Google makes it official: Phone calls now in Gmail | Relevant Results - CNET News

Image via WikipediaGoogle makes it official: Phone calls now in Gmail | Relevant Results - CNET News

Gmail isn't just about e-mail anymore: it's also a phone.

Google launched the ability to make voice calls to any traditional phone number from a Gmail account Wednesday, which CNET had reported Tuesday was in testing. It's a blend of Gmail and Google Voice technology that allows users to dial numbers from their computers as well as receive incoming calls through one's Google Voice number.

Gmail users can link their Google Voice accounts with their Gmail accounts to have their in-boxes treated like just another line that will ring when people call their Google Voice numbers, and their Google Voice number will appear on the incoming call screen of those they are calling. A Google Voice account isn't required to use the service, but international calls will be funded through Google Voice accounts.

Calls to phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada will be free, and will cost 2 cents a minute to several other countries such as France and the U.K. The service should be rolling out to Gmail users in the U.S. on Wednesday, with international availability coming at an unspecified later date.

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Voice Calling Coming to Gmail? - PCWorld

Image via WikipediaVoice Calling Coming to Gmail? - PCWorld

You may be able to dial phone numbers and carry on voice conversations directly through Gmail Chat as early as Wednesday, when Google has scheduled an announcement.

The new service reportedly has a very Google Voice-like interface that uses similar icons for placed calls, missed calls and voicemail messages. But it's unclear whether the unnamed feature would be integrated with your Google Voice account, because you will not need a Google Voice phone number to use the new service. But just like Google Voice the new service will let you place free phone calls to the U.S. and Canada, according to a report from CNET.

It's unclear when any new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service would launch, but Fortune's Seth Weintraub expects Google's press briefing today to unveil the service then.

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100M Facebook Profiles Now Available For Download - PCWorld

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100M Facebook Profiles Now Available For Download - PCWorld

One hundred million Facebook user profiles containing personal information such as e-mail addresses and phone numbers, are now available as a 2.8GB torrent download. Ron Bowes of Skull Security created the torrent using a Web crawler program, harvesting data from public profiles of users who have chosen not to change their privacy settings.

The file contains information for 1 in every 5 Facebook users, all those who are currently listed in the Facebook open access directory. Nothing is illegal about the torrent, because it simply uses data that is available to the public. Even those who have secured their own Facebook page may not be completely out of the clear. In a statement on his website Bowes said:

"...this is a scary privacy issue. I can find the name of pretty much every person on Facebook...Once I have the name and URL of a user, I can view, by default, their picture, friends, information about them, and some other details. If the user has set their privacy higher, at the very least I can view their name and picture. So, if any searchable user has friends that are non-searchable, those friends just opted into being searched, like it or not! "

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