabyte storage capacity can hold 35 minutes of voice
\nmessages.<\/p>\n
You also can leave voice messages for the caller, but you must
\ndo it via the Onebox web site. After you log on to Onebox, grab
\nyour microphone, press the \"record\" button on the Onebox web page
\nand speak.<\/p>\n
Then enter your caller's phone number, including the private
\nextension, and click the \"send\" button.<\/p>\n
My suggestion is you should make a separate phone number for
\nthe caller in order to send your voice messages to him or her.
\nYour Onebox phone number is used by the caller to drop voice
\nmessages for you. The caller's Onebox phone number is used by you
\nto send voice messages to him or her. The caller can check the
\nvoice messages by calling this number.<\/p>\n
Retrieve messages<\/p>\n
Either Shoutmail or Onebox will notify you, by e-mail,
\nwhenever new voice messages enter your voice mailbox at their
\nserver, but you should let them know your original e-mail address
\nto do this. Shoutmail's e-mail notification will give a \"http\"
\nlocation address that you can use to retrieve the voice message.
\nYou can hear directly from their web site using a RealAudio
\nstreaming program. I recommend you to download the voice messages
\nas \"wav\" files, because RealAudio needs a separate RealAudio
\nplayer and if your Internet connection is crawling, the chance is
\nyou will hear a broken voice message.<\/p>\n
Point your mouse cursor on the \"hear\" button, then you will
\nsee the full path location address of the \"wav\" file. Write down
\nthe file name (usually at
\nhttp:\/\/207.138.33.143\/wav\/filename.wav). Still remember my
\nprevious article about download services? Here's the cool way to
\nexpedite downloading \"wav\" files, use Emi@lfile services
\n(http:\/\/www.emailfile.com) to deliver it to your original e-mail
\naddress.<\/p>\n
At Onebox, you use the World Wide Web to retrieve voice
\nmessages. The caller uses his or her Onebox phone number to check
\nthe voice messages that you sent. If you have already heard the
\nmessage, it would be better to delete it to maintain the full
\nstorage capacity. If you think the message is worth being saved,
\nyou can download directly from the web and
\nsave it to your hard disk.<\/p>\n
The bottom-line is if you want to communicate in a two-way
\nvoice conversation with your friends, family, or anybody in the
\nU.S. who does not have Internet access (as long as they have
\ntelephone), you needn't use your phone to make an International
\nDirect Dial (IDD) from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
You use your Internet access to deliver your voice messages
\nand retrieve their voice messages, but they use their telephone
\n(no IDD charges) to deliver their messages and retrieve your
\nvoice messages. Although it is not real online talking at the
\nsame time, it is guaranteed to fulfill your deep anxious longing
\nfor the voice you miss very much. Choose the most
\nsuitable service for you; don't forget to print the free personal
\nphone number on your name card. It's very simple, but it surely
\nwill save your international phone bill.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/free-phone-number-for-voice-messages-via-net-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}