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Cube Privacy Via Gibberish

Posted by samzenpus on from the electronic-gibbering-mouther dept.

fury88 writes "CNN is running a story on a new device created by Herman Miller to help with lack of privacy in the cube life. It's apparently a device that will spit out gibberish when you are talking on the phone. You record a few words as instructed by the device and when you are having conversations that may be private, it will spit out sounds that sound like a clone of yourself all talking at once. Frankly I have to think this would be annoying after awhile. As if dealing with your project manager sitting next to you wasn't enough, now you get to hear several versions of your Project Manager talking at once. Talk about insanity!"

38 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah... by Rosyna · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Did you get the memo about the TPS Reports?"

    I can imagine them all saying that by default.

    1. Re:Yeah... by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny

      Switch on the Tourette's Syndrome option to liven things up.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    2. Re:Yeah... by flyingsquid · · Score: 2, Funny
      Switch on the Tourette's Syndrome option to liven things up.

      I have Tourette's Syndrome, you #$@*& #@! @2©å#oe%, @!$%Ò £@f!* *&%(! &**$ &%$@# &%*!$ insensitive clod!

  2. Cellphones by se2schul · · Score: 5, Funny

    Almost everyone has a cell phone. When I need privacy at work, I just walk out of the building and talk on my cell. Scrambling my voice would be annoying to me and to my coworkers.

    1. Re:Cellphones by JPriest · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I have found that IM is also great for this. Most of my coworkers and I IM each other stuff rather than say it to avoid world+dog hearing everything we say. Where I can't use IM I try to use email, and when I HAVE to make a personal phone call at work I walk out of the building and use my cell phone.

      --
      Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    2. Re:Cellphones by Pope · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just don't do what people around my office do: take their phones into the bathroom stalls and make calls to their girlfriend/wife while taking a dump.

      When I hear someone in the next stall doing this, I make sure to fart extra loud. For fuck's sake, if you want to talk in private to your woman, go into one of the small meeting rooms and close the damn door. I doubt she wants to hear you or anyone else dropping a deuce.

      --
      It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  3. Gibberish box by gcnaddict · · Score: 2, Funny

    I saw this on Good Morning America six months ago. This is definitely old news!

    I want this thing now!

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  4. Old news by glesga_kiss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This idea has been around for years; it's why many banks and governments offices that deal with the public play musak over a speaker system. It's not for the listening pleasure; it's to make it hard to overhear other customers private conversations.

    1. Re:Old news by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Funny

      Old indeed, CONTROL was using a more sophisticated version in the 1960s.

  5. from the electronic-gibbering-mouther dept by Alien+Being · · Score: 2, Informative

    Indeed, another dupe.

  6. Only for cubes? by AndroidCat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Could they make a portable one for people's cell phones? There are some calls that I'd rather not hear even half of. (As Ren and Stimpy would put it, "Repugnant, yet strangely compelling".)

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    1. Re:Only for cubes? by saskboy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Think of a whole new ring tone:
      "I'm sorry my cell is ringing, I'm a doctor of quantum physics and if I don't take this call the Universe could implode. Please excuse the intrusion into your day..."

      Not only polite, but it puts other people at ease.

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    2. Re:Only for cubes? by TeacherOfHeroes · · Score: 2, Funny

      There are some calls that I'd rather not hear even half of

      Wow. With my cell phone provider, thats a bundled, always-on feature...

  7. Fill Your Site with Gibberish by boa13 · · Score: 4, Funny

    In other news...

    boa13 writes "There's a new device to help with lack of contents on your web site. It's apparently a device that will spit out dupes when you don't have time to properly read the stories submitted by your users. You post a story once and when you're running short of stuff to publish, it will spit out a rehash that sounds like it's new and fresh, but is actually quite stale, so that casual users will not notice that you don't do a proper job of moderating submitted stories. Frankly I have to think this would be annoying after awhile. As if dealing with improperly written and biased stories wasn't enough, now you get to research the linked articles to discover if it's that old AP story rehashed one more time. Talk about insanity!" ;-)

  8. 400 bucks?!? by BushCheney08 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ahh, yes, $400 is the magic price point -- the price people will pay to try obscure their meaningless conversations. If you're job is so important that it requires privacy like this, they'll probably have put you in an office by now anyways.

    --
    Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
    1. Re:400 bucks?!? by NitsujTPU · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you're job is so important that it requires privacy like this, they'll probably have put you in an office by now anyways.

      I don't know what you consider to be important, but plenty of software engineers work in cubicles while management sits in comfy offices. I once was on a site where engineers who worked on classified information sat in an open room at a big round desk with computers... kind of like a campus computer lab. They certainly seemed to require privacy, but lacked it.

      The simple fact of the matter is that most successful companies would probably do what you're talking about. Most companies, however, are run by people who are just ahead of "trying to get by," and populated by engineers who are "just getting by." In those companies, the execs walk around with high powered computer that they don't need, while the engineers work at 5+ year old machines. Certainly, the average programmer needs something better... though this solution IS annoying.

    2. Re:400 bucks?!? by fmaxwell · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you're job is so important that it requires privacy like this, they'll probably have put you in an office by now anyways.

      Being able to take a private call about a family member who's been in an accident or diagnosed with a grave illness is important. Not having everyone in the office hear you start sobbing when you learn of the death of a parent is important. Having some privacy when your child's school nurse calls is important. People's families are important. Work is just a way to support those families.

  9. There are headphones that cancel noise by rolfwind · · Score: 2, Insightful

    so couldn't there be speakers that cancel incoming and outgoing noise planted at the edge of cubicles to make a field of silence?

    I'm not sure it's feasible, but it'd be a cool idea.

    1. Re:There are headphones that cancel noise by Taladar · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have this cool idea, kind of a low-tech version of your idea: Imagine some big rectangular pieces of some material that doesn't transfer sound (or does it badly) and place them between cubicles. Ideally those pieces should reach from the floor to the ceiling of the room with you cubicle. Now your privacy should be okay.

      --
      Linux is not Windows
    2. Re:There are headphones that cancel noise by frdmfghtr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Imagine some big rectangular pieces of some material that doesn't transfer sound (or does it badly) and place them between cubicles. Ideally those pieces should reach from the floor to the ceiling of the room with you cubicle. Now your privacy should be okay.

      Those are called "offices." Some time ago, when you got an office job with a large company, you were assigned one of these "offices" to do your work. They even had these other novel things called "doors" which were like small wall sections on hinges that could be swung in and out of the opening used to go into and out of the "office." Imagine, your own space where the walls extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling, and a door to boot! These were popular in times where one also would frequently work for the same company for a long time and get additional perks such as "health care" and this other neat thing called a "pension" where the company continued to pay part of your salary after you worked for them for thirty or so years and stopped working, called "retirement."

      (Yes, that is sarcasm you smell)

      --
      Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
    3. Re:There are headphones that cancel noise by mikael · · Score: 2, Informative

      In some of the offices I worked in, they had white-noise speakers mounted at regular intervals across the ceiling (the technical term is a "sound masking system"). When they weren't being used as a public-broadcast system to announce that the pizza arrived or that someone had left their car lights on, they would be used to generate white noise that would reduce the range that conversations would be heard. It was freaky to see two people chatting at a distance of three workspaces away and not actually hear what they were saying.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  10. If you want to talk privately by Aceticon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pick up your mobile phone and go to a quiet corner.

    Actually do this anytime your talking on your mobile, confidential/private call or not, that way nobody will notice when you actually DO go out to talk privately

    Also mastering the art of smoothly changing subjects when somebody walks in is very usefull:

    You (on the phone): Tell me what you're wearing
    She: I have my black silk negligee on ..
    You: If i was there i would pull the straps, slowly let it fall down and then ...
    *somebody walks in*
    You: ... would have a mechanic check it out. You never know when a car starts making funny noises - you might end up with an expensive to fix problem.

  11. Dupe by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can imagine a device which translates Slashdot articles into spoken word, but I'm afraid my boss would notice if it talked about the same subject again and again and again and...

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  12. Already Done with White Noise Generators by Griim · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We already have white-noise generators in the ceiling of my dept, a call centre for a major corporate communications company. They do a nice job of dampening office echo, and creating a nice background noise that's also ideal for falling asleep to.

    Other departments sound so quiet after this one. I prefer it.

  13. For additional security and convienience... by saskboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    To add a feature, any time you do math, it starts yelling out random numbers too add security:

    8! 23! 42! 5432!

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  14. Sounds like rubbish to me by wellybog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let me get this right - if you play two conversations from the same person, people listening in will not be able to make head or tail of it?

    All you would need to do is see the lips of the person talking and your brain would do the rest for you...

    --

    Wellybog
    http://www.wellybog.com
  15. Re:Dilbert by AndroidCat · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can imagine the PHB being convinced by Wally to use it--when talking on speakerphone.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  16. Smells like... by worf_mo · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... a dupe. Although TFA back then called the device an "Electronic Silencer" it seems to be the same product.

  17. Wait a sec... by Wellspring · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's apparently a device that will spit out gibberish when you are talking on the phone.

    Wait a sec, so you're saying that this magical device will spit meaningless gibberish completely free of intellectual content, designed to drown out anyone making any sense of what I'm actually saying?

    What's the big advance? Isn't that what managers are for?

  18. 2nd Use by Elitist_Phoenix · · Score: 2, Funny

    You could use this device for when your talking to your mother inlaw. Just set it going and walk away, half of them wouldn't know the difference!

    --
    "I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google"
  19. Not annoying? by Knx · · Score: 4, Funny

    From TFA:
    The effect is strange, though not as annoying as one would think.

    Not so annoying, really? I'm somewhat skeptical...

    Clone #1 : That sounds like a crazy idea.
    Clone #2 : And that's $395!
    Clone #3 : Isn't that old news?
    Clone #4 : Geeeez...
    Clone #2 : And that's $395!
    Clone #4 : Geeeez...
    Clone #3 : Isn't that old news?
    Clone #1 : That sounds like a crazy idea.
    Clone #3 : Isn't that old news?
    Clone #4 : Geeeez...

    --
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  20. If you need and want privacy.... by CastrTroy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you need and want privacy, and it's work related, you should probably set up a meeting in a place where you have some privacy. Or use email or instant messaging if that will suffice. Encrypted if necessary. If it's just some family business you don't want spreading around the office, take a little trip away from your cube. If it's taking up too much time and you're worried that your boss won't like you spending so much time from your cube, then maybe you should take a day off to get your private business in order.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  21. Re:Doubtful... by Imsdal · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "Muzak" is actually a registered trademark by a company with the same name, and not "general background music".

    The idea behind it isn't to stop people from listening in on private conversations, but rather to put people in a suitable mood. The latter tends to mean "willing to shop" in department stores, which I would guess is the main use of it.

    Personally, I hate the idea behind this. Either it doesn't work, in which case it is annoying as hell, or it does work, in which case it's, if not unethical at least provocative (to me, YMMV).

    But what I hate even more is that a lot of public places thought that playing "mood music" was a generally good idea without any other thought behind it. Stop polluting my ears now, please!

    Also, Muzak has a website that is even more annoying than their sound pollution. Use at your own risk. (No, I won't provide a link. I hate them.)

  22. Hindi is a good option.. by ayjay29 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I worked on a team with a bunch of Indian programmers, and they used to call the build team in Mumbi a lot. The conversations basically went likt this:

    Aapko achaa lagaa?
    Usse mat Sql Server chuuo.
    Tumhein chhot lag Visual Studio sakti hai.
    Sone kaa samay ho stored procedure gayaa hai.
    Hum humeshaa tumhaaraa parivaar rahenge out of memory exception.
    Hum tumhein kabhei nahin email chodenge sourde safe.
    Kyaa tumhein tatti karni hai?
    Tumhein kahaan dard ho breakpoint rahaa hai?

    We never really new if it was business related or id they were just chatting with their mates and throwing in a bit of tech lingo here and there.

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  23. Cursing clones by lildogie · · Score: 2, Funny

    Imagine initializing this thing with offensive language.

  24. Re:Doubtful... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you really hate them so much don't you think the best revenge would be to post their link on /. ? :)

  25. Just a thought... by mark-t · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Don't carry on a private conversation with someone while at work in the first place.

    But then my sympathy for people that expect the "right" to make or accept personal calls at work in the first place is somewhere in the vicinity of zero anyways.

    If the conversation is work-related and still needs to be private, then one has a perfectly legitimate reason to have access to a telephone in a more private area than one's cubicle anyways. If the conversation isn't work related, one just has to bite the bullet and accept the fact that there is no reason why they should be afforded the luxury of increased privacy for such an activity. If they _REALLY_ need increased privacy for a personal call, they can ask their boss to see if he'll allow it. If personal calls are infrequent enough and the reason is legitimate, even if not work-related, they may permit it anyways.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  26. Created by Herman Miller and Applied Minds by yppiz · · Score: 2, Informative

    A lot of work on Babble was done by Appled Minds for Herman Miller. Here's a Wired article that describes the project:

    http://wired.com/news/20050621_appliedminds.html?t w=wn_tophead_1

    Here's Herman Miller's press release for the device:

    http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/News/Story/0,1 585,a9-c407-n350,00.html

    --Pat