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Google Gives Free Phone Numbers and Voicemail to Homeless

Google Gives Free Phone Number and Voicemail to San Francisco HomelessGoogle's one phone number for everything service, GrandCentral, is getting a new trial of sorts. Google is taking its 'Do no evil' mantra to the streets of San Francisco -- literally. A partnership between Google, the San Francisco city government, and Project CARE (Communications and Respect for Everybody) is offering a free phone number and voicemail box to every homeless person in the city for life.

The philanthropic program is aimed at helping the homeless not just communicate with friends and family, but also land jobs. One of the big stumbling blocks for the downtrodden is their inaccessibility. When emerging from job training programs, folks need a method of contact, preferably a phone number. By calling from any phone, including pay phones, the homeless will also be able to get a phone number and set up the voicemail box.

Project CARE also sees the voicemail box as a doorway to proper medical testing and care. If the project is successful, Google will expand it through the rest of the state, and hopefully the country.

From MSNBC

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Google Launches GrandCentral, Free Phone Routing Service

Google Launches Free Phone Number Routing ServiceLast summer, Google's stock was soaring. It had plenty of cash and went on a bit of a buying spree, gobbling up a number of startups with interesting ideas. One was GrandCentral, a site that let you create a single, local phone number for all of your calls. Google has just re-launched the new "GrandCentral from Google" site, and if you're quick you might just be able to sign up for an account.

The service, which is available now in limited beta form (meaning not everyone can sign up just yet), enables you to pick a new phone number. You can then add all of your existing phone numbers (home, cell, work, etc.) and select where your calls get routed. When you hit the road, for instance, you can send everything to your mobile number and never miss a beat. When you get to a hotel, you can add that number and direct everything there. If someone leaves you a voicemail on the service it'll be happy to e-mail or text you a heads up, and you can even create lists of people who you never want to hear from again -- calls from them won't even ring your phone when they call.

The potential here for making life easier is endless, but so too is the potential for creative misuse. When you create a GrandCentral account you can pick any area code you like. So, if you have a friend across the country that you're constantly calling and are sick of paying long-distance to chat with, have them make a GrandCentral account in your local area code and -- viola -- no more long-distance calls. Or, if you have a cell phone plan that lets you receive unlimited calls from a certain number, just add your GrandCentral number to that list, have your friends call you there, and then it's unlimited calling plan time without paying $99 a month and up.

From Compiler

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