Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

How Voice Enhances Life Online

Posted by Zonk on from the reach-out-and-touch-someone dept.

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "A Wall Street Journal article looks at the myriad ways, some surprising, that voice is being integrated into websites and other online tools. Usages range from the familiar--multiplayer gaming--to conducting business transactions and long-distance relationships. 'Ten years ago, the first Web sites were like company brochures, says Jeff Pulver, the VoIP pioneer. 'No one ever expected to have the ability to engage a community virtually. But now a lot of services are becoming a part of the Internet experience, including video, email and voice.'" Update: 08/27 00:12 GMT by Z : Corrected the attempt to 'enchant' and 'enhance' in the same word.

5 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Pop up ads and animated ads drive me crazy by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2, Interesting

    seriously, it's like half my bandwidth is going to some moronic animated ad or a video ad, and all it makes me want to do is avoid that company forever.

    and then throw sound in and I get really miffed.

    whoever thought it was a good idea obviously has never watched pop-up videos on MTV2 - the only reason it's funny is they keep popping up and getting in the way and it reminds you of how you hate that kind of thing.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:Pop up ads and animated ads drive me crazy by Dachannien · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's the same way all over TV. I'm sure you've seen those overlay ads where a cable TV network will advertise other shows they are running (TNT, TBS, FX, and ABC Family are notorious). Well, apparently, a GIGANTIC AD on top of your favorite TV shows isn't good enough - they also put in sound effects. Like during baseball season, TBS advertises Braves games by having the sound effect of bat hitting ball, fans cheering, and then showing a ball come in and hit the screen, accompanied by a cracking noise and a huge overlay of shattered glass preventing you from watching your show.

      You might think, hey, it worked - he remembered it was TBS and a Braves game. Well, yeah. I remember it because it makes me never want to watch TBS ever again.

  2. Voice = Annoying! by mesmartyoudumb · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it just me, or does anyone else cringe and immediately close the site when they open a website with a loud obnoxious voice?

    --
    "Comedy's a dead art form. Now tragedy, that's funny."
  3. Voice Online saves my sanity by xaoslaad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am a Marine on Okinawa and let me tell you, voice makes everything a lot more tolerable. I play flight sims and first person shooters online with friends back home. I talk to my wife online. I can see her on my webcam and hear her on my speakers. It just makes it so much more tolerable. It's about a 100 steps away from being in the same room as a person, but it makes it feel 100,000 closer than being on the other side of the planet writing letters back and forth, with the occasional phone call in the middle...

  4. Re:Experience = Annoying, Your Fault :^) by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    F12->uncheck "enable sound in webpages" and "enable plug-ins"

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.