By Peter Hilton
peter@newsroom.byu.edu
The Internet now provides a way to make sure you don't miss a call while you or your roommate is surfing.
For the poor college student without a penny to his or her name, callwave.com, along with evoice.com and pagoo.com, offers a free online answering machine service.
Whether you are online or talking with someone on the phone, these companies give their patrons the ability to receive voice messages while the phone is occupied.
'I think it's great. Now you won't have to pay the $15 a month for voice mail,' said BYU student Aja Rhoton.
Most of these companies digitally record the voice messages in Real Audio which allow users to listen to them by phone or the Internet.
These companies work almost exactly like voice mail the local telephone company provides. The main difference between these services and the ones you pay for is that there is some kind of advertisement attached to your messages.
One way the companies attach these advertisements is having an advertising bar continually displayed on your computer screen as you search the Internet.
This bar not only advertises but also alerts you of any incoming messages.
This feature also lets you listen to your messages as you surf.
Another way they advertise, is while you are surfing, an email will flash on your screen telling you that you have a message.
When you access your message an advertising bar will appear as you listen to your messages.
Lastly, if you access your messages by phone, a 5 to 15 second advertisement plays before you hear your messages.
BYU's IT services said they had not heard much about these systems, but they probably wouldn't work for on-campus phone lines.
When accessing your messages you don't have to listen to your roommates' messages to get to your own: most of these companies offer the feature of multiple mailboxes for every phone line.