Call US/Canada for free using Gmail

I woke up today morning to check my Gmail, only to be pleasantly surprised by a "Call Phone" option right at the top of my Google Talk chat window. I clicked it, accepted the Terms and Conditions and was presented with a num-pad; much like the one you'd find in VOIP services like Skype. While I was almost about to yawningly say, "You can now make international calls via your Gmail for cheaper than using regular telephones...yada yada...", this one small line at the end made me jolt off my chair! In bid to popularize this service, Google is allowing free unlimited calls to the US and Canada till the end of the year 2010.

I instantly ran to my phone-book and made an hour worth calls to the US and here are the three things I observed: 1) The phone started ringing the moment I hit the call button, 2) The call quality was absolutely clear on my end and was reported to be equally clear from the other side as well, 3) There were no disconnections during the two different half-hour long calls I made. FYI: I'm using a 512 Kbps broadband internet connection.

Calls to other countries can be made after purchasing pre-paid credits on their Google Voice website. After doing a quick comparison of the call rates, you'll realize it isn't a good bargain for people in India to use this service to make calls to the US or Canada (after the free period is over, of course). For example, India to any other country is charged at 6 cents (Rs. 2.7) per minute whereas Skype charges almost one-third the cost - 2.2 cents (roughly a rupee) to call specifically to the US/Canada.

Now the sad thing is that after making those hour long free phone-calls, that option has all of a sudden disappeared from my window after I logged back again to take some screenshots; I hope it returns again soon. After talking to my colleague, he too said that he hasn't got that option yet. So, we can assume that the roll-out will be gradual and everybody should eventually get it. So, check your Gtalk window in your Gmail to see if you've got that "Call Phone" option right underneath your status change drop-down menu. It's the end of November, so even if most of us get it before the month ends, we'll still have one whole month to make free US/Canada phone-calls! We leave you with the introductory video of the same.

So, has Google Voice started working for you? Or, like my case did it show up only to disappear? I'll report back once it starts working again. Please check on your end and let us know

Apple's first computer on sale

LONDON: One of the first computers assembled by Apple in 1976 which was sold by the company's founder has been put in an auction in Britain with an estimated price of 150,000 pounds.

Apple's founder Steve Jobs sold the first generation computer Apple-1 from his parents' garage. The Apple-I, the forerunners of the iPad, iPhone and other latest gadgets, first went on sale in July 1976 at a price of $666.66. The device will be sold at London-based auction house Christie's on November 23.

According to the Daily Mail, Apple-1s came with a tiny 8K memory - 524,000 times less than today's Apple computers' standard memory. It would not have the capacity to store one song.

The device comes with the original packaging, instruction manuals and a signed letter by Jobs, who is still head of the company.

Julian Wilson, of Christie's, was quoted as saying: "Before the Apple-1 you would have to put together your own motherboard and would need soldering skills.

"This is the forerunner of the iPod, iPad and iPhone. It worked straight out of the box, which was the original concept."