RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: news soon INT_realistYou mean this gem: (my comments in blue)
https://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?s=INT&t=LIST&m=29837228&l=0&pd=0&r=0
Google Voice: 5 Reasons to Think Twice
1. Privacy
As is the case with many Google products,privacy is a hot topic within discussions of Google Voice. By usingGoogle Voice to control all of your phone activity, you're exposing avast amount of personal information to Google. Everything from whom youcall to what you discuss--yes, even in hazy late-night text messages youyourself may not remember--is stored on Google's servers. Together withthe other various data Google may have on you, all of that could createquite a portfolio.
Is Google suddenlygoing to publish your entire life on the Web? Of course not. Like otherGoogle services, Google Voice is governed by a privacy policythat explains what can and can't happen with your data (and, I thinkit's safe to say, selling your 3 a.m. texts to Penthouse Forum is notone of the approved options).
Still, the data is insomeone else's hands, and it could be used for certain purposes outsideof your own personal perusal. Some privacy advocates have expressed concernsthat Google Voice may lead to "increased profiling and tracking ofusers without safeguards." Whether that's a problem is largely up toyou, and how comfortable you feel with the situation.
The exact same caveats apply to knctr!!
2. Advertisements
Asof now, Google Voice is completely cost-free and ad-free. The ad-freepart could easily change, however. Just this week, one analyst told the New York Timesthathe expected Google to use the system to "help accelerate [its] mobilepenetration by creating a larger mobile ecosystem against which Googlecan sell/target/monetize advertisements."
What's more, the factthat Google has so much of your information could play a key role in anyfuture monetization plan: Much as Gmail has used content from yourmessages to determine what ads show on the page, Google Voice could usedata about your calling habits or the content of your texts to customizeads within the service.
knctr is already advertising. There is zero advertising on google voice.
3. Reliability
Welike to think that Google will never fail us--but the fact is,technology is fallible, and things do go wrong. The world has certainlyseen plenty of Google-related service outages over the years, including one last month that took almost all Google products offlinefor a large number of users. It's frustrating to be unable to accessyour e-mail or RSS feeds; but for many people, the risk of not beingable to receive any calls or text messages may be far more troubling.
Sowhat if Google Voice does go down? Even if it's a rare occasion, areyou okay with it? The idea isn't completely far-fetched: During lastmonth's Google outage, some users who were a part of early Google Voicetesting say that their Google number did stop working. "My wife calledmy number and actually got through to a stranger," one user told xconomy.com. "This has got to NEVER happen again."
Other users have reported some less extreme problems using the service, such as failed call recordings and other similar issues. All of that is important to consider before you commit to depending entirely on any new system.
note "early google voice testing" (what - 3 years ago?) Also, they couldn't receive inbound calls. knctr doesn't even have that option yet!
4. Caller ID confusion
Ifyou start using a Google Voice number as your primary number, beprepared for the fact that regular calls from your cell phone (or anyother phone) will still show up as your old number. This may createconfusion, as the number you give out won't match the number from whichyou actually call.
Notably, the service does offer a way to makecalls that will show as coming from the Google Voice number: You can gothrough the Web interface and type in a number, and then have Googledial you to begin the call; or you can dial your Google Voice numberdirectly and then place the call through it. Regardless, it's an extrastep that could prove to be cumbersome.
And this makes it inferior to knctr because???
5. Number-changing hassle
Asidefrom the caller ID confusion, you'll have to get people to startreaching you at a new number. Particularly with the often-permanentnature of cell phone numbers nowadays, that may prove to be easier saidthan done. You might have to reprint business cards or stationery, andyou'd have to take the time to update your information anywhere you havea registered account (the cable company, doctors' offices, and so on).
Google says it hopes to offer the option to port an existing number into Google Voicein the future. That capability, if and when it's introduced, would cutdown on some of the hassle. Until it is introduced, though, be sure tothink carefully about what's involved before you decide to make the moveto the new service.
So there you haveit: ample food for thought as you determine whether Google Voice isright for you. Of course, you still have to get an official Googleinvitation first. Gauging by the number of people who signed up, that could take a while -- so you probably have plenty of time to think.
.This only applies if you choose to use google voice for inbound calling. Something that knctr doesn't even offer
So, to summarize, you believe google voice is a "piece of crap" because:
1) they have the same privacy issues as knctr
2) they may advertise in the future. knctr advertises now.
3) questions on reliability of inbound calls (which knctr does not offer and will not affect g.v. if used in the same manner as knctr.)
4) Caller ID confusion because the service can be linked to your cell and house phones (a service the knctr does not offer and will not affect g.v. if used in the same manner as knctr.)
5) Number changing hassle (something that will never be necessary if the product is used in the same manner as knctr)
Brilliant! You've just proven that not only is google voice a superior platform to knctr, but that knctr only has a fraction of the features of g.v.
Is this the kind of due diligence that led you to invest in this company?