VOIP etc > Voice Over IP - VOIP > MagicJack > "GVJack App" Converts MJ Dongles To Google Voice

reply to Gork

Re: "GVJack App" Converts MJ Dongles To Google Voice

So far this sounds very well thought out. I'm very excited to give it a spin next month!

looking forward to this!

reply to redpepper
I see a GVJack App forum has been added to the board at »www.pcphonesoft.com/pcphonesoft/forum. The forum is basically empty, though, but shows "2/15/12 Release 1.00 Ready". But I can't find a download for it. I'm guessing they're just putting on the finishing touches and/or readying the web site.

The "GVJack" App will be available by the close of business tomorrow (Friday) for download. We are putting finishing touches on the website changes.

To place calls all you need to do is install the "GVJack" App, plug a regular MJ dongle into a USB port on your computer and then sign in using any Gmail e-mail account you want to use. It does not matter if the MJ dongle was previously registered to somebody else or if the subscription on it has expired.

The minimum suggested computer configuration is Windows XP(SP2)/Vista/7 with a 1.5Ghz CPU and 2 Gig RAM. That just happens to be the exact spec of the particular legacy computer we tested against and the performance has been fine. After the initial product launch period is over, we plan to test against and possibly provide product support for lesser computer configurations.

reply to redpepper
The "GVJack" App is now ready to download at »www.pcphonesoft.com .

The full version is free to try for up to 7 days to see if it meets your expectations prior to purchase.

It is being offered at a 30% discount (using coupon code GVJACKAPP at checkout) for $13.97 through the end of this month.

For a quick snapshot overview visit »www.pcphonesoft.com/gvjackappdetails.html

reply to redpepper
I was hoping someone might have posted who had a chance to install it. I'm at work, not in a position to install it, but will do so as soon as I can and post back.

Perhaps I shouldn't say anything at this point, since I haven't even tried it out and don't know exactly how it works beyond what I've read, but I have an idea that might be fun to implement if it's not been. I once had an answering machine I could program with an "emergency code." I could leave the phone ringer off, turn the volume down on the answering machine and give "important people" the emergency code. If anyone called I'd never hear the phone ring and wouldn't know they even called until I saw a message on the answering machine. BUT, if someone entered this code in after the answering machine picked up, it would sound an alarm letting me know an "important person" is calling, or a person with an emergency.

I think it would be a neat idea, if even possible, to be able to put the GVJack App on "do not disturb," meaning the phone won't even ring if people call, but if they put in a programmable code the phone would ring through anyway. I can't figure how this would even be POSSIBLE unless GV implemented it from their end, but I thought I'd bring it up just in case the idea interested you guys and it actually is feasible.

reply to redpepper
Here's a simple way to meet the same basic underlying need using the "GVJack" App without using an external answering machine.

1. Open the "Features Dashboard" and include all the important numbers in the Priority Calls table. When calls arrive from any of those numbers you will hear British style ringing when the phone rings.

2. Enable the Priority Calls Only feature in the "Features Dashboard". All calls that are NOT included in the Priority Calls table will be routed to voice mail and any important calls will make it through and your phone will ring as described above.

3. Whenever you have voice mail, the little voice mail waiting light on your phone will come on (if it has one). You will also hear stutter dialtone when you go offhook. Just dial *98 on your phone to listen to your voice mail messages or select "Voice Mail" from the "GVJack" App traybar icon menu and listen to them online.

love this thread!

Based on user requests that are coming in we will be adding support for MJ+ dongles (when they are plugged into a USB port on a computer) to the "GVJack" App in a new downloadable update by the end of next week.

reply to redpepper

This is where the additional built in features of Google Voice come in handy.

Sign up for an additional Google Voice number and under the call settings set the Caller ID (incoming) to "Display my Google Voice number". It is normally set to "Display Caller's Number".

That will be the special emergency number you let get through by putting it in the Priority Call table with the Priority Calls Only option also on. Whoever uses this special emergency number to call you will get through.

You can turn the Priority Calls Only feature on and off from your phone handset by dialing *64/*84.

Anyway this is the closest thing possible to what you are describing that we can put together using the technology available.

K, that's what I was afraid of. I was thinking that it would have to be something on the GV side of things but I'm certainly not as knowledgeable as you guys with regard to this stuff. Thanks for the additional idea. The only problem is that if telemarketers or whatever get a hold of that number they'd be sent through as well. I don't really understand why that "feature" of the old answering machine went by the by with time. I mean, it's a great feature and not one you can really get anymore.

reply to redpepper
I forgot to ask another question I had. I notice on the installation instructions it indicates you have to check the "stay signed in" box on the GV web site. But I've noticed, from time to time, that even though I ALWAYS use "say signed in" it logs you off - presumably when they upgrade the site, or perhaps for security reasons they just do this after so many days/months being signed in. When this happens, will GVJack automatically connect again? Or is this going to force the user to get to the computer and log back into GV?

I just barely installed this app and am trying to familiarize myself with it. I see it installs Google Chromium? What is this - a dumbed-down version of Google Chrome? Too bad that was a necessity. Anyway, when I click on the GVJack app and choose an option which opens the Google browser, the resulting window opens in "full screen mode." Is it possible to change this? I don't browse in full screen mode - my resolution is far too high for that. And when the browser opens in full screen mode it completely covers up anything else I'm doing - it's a bit of a nuisance. And even if I already have the window open, or have it minimized when I do something in the app which opens another tab, or even the same tab that's already open, the Chromium window maximizes again.

I see a program called Google Talk plugin is also installed. And was Flash Player as well? I could have sworn I already had Flash Player installed - kinda' confused about why that was installed again, unless I didn't see correctly during the installation. I wish I'd have known all this was going to happen beforehand - I'd have looked into things to figure out exactly what Google Chormium and Google Talk Plugin are before installing.

Anyway, I'll post back with my results as I start using this... Didn't another user in these forums switch from MJ to hardware which also connected directly to GV via this "back door method" resulting from the connection between Gmail and GV? @bitstopjoe maybe? It seems this works similarly to how the other hardware has been described. But without having to buy that other hardware...

EDIT:
I've since been able to learn, I believe, that Chromium is a programming language. So if I understand correctly, I'm assuming your app is written in Chromium, which is why it must be installed in order for your app to run. ??

reply to redpepper
I'm bombarding the place! Sorry... Fwiw, I have had a GV account since forever, even back when it was GC. In the instructions, after indicating how to set up a GV account, it reads:

quote:

---

Check the appropriate box to forward your phone number to your Gmail e-mail account.

---

reply to redpepper
And so far, this is what I have. I've placed two test calls and received two. I turned the "speaker" volume all the way up in the app, and can barely hear the person on the other end. They told me I sounded fine. I'm getting a little static, but I'm not sure if that's just circumstantial at this point.

So far I can't get the incoming calls to ring my phone. My computer "rings" (with an obnoxious sound I don't like - maybe played by the Google Talk Plugin? I dunno...) But while that sound is playing, even though my phone isn't ringing and isn't showing that a call is being received, I can take it off-hook. After a few short odd noises the line is answered and I can talk.

I'm sure there are some things that need to be fiddled with to get things working correctly/better, but I've run out of time tonight - running late for work. So I'll watch this thread and post back with any other results when I have time to fiddle with things again. I'm a bit confused by the whole process at this point.

reply to redpepper
I think I figured out why the volume is so low, 'cuz I'm a dork, though I haven't had a chance to test it yet. The volume setting starts at "Normal," in the box below normal there are settings of "Normal-1" through "Normal-3". ABOVE "Normal" there are settings of "Normal+1" through "Normal+3". I didn't realize there were settings listed above "Normal" in that box - I assumed it was just a normal drop down box. And I thought "Normal-3" was "normal dash three" as opposed to "normal minus three." So I'm sure this will at least fix the volume issue I'm having...

But now, though this wasn't happening before, when I have the volume window open it keeps losing focus. So, every time I try to change the volume the window loses focus and I can't. I can click back in the window to regain focus, but as soon as I try to change something with the mouse it loses focus again. I was able to turn the volume back up by quickly clicking in the field and typing the up arrow button.

The only thing I can think of that changed between when this wasn't happening and when it started happening was that I went from using the "trial" version to using a registered version. The reason I switched to the registered version is because I kept getting an error when I started the program: "Chromium didn't shut down correctly blah blah" between when the instruction screen popped up and the GV Chromium screen popped up. Because the registered version doesn't pop up the instruction screen, it made that particular issue go away. But now I have the "losing focus" issue.

EDIT:
After rebooting (a second time I think) the "losing focus issue" disappeared at least for now...

Oh and fwiw, all the "testing" I've been doing since stating I was running late for work has been done via RDP. Since I'm not home I can't fiddle with trying to get my phone to ring like it should.

reply to redpepper
Gah! One last (for 2nite, I hope) thing... If I reboot the computer while the "GVJack App suite" is running I get an error every time similar to: Google Talk Plugin encountered an internal error, and must close. Report this error to Google? I can pick yes or no. When I click on no the program closes and the computer reboots/shuts down normally. But until I click on no (I haven't tried clicking yes though I'd imagine it'd be the same) the computer won't reboot.

I had a similar issue when rebooting the computer while running the MJ software, and this is something I was excited not to have to deal with anymore. Not a HUGE deal, but kind of a thorn.

EDIT:
Reporting another "buggy" type thing, sorry... If you close the last "tab" in Chromium it behaves oddly, sometimes opening Chromium back up with a message that it was closed down incorrectly. And it always seems to log the GVJack app out. (If you wait long enough and it happens the new Chromium window logs back into GV correclty the GVJack app logs back in.)

The GVJackApp is a modern single site browser based program. It is designed to try to automatically recover itself and your phone service in the event of a failure or unexpected condition.

If you force close the GVJackApp program using the Task Manager, the entire program will automatically try to re-generate itself. The same is true if the GVJackApp program becomes unresponsive for whatever reason. If you press the reload/refresh button or close the specific tab that relates to the Gmail webpage it will close out and restart the browser to try to automatically recover itself.

To close the browser to the traybar and quietly keep it off your computer screen and taskbar click the browser close button in the upper right hand corner. If you just want to minimize the browser to your Taskbar click on the browser minimize button.

To actually exit the GVJackApp program and the browser altogether right mouse click on the GVJackApp traybar icon and select "Exit" from the menu that appears.

=========

We are able to reproduce the error message you mentioned sometimes when we reboot the computer and will see what can be done about it after we resolve any service affecting wrinkles that happen to come in during the initial product launch period.

It asks me to double click on icon to login..The program is stuck on gvjackapp (the program is waiting for webpage to initialize and it never does. I the click on shortcut and run a 2nd instance and it works. Help..