craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) (11/30/90)
I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga and I would like to know if I am wasting my time. This Hardware and Software system would be a full voice information system with digitized voice in and out (the output voice could also be the Amiga synthesized voice). Features would include: Simple answering machine, call screening, message forwarding, Remote and local message retrieval, Remote Amiga commands and status, Schedule function (it could call you to tell you about a meeting, etc.), Remote alert (it could call to tell you a program has finished or there is an intruder). As you can see there are lots of possibilites, But I would only go through with this if I could sell enough to make back my investment and then some.. So what do you think? There are 2 million Amiga's out there, could I get 1 in a thousand to buy one. I estimate the price would be ~ $125. Thanks for your time, Craig
craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) (11/30/90)
Don't know if this got out the first time... I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga and I would like to know if I am wasting my time. This Hardware and Software system would be a full voice information system with digitized voice in and out (the output voice could also be the Amiga synthesized voice). Features would include: Simple answering machine, call screening, message forwarding, Remote and local message retrieval, Remote Amiga commands and status, Schedule function (it could call you to tell you about a meeting, etc.), Remote alert (it could call to tell you a program has finished or there is an intruder). As you can see there are lots of possibilites, But I would only go through with this if I could sell enough to make back my investment and then some.. So what do you think? There are 2 million Amiga's out there, could I get 1 in a thousand to buy one. I estimate the price would be ~ $125. Thanks for your time, Craig
Doug_B_Erdely@cup.portal.com (12/01/90)
For $125... YES I would be VERY interested! - Doug - Doug_B_Erdely@Cup.Portal.Com
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (12/01/90)
In <4356@alliant.Alliant.COM>, craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) writes: >I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga >and I would like to know if I am wasting my time. > [description deleted ...] >I estimate the price would be ~ $125. I'd pay that for what you describe, provided I could use it without sacrificing modem ability. -larry -- The only things to survive a nuclear war will be cockroaches and IBM PCs. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (12/01/90)
craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) in <4356@alliant.Alliant.COM> writes:
I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga and I
would like to know if I am wasting my time. This Hardware and
Software system would be a full voice information system with
digitized voice in and out (the output voice could also be the Amiga
synthesized voice). Features would include: Simple answering machine,
call screening, message forwarding, Remote and local message
retrieval, Remote Amiga commands and status, Schedule function (it
could call you to tell you about a meeting, etc.), Remote alert (it
could call to tell you a program has finished or there is an
intruder). As you can see there are lots of possibilites, But I would
only go through with this if I could sell enough to make back my
investment and then some.. So what do you think? There are 2 million
Amiga's out there, could I get 1 in a thousand to buy one. I estimate
the price would be ~ $125.
I would be the last person to ever put down a neat idea, but at $125 do you
have ANY idea what you're saying?
I would suggest you first look at (or "sample") some existing voice mail
systems to see what's NEEDED.
Ever call a company and hear:
"For blah-blah-blah press 1"
"For foo-foo-foo press 2"
"For personal assistance press 3"
... etc ...
You're talking to a system that has touch-tone decoding, A/D conversion most
likely through a DSP, voice playback through (possibly) the same DSP, and a
rather large software support library, let alone the disk space required to
record incoming voice email sampled at 16 or 24 (or even 64) kHz.
The above fits on a printed circuit card that must pass BOTH FCC rule 15
for EMI/RFI emissions ($$$ for testing) and FCC rule 68 for telephony
interface.
Sorry to say, but for $125 you're dreaming. I wish it could be so, but I
just don't see how.
There are numerous PC cards available already for a variety of systems out
there that do what you're proposing.
My own experience is with the VoicePower accessory for the 3B1/UNIXPC/PC7300,
a 68010-based virtual-memory demand-paged UNIX system complementary to the
Amiga (from MY point of view). The original list price of the VoicePower
with all the application tools was around $1,995. This system is SO good
that AT&T contracted for additional systems to be manufactured from UNISYS
(formerly Convergent Technologies) just to be used in the AT&T System 25 PBX
for purposes exactly as you described (and then some).
Suggest you price-out JUST the hardware components required for such a board
and then re-evaluate your strategies. Don't forget PC board layout costs,
assembly costs, FCC (and maybe VDE) compliance testing and certification,
and the costs of software duplication AND documentation and advertising.
If you can bring the costs of the above in under $500/unit for the expected
2,000 units (the "1 of 1000" of the 2,000,000 Amigas "out there"), then you
may have a viable product. But remember most of the Amigas in the world are
NOT in the USA, and the telephony rules in Europe are quite a bit different
than those in the USA.
If you wish to pursue the idea, you have my best wishes! But TAKE a look at
what's already available for other platforms. Seriously.
Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]skank@iastate.edu (Skank George L) (12/02/90)
In article <4356@alliant.Alliant.COM> craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) writes: > >I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga >and I would like to know if I am wasting my time. This Hardware >and Software system would be a full voice information system with >digitized voice in and out (the output voice could also be the >Amiga synthesized voice). Features would include: Simple answering >machine, call screening, message forwarding, Remote and local message >retrieval, Remote Amiga commands and status, Schedule function >(it could call you to tell you about a meeting, etc.), Remote >alert (it could call to tell you a program has finished or >there is an intruder). Sounds great!! I'd buy it! George
manes@vger.nsu.edu (12/03/90)
In article <4356@alliant.Alliant.COM>, craig@Alliant.COM (Craig Maiman) writes: > I am in the design phase of a voice mail system for the Amiga > and I would like to know if I am wasting my time. This Hardware > and Software system would be a full voice information system with > digitized voice in and out (the output voice could also be the > Amiga synthesized voice). Features would include: Simple answering > machine, call screening, message forwarding, Remote and local message > retrieval, Remote Amiga commands and status, Schedule function > (it could call you to tell you about a meeting, etc.), Remote > alert (it could call to tell you a program has finished or > there is an intruder). As you can see there are lots of possibilites, > But I would only go through with this if I could sell enough to make > back my investment and then some.. So what do you think? There are > 2 million Amiga's out there, could I get 1 in a thousand to buy one. > I estimate the price would be ~ $125. > > Thanks for your time, Count me in! I want one! > > Craig -mark= +--------+ ================================================== | \/ | Mark D. Manes "Mr. AmigaVision" | /\ \/ | manes@vger.nsu.edu | / | (804) 683-2532 "Make up your own mind! - AMIGA" +--------+ ==================================================
swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren) (12/14/90)
In article <36425@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes: [...] >You're talking to a system that has touch-tone decoding, A/D conversion most >likely through a DSP, voice playback through (possibly) the same DSP, and a >rather large software support library, let alone the disk space required to >record incoming voice email sampled at 16 or 24 (or even 64) kHz. > >The above fits on a printed circuit card that must pass BOTH FCC rule 15 >for EMI/RFI emissions ($$$ for testing) and FCC rule 68 for telephony >interface. [...] Touch-tone decoding is quite simple and cheap to do. That is why it was chosen for telephones. So is A/D at the sample rates required for telephone-quality audio. Audio samples compress well, so disk requirements could be reduced substantially. EMI blocking is a straightforward process. The device he was talking about is no more complex than a standard 2400 baud modem. I believe they are selling in the $100 range right now. There is no reason for devices like this to cost $2000. If it was necessary to charge this much for it then it was overengineered. The parts are cheap and standard, and most of the engineering has already been done. -- _. --Steve ._||__ DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own. Warren v\ *| ---------------------------------------------- V {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM