# The SBHonline Community Daily > Digerati Discussions! >  >  Make calls from Gmail.....

## NYCFred

call phones right from Gmail

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## JEK

What's your number?

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## JEK

Works great -- ya need to install a plugin first. They will win the Skype game.

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## MIke R

it does work great ...but I didn't have to install anything..I saw the icon in my gmail and clicked on it and called

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## JEK

Lena installed last week.

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## MIke R

wouldn't doubt it...

but seriously..how come you had to and I didnt???

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## NYCFred

where pray tell did you find the icon??

I installed the widget....

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## MIke R

there is one possible flaw unless I am doing something wrong..when I called Wendi's cell it went to voicemail and as soon as the program read it as an answered call I lost the End Call key and couldnt hang up

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## MIke R

> where pray tell did you find the icon??
> 
> I installed the widget....



it was right here

Chat
Options
Mike R
?

Set status here

Status menu
Oops. Your AIM® session has expired.
Sign in again.
*Call phone*

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## Peter NJ

hmm..im doing something wrong..you're supposed to be able to dial landlines for free correct?? everytime I try to call my phone to test or my Sisters cell it says call can not be completed..please try again..you dont have to add money to the account do you?

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## MIke R

nope.... dial the area code...and number..without the 1

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## Peter NJ

as usual..im having problems..ive installed everything..watched the video..go to gmail..bottom of chat area..and nothing..what im supposed to click on,video whatever..is not at the bottom of my chat area..

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## MIke R

I dont know what to tell you....I went to GMail and the icon was already there without me having installed anything...which I cant figure out....the icon was right below my name and status and right before my contact list....how it got there is beyond me

but it works

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## Peter NJ

I just googled the google..making calls to landlines with google talk..it is not supported at this time..only computer to computer..that makes me feel better..its not available yet.

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## MIke R

Peter..I just hung up with my wife  on our home phone from it.....its up and working

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## Peter NJ

thats strange..i get two rings and then says it cant be completed..or something like that..thats why I googled calling landlines and it said its not available yet..and for me its not..

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## MIke R

how can John have it and I have it and you not??..makes no sense

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## JEK

NJ

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## Peter NJ

trust me Mike..im sure its me...no idea what could be wrong..I get the little dialing pad..i hear the ringing then it stops..call cant be completed..please try again..no trouble shooting either..it would be nice if they told me whats wrong.

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## JEK

Poor internet connection most likely.

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## Peter NJ

Skype works fine

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## MIke R

I'd still like to know how the hell I got the program without  doing anything.....

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## Peter NJ

ok..I know what the problem is..I cant find the video/and more link at the bottom of my chat area..that lets you make your calls..that has to be it..why its not there I cant tell you..sigh

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## JEK

restart the browser

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## MIke R

> NJ




you may be on to something...LOL..I made about a half dozen calls tonight on it and all were crystal clear...then I called my Mom in NJ and it was tinny, echoed, delayed...terrible connection....weird

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## NYCFred

i don't even have the icon for the phone...LOL

tried firefox and chrome. I shall play again tomorrow.

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## MIke R

when I first logged onto GMail I clicked onto the Call Phone icon and this banner came up:


*
New! Make phone calls from Gmail

Free calls to the U.S. and Canada in 2010.

Insanely low rates for international calls.
Try it now
Learn more*

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## Petri

Won't kill Skype until it's no longer "available only in the US".  Skype is huge outside of the US.

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## GramChop

i'm a convert!!!

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## MIke R

Skype is a God send..to be able to literally say goodnight to Lena in her bed and  do a cyber tuck in is priceless to me..

when I think  there was a time not too long ago when you went offshore and talked to no one for weeks on end...to what it is now...mindblowing

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## GramChop

do you feel like george jetson yet?

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## MIke R

no....I have a love/hate relationship with all this "progress"....LOL

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## KevinS

> then I called my Mom in NJ and it was tinny, echoed, delayed...terrible connection....weird



Just like old-time long distance calls.  You must have enabled the Nostalgia option.

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## MIke R

Kevin ol boy...I can remember shared party lines....that was interesting....

but yeah it sounded like that for sure.....how about in the old days when  a pay phone actually had a phone number and you gave it to who you wanted to talk to and they called you....til the phone company got wise to it all

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## amyb

I too love SKYPE. Julie and Jim told us how they would read bedtime stories to their small grand children across the country. Well, that did it for me.

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## Petri

> when I think  there was a time not too long ago when you went offshore and talked to no one for weeks on end...to what it is now...mindblowing



Last month friends were sailing in the archipelago and had a 5+ Mbit/s 3G internet access from the sailing boat, enough to stream high quality video.  Pretty cool -- especially considering that you pay less than 15 /month for it.

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## MIke R

yeah Wendi's aunt just completed a three year sail around the world and kept in touch with all of us the entire way....

I went weeks not talking to my  wife or kids at times....these guys have it made

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## NYCFred

ah-ha...

the rollout of google fone has now reached NY. Just tried it, worked like a charm to a land line and a cell phone.

google owns my life. LOL

Little phone pops up, keypad, etc etc. simple, easy.

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## Peter NJ

yes..im on board also..it started working this morning..very cool and very good reception..need to purchase a nice little headset tho..

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## Petri

Do you know how far the voice recognition has gone?  Have you noticed that Google's YouTube does automatic captions?

Wait a few months, mention "poop" during the call and you'll get an add for diapers..

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## andynap

I can't seem to download the software to my laptop. I can't even find the link on my Touch.

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## JEK

Nothing to download. My wife's Gmail account now has it installed and popping up. It doesn't appear on the mobile version of Gmail.

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## andynap

Maybe because I don't use Gmail and signed up last night but there was a download for me to do.

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## JEK

Yep, you need a Gmail account. I'll send you an invite.

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## JEK

My wife and I both have old AOL accounts and have them "read" by Gmail. Never log into AOL any longer.

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## andynap

I now have a Gmail account and so does my granddaughter. There is a prompt for a download which starts then can't complete. Maybe one of my anti-virus programs is blocking it.

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## JEK

Starts when you click the link for mail.google.com?

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