Mac Answering Machine?

[dukemeiser]

Perhaps some of you have heard of CallWave, the "Internet Answering Machine" for Windows? While on the internet, it will receive incoming calls on your computer.

Question 1: Is there anything like this for Mac OS X? Or is it even possible?

Question 2: Is there any regular answering machine app for Mac OS X? So my Mac essentially acts as an answering machine?

Question 3: Why in the world hasn't anyone done this before (if it's possible)? There is a lot of money to be made here!

(I've tried CoMa X, and it kinda sucks, and I'm not sure that it even works correctly)

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

why the phone was forgotten in the digital hub has allways been beyond me.

 

[dukemeiser]

Yeah, the phone and the radio.

 

[idea_hamster]

My guess as to why there hasn't been wide-spread migration to the PC to act as a phone answering machine is that consumer operating systems were simply not stable enough to be left running for the spans of time that we expect our answering machines to work -- all day while we're at work (and into the evening), all weekend while we're away, all night, etc.

If you're going to have an answering machine for part of the time, then it's easier to just use the answering machine all the time rather than switch back and forth.

With the advent of unix stability into a consumer OS (OSX and to a lesser extent Linux), I think that it's much more reasonable to expect your home computer to idle along listening for the phone.

As a matter of fact, we could suggest that the folks who want us to be part of a distributed computing program make an answering machine program rather than a screen saver. Call it "Pholding" or something. After all, the very definition of an answering machine is something that works when you're not there to use your flops.

(As for the radio, I think it has to do with wide availability of broadband. Streaming radio works pretty well for me when I have a T1 line, but even then it's not perfect -- and it's not cheap for the broadcaster either.)

 

[bousozoku]

Smith Micro had a voice response, voice mail, and automated FAXing system available for Mac OS at one time. You may want to check with them.

 

[idea_hamster]

I did a Google search....

I found

this write-up / thread

that shows some promise and has some suggestions. (Had to grin at the description of someone's project that took a 6100 and a Geoport modem that he got on eBay for like $35 and made it into an answering machine.)

Google is good.

 

[dukemeiser]

Actually, my post was aimed more at an Internet Answering Machine, such as CallWave. I only have one phone line in my house, and it sure sucks missing calls because I'm cruisin' the 'net.

In fact this is a major selling point for my Aunt to switch to Mac. Right now, I can't really entice her, because she uses CallWave all the time, and couldn't stand not having it on the Mac. I wasn't joking when I said there was money to be made.