Gizmodo: services

Google Voice Coming VERY Soon?

Jason Chen — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:20:00 EDT

There has been lots of chatter about Google Voice being on the verge of being released, so keep an eye out tomorrow and early next week to see if it hits. You'll probably have to sign up early to get a number in an area code you like.

This tweet by cwalker123, a Google Voice developer, says not today (the 18th). And if you need to know why we're such big fans of Google Voice, check out our coverage. [BGR]

Cogi Writes Down Your Conversations So You Don't Have To

Mark Wilson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:20:00 EST

As a lazy writer who is occasionally forced to interview an actual person, I still haven't found the perfect solution to transcribing phone interviews without doing it myself. But a service called Cogi looks promising.

For $30/month you can record all of your calls through the Cogi website or a dial-in number—up to 1000 minutes a month. These calls can be pulled up at any time in the future, and you can bookmark important points of the call along the way for quick review.

But where the service gets really cool is that you can have 15 of these bookmarks transcribed for you (~~unfortunately, only in 30 second chunks~~). Subscribers can actually have up to 30 minutes of transcription service a month parceled how they'd like. Each additional minute costs $.99.

Apparently the system uses voice-to-text software along with some level of human quality control assurance.

We figure Cogi could be pretty great or a bit mediocre, but they are offering free one-month trials so you can try before you buy. [Cogi]

Give the Gift of No Confidence: Blue Raven iPod Repair in a Box

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:06:46 EST

What exactly are you saying when you give someone one of Blue Raven's Mail-In Service and Repair Kits for iPod? You buy the box at the store, wrap it up and put it under the tree. When your loved ones finally open it, they learn that they have received a fast-turnaround repair session for their iPod. So you're basically saying one of three things:
• Apple doesn't build iPods well.
• My loved one is an idiot who will most likely break or otherwise abuse his/her iPod.
• I don't love him/her enough to buy a new iPod for Christmas.
Nevertheless this often-needed service, including two-way shipping and three-business-day turnaround, comes in three flavors: $130 iPod Service and Repair Kit for all iPod versions, including any repairs and a free battery replacement; $60 iPod Replacement Battery Kit; $130 iPhone Cracked Screen Repair. [Blue Raven]

Hotel Offers Uncommunication Service

Travis Hudson — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:14:16 EDT

Rick Ueno, the general manager of the Chicago Sheraton Hotel, launched a program this week to help his customers relax by disconnecting their BlackBerry or other mobile communication device. The idea for this service came from his own sick and twisted addiction to his BlackBerry. The service is free and whatever surrendered devices will be locked away in Ueno's office until the customer requests to have them back. He thinks that guests may want to try this so they can have a better experience at the hotel by concentrating on other aspects of life.

This could be a pretty good idea for the customers, but you better keep track of your minutes while Ueno has your phone. I can imagine the headline now: "Sheraton Hotel GM fired after using customer's phones to rack up $3 million worth of phone charges to a Taiwanese sex line." – Travis Hudson

Hotel: Put that 'CrackBerry' down, you addict! [CNN]

Throwplace.com: Get Rid of Your Old Stuff

johnb — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:59:39 EDT

We here at Gizmodo tend to keep all kinds of crap in our basement offices—well I tend to keep lots of crap down here, I don't know about the rest of those kids—and this seems like a fairly painless way to figure out where to dump it. Throwplace.com offers lists of local donation spots in your area and allows you to post and trade junk you don't want any more. – John Biggs

Product Page [Throwplace via TechDigest]

White Rabbit XPress: Stuff From Japan, Quickly

johnb — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 10:26:21 EDT

While we kept singing that "White Rabbit" song as we browsed this site, this seems like a good idea for Gizmodo-fans and their close friends and relatives. Essentially, White Rabbit can find and purchase anything from Japan you'd likle. These things have been around for years, but these guys kind of know what's up:

Whether you are seeking books, DVDs, gamesofts, computer accessories or almost anything else available in Japan, we can buy and ship it to you—whether you are living in Japan's countryside or across the globe.

Note they're not mentioning Edo-era teapots, kimonos, or pictures of Mount Fuji. They're rocking the gamesofts.

Product Page [WhiteRabbitExpress]

Ditch Those CDs for an iPod

gizmodo.com — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 12:31:11 EST

Here's a hit-or-miss idea: Millenium Music wants to give you an iPod in exchange for your CDs. Yup. You can rip all your music, then sell the hard copy in favor of an iPod. Just stop by or mail in your CDs to Millenium and as long as they're not scratched to hell or missing anything for the most part, you can trade up to an iPod. I mean, sure, you paid a lot of money for the CDs in the first place, but get over it and you'll be fine. Here's how it works:

45 CDs = 512 MB iPod Shuffle
65 CDs = 1 GB iPod Shuffle
85 CDs = 2 GB iPod Nano
110 CDs = 4 GB Nano
130 CDs = 30 GB iPod
175 CDs = 60 GB iPod

65 CDs for a 1GB iPod shuffle seems like a lot to me. I mean, say you went to your local CD store and traded in 65 CDs at an average of $3 a CD. That's $195. Enough for a 1GB shuffle and some accessories and music from iTunes. Ultimately it depends on you and your desire to go digital, giving up your CDs in the bargain. So think about it.

Trade Your CDs for an iPod [Ars Technica]