IF YOU SAY IT, IT WILL DIAL
With all the complex devices and services for
telephones these days, it would be nice if someone would make things
easier. How about just speaking the name of a person or company and be
connected? Sounds easy and it is, if you hook up Tell A Phone to your
computer.
Designed by Parliant (www.parliant.com) to be
used in the home or office, Tell A Phone ($99.99) hooks to your
Windows computer's USB port. Connect from your computer to the Voice
Dial Manager device and into any phone jack. Install the included
software and you're on the way to easy voice dialing from any phone in
the home or office that's connected to the same phone number. Parliant
says most can do it in around 10 minutes. You can add up to nine
additional lines by purchasing a separate Line Expansion Pack ($79.95)
for each new phone number.
Once Tell A Phone is installed, you simply begin
using it. Say a name and you are connected. Tell A Phone is fairly
reliable out of the box but you may find it needs some tweaking as you
use it. The "sounds like" feature lets you adjust for proper names
that might not sound as they are spelled.
Another enormously useful feature is that Tell A
Phone will import all your names and numbers you may already have
stored in your Microsoft Outlook directory. But the fun doesn't stop
there. If an incoming caller is registered and you have the Caller-ID
service, Tell A Phone will actually announce the caller by speaking
the name over your computer's speakers. You will also see the caller's
name and number pop up in a window on your computer's screen.
Tell A Phone is a fun product that is actually
useful in that there are some additional abilities that let you track
who has called in and out of your home. Tell A Phone logs all calls by
name, date and duration. This is ideal for keeping track of telephone
call expenses for a business, as well as keeping track of whom your
kids at home may be calling. Tell A Phone lets you export the log file
to programs such as ACT or an Excel spreadsheet. For an added measure
of record keeping, Tell A Phone will record voice memos that you can
assign to each phone call.
The one necessary requirement is that you must
leave your computer on to use Tell A Phone, but voice calls can be
placed from any connected telephone in the home or office. But since
Tell A Phone runs quietly in the backgrounds, you can continue to use
your computer as you would normally. Now, can I say "pizza" into the
phone while I'm typing this column? Absolutely.
www.parliant.com
Dress Up Your Holiday Mouse
 "Not
a creature was stirring, except for your mouse." With apologies to
Clement Clarke Moore, you may stir up some excitement if you give or
receive Microsoft's "Wireless Optical Mouse - Special Edition Black"
that comes in a two toned basic black and silver. The cordless mouse
is functionally identical to the standard model except for its
appearance. The mouse comes covered in a soft black finish that lends
an additional feeling of extra quality in this already very cool
cordless mouse. And it glows with a ruby red light that would even
make Rudolf a bit jealous. But you better hurry as it will only be
available for a limited time. If you're looking for a different kind
of stocking stuffer for this holiday season, you may hear squeaks of
delight when everyone points to this pointer. $44.95.
www.microsoft.com |
