Here are some of the things I’ve currently be using: (in a non-cellular region ie. no iPhone or the like:)
- Gizmo5 - very much like Skype, and supports porting your number. Cost is similar to Skype, but it also works with other instant messengers. Calls can be forwarded to Skype, GoogleTalk, and other places.
- Gtalk2VOIP - turns out this little Russian invention will allow you to receive SIP calls in Gmail’s Chat window (if you have the audio/video plugin installed) - even though they “only support using the GoogleTalk application” which is only for PCs (and they actually went as far as to say “use Google Voice or don’t use it at all” which was rather annoying…) Anyway, I found that if I set up their service and used it on the Mac in Gmail chat, I can receive calls to my 718 SIP# - for up to 3 minutes for free. Turns out they also have a “follow me” number you can set, and if you use an SIP URI, it will forward to that for free if you don’t answer the Gtalk call.
- Skype - of course, for skype to skype calls. And SkypeOut is reasonable at under $30 for unlimited calling to land lines and call forwarding. But SMS is too expensive, there’s no way to port a number to Skype.
- Google Voice: Speaking of SIP URI’s, Google Voice just took over from where GrandCentral left off, and is looking good, as you can have 1 number ring all your other numbers. GV has an SIP URI you can plug into the GTalk2voip Follow Me field, so that calls are routed to your Google Voice number, or, your Gizmo5 number which also supports SIP URI.
Ok, confused yet? I’ll map it out:
- Someone calls my old 718 # from a land line.
- This actually calls my SIP number at Inphonex.com
- It rings me in Gmail chat - thanks to Gtalk2Voip connecting to my SIP provider (free up to 3 min.)
- If I refuse or don’t answer, it forwards to my SIP URI. Let’s say that’s set to my Gizmo5 SIP URI. (free)
- If I don’t answer there, it’s set to forward to my Skype name. (free up to 3 min.)
- If I don’t answer there, it’s set to forward to my GoogleVoice number. (free)
- That will ring my cell, office, home or other number.
It’s all pretty dumb, but it seems to work, and that way if I’m running around here or there, one can just dial 1 number and it should track me down.
If or when Google Voice starts allowing number porting, and receiving calls in Gtalk, I will port my 718 # to GV, drop inphonex, save some money, and then I’ll have 1 converged number which I’ve been using for years, and can simultaneously ring my cell, office, Gtalk, Gizmo5 (and thus, Skype). I’m actually glad Skype doesn’t allow number portability, as I might have ported my number there previously and been stuck. Notice that among them, currently I’m paying for SkypeOut and for Inphonex. Once GV allows porting, I should be able to drop the Inphonex and only pay for SkypeOut to have full coverage. Whew. Is there anything more boring than this blog post?
April 10th, 2009
Have you ever put your Netflix account on hold while on vacation or for some other reason? Did you realize that under Netflix’s current business practices and policies could actually end up paying for your account anyway, even though it’s on hold?
I put my Netflix account on hold on December 2, 2008, because I was getting tons of videos to watch for the SAG awards nominating committee. Unfortunately, what I didn’t notice was that my credit card had just paid for November 28 - December 27, 2008. So I figured - I bet Netflix is sophisticated enough to catch that and give me credit, or roll the credit forward into the next month of service…. Oops.
Then, on January 15, 2009, I was notified that my hold had ended, and I decided to lengthen it, so I changed it to March 1, 2009. Meanwhile, my credit card had already been charged again, on January 15, 2009. Double whammo!
So then March 1, 2009 rolls around (today) and yet again, I am charged for the next full month. There are still no credits in my billing page, no acknowledgment of the fact that I had paid for nearly 2 full months of “on hold” service. So I call up Netflix, and lo and behold, I am able to be given credit for the January charge, but NOT the December charge, because it was too long ago. Yeah. Uh… Huh?
So Netflix is sophisticated enough to manage putting your account on hold or off hold, but not to connect that with its billing system, apparently. The morals of the story is:
- If you put your account on hold, best to either do this on the last day of your current paid for cycle, or monitor what you have paid for and when, and call Netflix right away if you deserve credit - their systems are currently set up to screw you if you don’t call or wait too long.
March 1st, 2009
From Collaborative Online International Learning Conference, Purchase, New York, November 2008:
February 23rd, 2009
From SLOAN-C ALN Conference, Orlando, Florida, November 2008: Did I Ever Tell You the One About the Faculty Development, the LMS Migration, and the iPod?
February 23rd, 2009
I’m psyched about Netvibes’ “public page” - which allows one to set up a publicly available collection of RSS feeds, images, widgets, tabs, etc… It’s like a portal and RSS aggregator that can be shared with the world. If only it were possible to co-create the public page with a group….
http://www.netvibes.com/distancelearning/
netvibes
Then, there’s Googles “sites” - which is basically Google’s foray into wiki-dom. And what a fine foray it is. I find it better and easier to use and with better features than pbwiki, zoho, and loads of others. There is also the added advantage of single sign-on with Gmail, integration with Google Docs, Calendar, widgets, etc etc… If only the embedded spreadsheets and docs were read AND write….
Anyway, the two of these = some serious possibilities for web 2.4.2… I could see some serious community-building and cross-cultural collaborative projects come out of these. They really do need an easier way to incorporate easy synchronous live activity such as chat, though… Perhaps a DimDim widget?
August 11th, 2008
Since part of my job is tech support for end users of Moodle, I’ve become a recent fan of web page-based widgets that speak to instant messengers. That is to say, I can run my usual instant messengers (AIM, Gtalk) and embed some HTML code into various places on the web where users can just strike up a chat with me, ask questions, etc. and get realtime help - and it comes through to my instant messenger. Users seem to love it. They are used to putting in tickets that can take up to 24 hours for a response.
BUT, the problem is, I can’t seem to find THE PERFECT IM WIDGET… I’ve frequently been using Wimzi:
Wimzi IM Widget
- the AIM widget, but it has several problems:
- The Flash version doesn’t correctly show if I am “available” “away” or “offline” and
- the HTML version doesn’t seem to work at all as of late, and
- the “name” space doesn’t seem to do anything at all, which baffles users when I ask them for their name and they’ve already typed it in, and
- there’s no way to “pop out” the widget so that users can easily pop it out and chat while they continue to surf/work.
Then I stumbled onto Plugoo, which also looks promising. Like Wimzi, it allows a high level of customization (actually, quite a bit more customization for colors, messages, and sizes), as well as a “detach” icon for detaching/popping the widget out. Well, it LOOKED promising.
Plugoo IM Widget
As it turns out, it:
- takes a lot longer to load,
- doesn’t respond to changes in status (away, offline) unless the user reloads the page or clicks
- the detach icon doesn’t show up or work, at least in Firefox on a Mac.
- It’s also generally a bit slower to respond - probably because it goes through their server (which also adds more potential functionality.)
Oh well, I thought I had found the one. The detach thing isn’t a dealbreaker, either, but the non-response to changes in status absolutely is. Wimzi’s widgets change immediately when I change my availability status.
I’ll keep looking, and if anyone knows of another that meets these requirements, please let me know…
August 1st, 2008
Here’s the presentation from the NERCOMP Annual Conference in Providence, RI, March 11, 2008:
March 11th, 2008
This presentation was given in slightly different forms as a featured presentation for both the New Media Consortium’s “Online Conference on the Convergence of Web Culture and Video” and the Capitol District’s Ed Tech Group (CDETG) Spring 07 meeting on podcasting. Below is the presentation, and further down are the videos that I played to go along with it.
February 6th, 2008
From SUNY TLT Conference, November 15-16, 2007, Poughkeepsie, NY:
February 6th, 2008
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