Skype Is Evaluating Adding Typing Suppression Feature

An anonymous reader writes "At a press event in Stockholm, Sweden today, Skype confirmed it is evaluating the addition of a typing suppression feature to its desktop clients that will automatically filter the sound of your fingers hitting the keys. Unfortunately, the Microsoft-owned company isn't ready to ship the functionality yet, despite it being available in the company's enterprise-focused Lync tool."

Comments

Clicker

[royallthefourth]

Let's see how it deals with my IBM model M keyboard

Re:Clicker

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

No part of a computer 'deals with' a Model M. They are suffered to exist, by its grace; for it was forged in the ages before they were conceived of, and shall persist in the ages when they have been reduced to scrap.

What's wrong with typing?

[Hatta]

The sound of typing tells you that the person on the other end is doing something. e.g. you call someone up with a question. They say "hold on, let me look that up". In this case, intermittant typing lets you know that something is happening. It's a lot better than dead air.

Re:What's wrong with typing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Also you can tell if they are dome key typing pussies or if they belong to the glorious Model-M toting master race.

Re:What's wrong with typing?

[Antipater]

For that use, sure, it's fine. But everyone who's ever tried to use voice communications while playing a game has known that guy, who continuously pounds on his keyboard like it banged his wife, and who absolutely refuses to use a push-to-talk key.

Re:What's wrong with typing?

[SJHillman]

We have a lot of people who absolutely refuse to believe that something as simple as waiting for a process to finish or rebooting will fix an issue, so when I get sucked into covering the Helldesk, I just run my fingers over the keyboard while waiting so the user thinks I'm doing some hardcore problem-fixing. It also helps keep them from getting impatiently as quickly because they think I'm doing something.

Re:What's wrong with typing?

[Anonymous Coward]

"There is literally zero reason to use VOIP and annoy the shit out of everyone playing"

Sometimes annoing the shit out of everyone is its own reward.

Re:What's wrong with typing?

[mjwalshe]

testify Bother testify

It's a shame since the NSA uses this feature

[WillAffleckUW]

Being able to hear the sounds of the keyboards allows us to accurately identify your typing patterns and tie the passwords used into the other metadata.

Won't work

[Roadmaster]

It'll just lead to a lot of head-scratching and "can you repeat that" over weird, distorted-for-no-apparent-reason audio. At least I hope it works better than Google+'s "looks like you're typing, so I auto-muted you" feature, that one was a disaster for collaboration since the speaker couldn't go anywhere near the keyboard while talking. At least there's a way to say "don't mute me" now.

Re:Why not make keyboards quieter?

[gstoddart]

And mouses too.

Dude, are you still using one of the old fashioned steam powered mice with the big metal cogs or something? ;-)

Hidden use

[gweihir]

And at the same time, the key-recognized and processed typing can directly be sent to the NSA.

Software is hard

[jamesl]

Unfortunately, the Microsoft-owned company isn't ready to ship the functionality yet, despite it being available in the company's enterprise-focused Lync tool.

And we all know that once it works with one product, it's just a matter of waving the code over all the other products in the company's portfolio to make it work everywhere.

Re:I'd rather have...

[bvt]

I rather have the DTMF tones transfer to the call attendant. Skype is sorta useless when using these 'steering' digits. Of course I'm on Linux, so this product is only going to get worse.

Re:Why not make keyboards quieter?

[Sarten-X]

Yes. People (specifically the finger joints of people) are weak. After learning that the silent button may not register with a light tough, but a hard smash certainly will, the people will learn that smashing the button is the only way to be sure of a click.

As injuries mount, a few companies will start putting audible and tactile indicators in their devices, so there is feedback when the contact is made, but before the button is fully depressed. Then people will begin to trust the indicators, rather than just smashing. Since this also allows for a smoother acceleration cycle, people's typing and clicking speed will increase. Finally, everyone will realize that they have multiple senses for a good reason, and they will come to love their multiple-sense interface devices!

The Model M shall rise again!

Background noise

[MasaMuneCyrus]

I'd rather them work on an actual, functional background noise filter. Or at least filter out the noise of a loud laptop fan.

Skype already filters cat purring

[Hieronymus Howard]

Skype has been able to filter out the sound of cats purring for a long time now. I tell you that it's really useful when you're sitting in your island lair, plotting world domination, and issuing orders to your minions via Skype. The sound of the purring kitty on your lap is completely filtered by Skype. So when a suave British spy tries to infiltrate you, the minions can hear your voice loud and clear. I tell you, this is a great win for evil overlords everywhere.

My Linux version doesn't crash at all

[Phil Urich]

It's the one that's baked into the Nokia N9 (and sometimes I use the one baked into the N900). Hilariously, it's integrated into the OS at such a level that it acts like normal phone calls, and in that and other ways it's more seamless of an experience than on the platform Nokia now uses which Microsoft actually develops. Oh, the irony layered upon irony there . . .