Hiatus.
We’re closing an issue this week, so expect us to be M.I.A. from blogging until Thursday or Friday. See you then.
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May 6, 2008
Hiatus.We’re closing an issue this week, so expect us to be M.I.A. from blogging until Thursday or Friday. See you then.
May 5, 2008
Can Wall-E Please Be My Friend?
Can I please get one? Please? In the meantime, follow the jump and watch the Wall-E preview for further explanation of why I’m so excited for this movie. And why everyone at work is going to make fun of me for posting something so sappy. [Source: MakerFaire.com; Image: FirstShowing.net]
May 2, 2008
The Voices of Public TransitSince the announcement yesterday that the Boston Subway system would introduce new TTS voices to its line-up, I got to thinking about the differences I’ve noticed in various public transportation systems. When I was living in London, the Tube’s persona closely mimicked that of the typical British lady in her 50s - calm, contained, and overly polite. Of course, the woman behind the voices (Emma Clarke) was recently fired following public statements she made regarding the Tube’s shoddy service. Here’s a video that should give a taste of what it’s like to ride the Tube:
Next up, one of my favorite countries - Espana! Their Barcelona subway system, called el Metro, just got tricked out with new trains, which feature male voices. Call it machismo or consistency.
Alas, Oslo’s T-Bane has no persona! Fellow Norwegians, I beg of you…
And, of course, NYC’s own subway … which has no real name aside from “somewhat unreliable” or “increasingly annoying.” Here’s a video of the L train, which runs from Manhattan to northern Brooklyn, and has some of the newest personas.
Have a great weekend!
May 1, 2008
Round Up & Release (Colossal!!! Squid Edition)
April 30, 2008
Look! Another Contact Center App
April 29, 2008
Speech, Texas-Style (Free Cowboy Hats!)
With more than 1,300 attendees from all over the world, it’s the largest G-Force ever, according to the Genesys people. This year’s event has seen a large number of Latin American customers (nearly doubled from last year), indicating just how large the call center industry is growing in that part of the world. In Brazil, Internet service provider UOL is taking more than 1 million calls a month from the country’s 33.1 million Internet users, and its biggest challenge is dealing with rapid growth using outdated technologies and poor system design. It turned to Genesys to bring all its customer-facing applications (phone, email, Web chat, etc…) together, and has achieved staggering first-call resolution, proper call routing, cost reductions, worker productivity, and sales growth as a result. Unibanco, a Brazilian bank, is handling 10 million calls a month with just 6,000 agents using Genesys systems.
April 28, 2008
May the (G) Force Be With You.
April 24, 2008
YouMail Final Review. Verdict: I’m Lazy.You may remember my previous review of free voicemail and STT provider YouMail. Well, rather than writing a freaked-out and angry email or making a furious phone call, the people at YouMail were kind enough to do a follow-up interview with me following my review. We went over how to better use the features and navigate the system (I griped that the prompts were often confusing and hard to understand). I let them share their piece, and got some first-hand advice on how to use the system. So, after speaking with them, I can say this: because I’m lazy, I like this service. I do not care about the ability to make personalized greetings for my callers, nor do I want transcriptions. My favorite feature is the audio file of each voicemail, which is sent automatically to my email account. Yes, I am too lazy to pick up my phone and actually call into my voicemail. Instead, I can put on my headphones and listen to the file play. Sometimes, for laughs, I read over the voicemail they transcribed and see how horribly wrong the technology was. One more YouMail bonus: when playing back your voicemails, they start with the most recent one first. Gnarly. The verdict: because I’m a sloth, I liked YouMail’s service. One facet of it. And, because I’m too lazy to cancel my account, I’m keeping YouMail for now. Am I excited about this? I don’t know. I’m also apathetic.
April 22, 2008
It’s not old-timey, but new DA app does involve real operators.
Following a completely speech-unrelated weekend, we’re back at work….begrudgingly. (It’s in the 70s! There is sun!) Anyhow, remember that V-ENABLE test run we’re doing? It’s still going on! But to keep you up to date, here’s big news V-ENABLE released today: it has spun off a new service called FreeMobile411. Available for download, the program works multi-modally. Alas, you must own a Sprint phone to use it. Bummer! Here are the details: - The application combines both speech and text. To find a business or category, users speak what they’re looking for. The results then appear on the screen in text format. - If the caller is still unable to find their desired search, they can access an operator. - It’s ad-supported. Frown face. - The numbers: 140 million residential and 14 million business listings. - It also includes maps, driving directions, and names of nearby businesses. For more info, check out the press release here. Yes, it’s in PDF - sorry! [Image via PrivateLine.com]
April 21, 2008
Slingin SlangFor those interested in updating your speech rec parameters, SpinVox had compiled a list of popular US and Canadian slang. The company’s Voxgeist dictionary is tuned into a country’s ever-changing vernacular. For your enjoyment, here are the Canadian words, ranked in order of popularity, after the jump.
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