is a wonderful free service that gives you all kinds of power and flexibility with calls. In its default mode, everyone is screened. That means when they call, a computer voice asks them to say their name. When you pick up, it tells you who's calling so you can choose whether to answer the call or send them to voice mail.

It's inconsiderate to make people who call more than once a week jump through those hoops each time. The easiest way around this is to use the phone number given by your carrier for family and close friends, and give out your Google Voice number to everyone else. You could also turn off call screening for everyone, if you don't need that feature.

With more calls happening on cell phones, dropped calls are more common. Nationwide, between 2% and 4% of calls are dropped. In some areas, it can be higher. If you make 100 calls per week, you can expect to experience between two and four dropped calls each and every week.

It's human nature to be biased in favor of one's own phone and carrier. As a result, I've noticed that some people blame the other person's phone for the dropped call after reconnecting. Saying "I think your phone must have dropped the call" sounds petty and can actually make people feel bad.