Comments on: Grand Central Sucks Too http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too VoIP, Mobile Phones, Telecom, and Technology Made Simple Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:06:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Mark http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-26665 Mark Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:23:43 +0000 #comment-26665 If it sucks and you don't need another phone number then why do you have one? I see the Grand Central call me button on this blog so you must still be using it nearly two years later. Give me frickin break. If it sucks and you don’t need another phone number then why do you have one? I see the Grand Central call me button on this blog so you must still be using it nearly two years later. Give me frickin break.

]]> By: charlie http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-24676 charlie Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:46:29 +0000 #comment-24676 I have a Vonage line and a verizon cell phone. I set vonage to simultaneously ring the house and cell phones. I only give out the Vonage number. When I'm at home both phones ring simultaneously. I use zero cell phone minutes at home and people only need one number to find me. I would use the grandcentral service for the phone number of a business that has no physical location and several people collaborate in that business. Problem is, there is no grandcentral service available. I would not use the service for my personal phone because I have to have both voip and cell phones and Vonage provides simultaneous ring already. Grandcentral is not going to be free. I have a Vonage line and a verizon cell phone. I set vonage to simultaneously ring the house and cell phones. I only give out the Vonage number. When I’m at home both phones ring simultaneously. I use zero cell phone minutes at home and people only need one number to find me. I would use the grandcentral service for the phone number of a business that has no physical location and several people collaborate in that business. Problem is, there is no grandcentral service available. I would not use the service for my personal phone because I have to have both voip and cell phones and Vonage provides simultaneous ring already. Grandcentral is not going to be free.

]]> By: The VoIP Weblog http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-19805 The VoIP Weblog Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:42:31 +0000 #comment-19805 <strong>Why I Won't Go Near Ooma With a 10 Foot Pole...</strong> I can't believe anyone is actually taking the whole idea of Ooma seriously. The more I think about how this product reportedly works, the more I simply cannot see why anyone thinks this is even remotely a good idea. Granted,...... Why I Won’t Go Near Ooma With a 10 Foot Pole…

I can’t believe anyone is actually taking the whole idea of Ooma seriously. The more I think about how this product reportedly works, the more I simply cannot see why anyone thinks this is even remotely a good idea. Granted,……

]]> By: Anonymous http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-51 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 #comment-51 I totally agree. <br />I totally agree. I totally agree.

I totally agree.

]]> By: Anonymous http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-52 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 #comment-52 You're totally missing the point<br />The fact of the matter is, if you had a GC account, you (and whoever calls all 23 of your numbers) could forget all the extra phone numbers and use just one. All your phone calls go to one number and then you get the call at whichever of your 54 locations you happen to be. I find it ironic that you seem to be an IDEAL candidate for this product and you're pissing on it without having used it. Interesting. You’re totally missing the point
The fact of the matter is, if you had a GC account, you (and whoever calls all 23 of your numbers) could forget all the extra phone numbers and use just one. All your phone calls go to one number and then you get the call at whichever of your 54 locations you happen to be. I find it ironic that you seem to be an IDEAL candidate for this product and you’re pissing on it without having used it. Interesting.

]]> By: Anonymous http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-53 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 #comment-53 Not missing the point at all!<br />I have a lot of numbers, but much everyone calls me on one number already--my mobile phone. It works almost everywhere I am, including at home. Why exactly do I need this service? <br /> Not missing the point at all!
I have a lot of numbers, but much everyone calls me on one number already–my mobile phone. It works almost everywhere I am, including at home. Why exactly do I need this service?

]]> By: Anonymous http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-54 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 #comment-54 Only missing SOME of the point<br />PhoneBoy...have followed your blog since my Dialpad days, and always liked your point of view (but that's enough sucking up for now). One of the problems we're trying to solve is not just tying all your numbers together, but to give you some tools to handle your calls better even if you only have one number. Sounds like my user behavior is more like your...tons of numbers so everybody calls my cell to get me. Problem is that too many calls are now coming into my cell. I end up taking a bunch of cell calls while standing next to my home phone or sitting next to my office phone. It costs me more and sounds worse. And even though I know who is calling me, it may or may not be important enough to be interrupted. I used to send the caller to voicemail if I was unsure, and then quickly call my voicemail to check. Or I'd wait for the caller to call me back again immeditiately to signal it was important. Both were bad solutions. Now I just hit 3 to hear the message as its being left and hit star to join if it is important. Only missing SOME of the point
PhoneBoy…have followed your blog since my Dialpad days, and always liked your point of view (but that’s enough sucking up for now). One of the problems we’re trying to solve is not just tying all your numbers together, but to give you some tools to handle your calls better even if you only have one number. Sounds like my user behavior is more like your…tons of numbers so everybody calls my cell to get me. Problem is that too many calls are now coming into my cell. I end up taking a bunch of cell calls while standing next to my home phone or sitting next to my office phone. It costs me more and sounds worse. And even though I know who is calling me, it may or may not be important enough to be interrupted. I used to send the caller to voicemail if I was unsure, and then quickly call my voicemail to check. Or I’d wait for the caller to call me back again immeditiately to signal it was important. Both were bad solutions. Now I just hit 3 to hear the message as its being left and hit star to join if it is important.

]]> By: Anonymous http://phoneboy.com/999/grand_central_sucks_too#comment-55 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 #comment-55 You don't want cheap phone calls?!<br />While it may not matter to you whether phone calls get any cheaper, let me assure you that there are still many of us for whom it does matter - that's one reason so many people are using VoIP. What would be the point of using VoIP at all, if not to cut the cost of calls? One particular use I can see for this service is to give the older members of your family (parents and grandparents) a single number to dial, that first of all is a local call (yes, that still matters to many older folks). While younger people may not have an issue with trying two or three different numbers to reach a friend, many older people are doing good to remember a single number, and get very frustrated when they get shunted off to voicemail or an answering machine. This is exactly the type of service that one could use to give mom and dad a local number to call, and then configure it so that it would ring all your numbers. In any case, I don't think you do your readers any service by concluding that because you can't see any obvious use for a service, it's not useful to anyone. And no, I do not work for Grand Central nor am I affiliated with them in any way, in fact I do not even use their service (in part because the only coverage they have in my state is on the opposite side of the state, and in part because of the 100 minute limitation on "free" incoming calls). One thing I do think would make them more popular among the geek crowd would be if they allowed users to specify a sip address (or perhaps a Sipbroker number) as one of the destinations, so you could have the number ring in on the second line of a VoIP adapter, or come in to an Asterisk box or something like that. That said, I personally think it's folly for any company to think they are going to make money selling incoming calls. I'd use the 100 free minutes, maybe, but I can't personally envision any circumstance where I'd pay for additional incoming minutes. But then, that's just me, and I'm sure that there are others who don't have a problem with that. You don’t want cheap phone calls?!
While it may not matter to you whether phone calls get any cheaper, let me assure you that there are still many of us for whom it does matter - that’s one reason so many people are using VoIP. What would be the point of using VoIP at all, if not to cut the cost of calls?

One particular use I can see for this service is to give the older members of your family (parents and grandparents) a single number to dial, that first of all is a local call (yes, that still matters to many older folks). While younger people may not have an issue with trying two or three different numbers to reach a friend, many older people are doing good to remember a single number, and get very frustrated when they get shunted off to voicemail or an answering machine. This is exactly the type of service that one could use to give mom and dad a local number to call, and then configure it so that it would ring all your numbers.

In any case, I don’t think you do your readers any service by concluding that because you can’t see any obvious use for a service, it’s not useful to anyone. And no, I do not work for Grand Central nor am I affiliated with them in any way, in fact I do not even use their service (in part because the only coverage they have in my state is on the opposite side of the state, and in part because of the 100 minute limitation on “free” incoming calls). One thing I do think would make them more popular among the geek crowd would be if they allowed users to specify a sip address (or perhaps a Sipbroker number) as one of the destinations, so you could have the number ring in on the second line of a VoIP adapter, or come in to an Asterisk box or something like that.

That said, I personally think it’s folly for any company to think they are going to make money selling incoming calls. I’d use the 100 free minutes, maybe, but I can’t personally envision any circumstance where I’d pay for additional incoming minutes. But then, that’s just me, and I’m sure that there are others who don’t have a problem with that.

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