Voice Over Sep25 '03

I was out for some exercise the other day, and with the cool fall weather lurking in the shadows, I realized it was perfect walking weather. When my profession has me sitting at a computer 90% of the time, walking is crucial to get the blood flowing, maintain good bone health, and many more things.

Usually when I walk, I carry my cell phone, so I can text–message Michelle, my keys, and my MiniDisc player with headphones for music. Sometimes it’s hard to juggle all of these items, and still be able to walk smoothly with things bouncing around in my pocket. I sometimes wish everything was on a single device, instead of many.

That single device should have features for a cell phone, email access, music capabilities, and much more. It would be nice to be able to talk on the phone, check your email, and listen to music all without having to perform circus–like juggling acts.

I suppose products with such features have already hit the market, and exist on many devices. But my thoughts were sensing something deeper. They were trying to focus on something else. This topic was perhaps leading to it.

I walked some more and kept thinking.

Email, I realized, would soon replace voicemail. I knew this because it is becoming much easier and cheaper these days to access your email from outside of your home. Many places now offer "email stations," where you can check your inbox for messages. Email will definitely replace voicemail.

This is becoming more apparent today, as email seems to be the best way to communicate and stay in touch. Email is quick and effective. It is permanent too, meaning it can be saved or archived without taking up too much space. Text is always there. Your voice, on the other hand, is like the wind – swirling everywhere, yet gone without a trace.

Most people that are reasonably caught up with the times have an email account, and if they don’t, they soon will realize the benefits of email, and the disadvantages of voicemail.

Voicemail is time–consuming. In order to leave anyone a voice message, you have to physically call the number, and in most cases wait for it to ring ten times before it goes into that person’s voicemail. Then you are given a limit to how long you can talk. Very often I’d be leaving a detailed message only to be cut off by a loud beep, as if it’s telling me, "Look buddy, you’re talking my ear off. You’re done." And some voicemail services don’t let you know how long a message you can leave, so you end up saying everything really fast, in order to get it in before the bell.

Retrieving a message is just as time–consuming. You have to dial into your voicemail, listen to the options, hit a few buttons, and patiently wait for that dinky little antenna on your phone to connect to a much larger antenna, in order to hear your voice messages. Is it even worth it?

With voicemail, memory is also a problem. Voice messages carry a lot of weight, as opposed to their text counterparts. Most phones or voicemail services have a limit to the number of messages you can save. And once they’re saved, you don’t know where a particular message is. You have to listen to them all, until you find the one you want to hear. Not to mention the "date and time lady," who always speaks slower than that driver that always seems to be in front of you when you’re late for work.

Tuesday, ..... September 22, .... 9:17 AM, ....

Voicemail can’t be saved, archived, or organized in any logical and reasonable manner. It is there, and then it is gone. We can only hope it will stay gone.

Categories: Technology

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