Free phone number for voice messages via Net

Free phone number for voice messages via Net

By Lim Tri Santosa

BANDUNG (JP): The House of Representatives is upbeat about
passing the telecommunications bill by the end of August. Let's
hope their action is not merely cosmetic, to achieve the deadline
before they end their term. We need to be patient to wait for
real action, rather than just a bill to declare that something
will or will not be done. We are entering the third millennium,
but our telecommunications service is still monopolized by state
companies.

PT. Indosat and PT. Satelindo hold exclusive rights for
international services until 2004. It's sad and a pity.

Even though the Internet has gained popularity these days,
people are not really relying on e-mail for day-to-day
activities; they still feel more comfortable with voice
communication by phone. It is not a kind of cultural barrier
here, but speaking what our minds are thinking is easier and more
comfortable than writing it.

The following story is about how to send and receive voice
messages over the Internet between two parties, even if one of
the parties doesn't have access to an Internet connection (as
long as they have a telephone). Also, how to get your free
private phone number in the U.S. You can either choose a local
U.S. city phone number, or get a toll-free phone number with a
private extension (thus everyone who wants to leave voice
messages for you will not be burdened by phone charges if they
call within the U.S.).

By the way, I am not talking about choppy lapsing Internet
telephony anymore; these free services will deliver clear,
streaming voices to both parties.

We in Indonesia can leave voice messages to our friends,
family, or business associates in the U.S. They can hear the
voice mail messages you sent via the Internet by dialing their
private phone number in the U.S. If they intend to leave voice
messages for you, they can just dial your private phone number in
the U.S., and the voice will be delivered as an attachment file
to your e-mail address or you can play it via the service's web
site. Thus both parties can leave voice messages to each other.
It's two-way communication, although not real online talking at
the same time like phone conversations.

The requirement to carry out the services are access to an
Internet connection, Windows 95 or 98, a sound card, including
speakers, microphone and a browser -- Netscape 4 or above or
Internet Explorer 4 or above (Java script enabled).

Deliver messages

There are several free voice message services. I have tried
them all, only the three best services are suitable for users in
Indonesia to communicate with U.S. callers. First, the Jfax
company (http://jfax.com) offers free voice service; the
registrant will be given a local U.S. city phone number, free
(amazing). The downside is you can't choose
the city. Callers can dial your personal phone number and leave
voice messages after the "beep" as long as the caller wants to
speak.

After hanging up, the voice will be compressed into a "gsm"
voice file and delivered as an attachment to your e-mail address.
To hear the "gsm" file you need a specific "gsm" player that you
can download at the Jfax homepage. I think Jfax services only
give us one-way communication, because we can't send our voice
mail to recipients in the U.S. via the Internet.

Second, Shoutmail (http://www.shoutmail.com) lets you send
voice messages by e-mail without Internet connection access. All
the caller need's is a telephone. Users need to sign up at
Shoutmail's web site, and will be given a free e-mail address,
phone access code, and password code.

The phone access and password codes are at least four digit
numbers (not alphanumeric). Users should fill the address book,
their "personal directory", with recipients' contact names and e-
mail addresses. Avoid using the same first three letters in
recipients' contact names. Why? Because to address a voice-email,
the Shoutmail system will ask for the first three
letters of the intended recipient's name (using the number pad on
the telephone) from your directory.

It is easy to send voice e-mail with Shoutmail from a
telephone. The procedure is like using a prepaid phone card.
First dial 1-800-713-6888, enter the phone access code and
password code followed by the pound key ("#"). Press two ("2") on
the touch-tone pad to send voice e-mail. The caller can send
messages to anyone listed in his or her personal directory. The
caller simply dictates the message over the phone; Shoutmail will
attach the recorded voice message.

The advantage of Shoutmail is the toll-free number. Everyone
who wants to send voice attachment e-mail to you will not be
burdened by phone charges as long as they call within USA. No
need for computers or Internet connections, just an ordinary
telephone, and speak as long as the caller wants. If you have
friends or family in the U.S., who don't know about the Internet
or are too busy to write an e-mail for you, this service is
really very helpful.

Third is Onebox.com (http://onebox.com). When you sign up, you
get a free local phone number with a 4-digit private extension,
4-digit PIN password, and an e-mail address with 3 megabytes of
storage capacity.

The best thing is that you can choose the city, like New York,
Oakland, San Francisco, New Jersey, Austin, to have your number
in. By the end of this year, Onebox phone numbers will be
available in 80 percent of major U.S. cities.

Onebox lets users funnels voice messages, e-mail and faxes to
a free local phone number. All the messages can be retrieved via
telephone or the World Wide Web. My main focus here is voice
messages.

Callers now can leave you a voice message by calling your
Onebox phone number and entering your 4-digit private extension.
The 3-megabyte storage capacity can hold 35 minutes of voice
messages.

You also can leave voice messages for the caller, but you must
do it via the Onebox web site. After you log on to Onebox, grab
your microphone, press the "record" button on the Onebox web page
and speak.

Then enter your caller's phone number, including the private
extension, and click the "send" button.

My suggestion is you should make a separate phone number for
the caller in order to send your voice messages to him or her.
Your Onebox phone number is used by the caller to drop voice
messages for you. The caller's Onebox phone number is used by you
to send voice messages to him or her. The caller can check the
voice messages by calling this number.

Retrieve messages

Either Shoutmail or Onebox will notify you, by e-mail,
whenever new voice messages enter your voice mailbox at their
server, but you should let them know your original e-mail address
to do this. Shoutmail's e-mail notification will give a "http"
location address that you can use to retrieve the voice message.
You can hear directly from their web site using a RealAudio
streaming program. I recommend you to download the voice messages
as "wav" files, because RealAudio needs a separate RealAudio
player and if your Internet connection is crawling, the chance is
you will hear a broken voice message.

Point your mouse cursor on the "hear" button, then you will
see the full path location address of the "wav" file. Write down
the file name (usually at
http://207.138.33.143/wav/filename.wav). Still remember my
previous article about download services? Here's the cool way to
expedite downloading "wav" files, use Emi@lfile services
(http://www.emailfile.com) to deliver it to your original e-mail
address.

At Onebox, you use the World Wide Web to retrieve voice
messages. The caller uses his or her Onebox phone number to check
the voice messages that you sent. If you have already heard the
message, it would be better to delete it to maintain the full
storage capacity. If you think the message is worth being saved,
you can download directly from the web and
save it to your hard disk.

The bottom-line is if you want to communicate in a two-way
voice conversation with your friends, family, or anybody in the
U.S. who does not have Internet access (as long as they have
telephone), you needn't use your phone to make an International
Direct Dial (IDD) from Indonesia.

You use your Internet access to deliver your voice messages
and retrieve their voice messages, but they use their telephone
(no IDD charges) to deliver their messages and retrieve your
voice messages. Although it is not real online talking at the
same time, it is guaranteed to fulfill your deep anxious longing
for the voice you miss very much. Choose the most
suitable service for you; don't forget to print the free personal
phone number on your name card. It's very simple, but it surely
will save your international phone bill.