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Time For Voice-Mail To Throw In the Towel
theodp writes "Slate's Farhad Manjoo feels the end of voice-mail is nigh, and it won't be missed. Since March, he's been using Google Voice to transcribe his voice-mail messages into text that he gets as skimmable e-mail. No more listening to at least a bit of each voice-mail message, hearing the same instructional prompts between each, and worrying about whether it's 9-to-archive and 7-to-skip (or vice versa). Goodbye and good riddance, says Manjoo, to an 'absurdly backward mode of human-computer interaction' that he half-jokes must violate the Geneva Conventions."
... will be a text-to-voice service that will read your Google Voice mail to you...
Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
"Beyond which, human voice can impart additional meaning in tone that text can't."
:-D lulz ROFLcopter )-': to impart those more nuanced details.
Bah! I fully expect my transcribed voice mail to include
Quack, quack.
I also ignore my voicemail. Big problem though: Mom.
Hearing "Hello you have reached 'Mother, please, we've been over this, do NOT leave a message, I'll call you back without checking my voice mail anyway, and voicemail is annoying'..." only makes her leave upset messages on my voice mail. Failure to set up my voice mail so that she can't leave any message only leads to that being the sole topic of conversation every time we actually DO talk on the phone.
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying "Please, let voice mail die faster so my mother can't leave extremely long rambling messages which I have to listen to or face the penalty."
Yeah, I'm sure all your friends will be glad you finally stop ignoring their voicemail messages. Until now they must've been thinking you were rude.
Listening to drunken messages left on my voicemail is often the highlight of a Sunday morning hangover.
It gives the caller the illusion (maybe it's my message) that the message is Very Important to me and will be returned (right, delete) ASAP!
If you move out, she won't have to leave you a message saying dinner is ready.
"Failure to set up my voice mail so that she can't leave any message only leads to that being the sole topic of conversation every time we actually DO talk on the phone."
But that's great! Then you don't have to talk about your skipping school, growing weeds in your bathroom and that you are coming out as gay! Safe topics!
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Oh. My. God! I have this same problem with my father.
Call #1: Short and sweet, "Hey, son, gimme a call."
Call #2: with an angry tone and bent, "How come you never answer your phone. No one can ever get a hold of you."
Makes me *really* want to call him back. Not.
Call #3: Just as angry....same message as #2, now with more filler and far more colorful.
Call #4: So angry there is about 10 seconds of silence on the phone, then, "Fuck it!" and hangs up.
Seriously, if they weren't so full of hate because I wasn't able (or unwilling) to answer, they'd be hilarious.
Recently, and this is a no shitter. I called my parents to get the number to one of my cousins. Got the number and gave the cousin a call. I left a message because he wasn't there. Hours later I'm mountain biking in an area with VERY bad reception (mostly only enough reception for text messages).
My phone rings a few times. Three messages are left. I imagine it's my cousin trying to return my call. (I dont stop while mountain biking in a bad reception areas because it's usually futile.)
Here's a transcript of those messages:
Msg #1, (Cousin): Hey, man, I got your message, just returning your call.
Msg #2, (Cousin): Ok, just me again, you must be busy.
Msg #3, (father): (in an angry voice from the *start*!) Carl. Kevin called us and he is *trying* to call you. You called him to get a hold of him because you had specific questions and now you wont answer your god damned phone. No one can..yadda yadda yadda.
Yeah, I'm thinking that killing voice mail makes a lot of sense. Of course, if that happens I'd have to listen to my father directly. Yeah, that's going to be fun. Not.
Prolog
While I wrote this up expecting Informative I'm sure it's going to get modded Funny.
Also, save your typing. We all know father has issues.
Its ##21# to cancel all diverts
at last a phone option thats easy to remember!
I'm a rabbit startled by the headlights of life
I'm honestly surprised that he even gets cell phone reception in the basement.
Could be one of those fancy nerds who lives in the attic.
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