This article of the month was written by Dick Morawski, the club treasurer. This article appeared in the October 1999 WYSIWYG newsletter.
Never Be Busy
by Dick Morawski
Missed an important phone call because you tied up the phone reading e-mail? If you don't want to spring for an extra phone line, there are two programs available on the Internet that offer a solution.
Here is how it works. If you're online and you get a call, the caller's voice message is instantly sent to your computer, and, while still online, you can listen to what your friend has to say. Both programs have a free trial period (one has a 30 day period and the other consists of a 12 call limit). The cost ranges from $3.95 to $5.00 per month plus a "Call Forward on Busy" service by your phone company (a nominal monthly charge). The total cost is far cheaper than an extra phone, cable modem or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
Here are the programs and their web sites:
Pagoo Call Catcher: www.pagoo.com
This one has the 30 day free trial period.
Internet Call Manager: www.internetcallmanager.com
This one has the 12-call limit.
If you get your phone company to hook up the Call Forward on Busy service, when someone calls while you're on line, the message is automatically sent to you. If you don't get the service, you can give all your friends an 800 number to call when they get a busy signal (when you're online) and they can call that number and re-dial your number and leave a message. Either way you get the message instantly.
P.S. - Since writing this article I have found another completely FREE answer service called "CallWave". You can find it at www.callwave.com. As I say, it is completely free and working on same principle as the others.
End of Article