mike@whutt.att.com (Michael Scott Baldwin) (08/20/89)
You can deal with nuisance calls effectively without revealing phone #'s. I have Caller*ID (NJ Bell puts the cute asterisk in the name) here in Morristown, but I can also get Call*Block, which prevents the last caller from calling me again, and Call*Trace, which sends the last caller's phone number to the local office. Neither lets me know the phone number myself. You don't need black boxes or prior arrangement, of course. Call*Repeat and Call*Return are amusing: they retry either the last number I dialed (repeat) or that dialed me (return). With Caller*ID and a redial button on the phone, neither of these seem to be any use. But -- if the other party is busy, it will keep trying the number for 1/2 hour until it gets through (my phone's not tied up by this). I get a distinctive ring and if I answer it, it will ring the other number. Because the service coverage is small (some exchanges in NJ, none inter-lata) and uneven (even some exchanges in Morristown don't work), it's not as useful as it could be, but I like it anyway. Now I want to get a computer interface for my unit and a voice synthesizer so that it will announce who's calling instead of ringing. I'm not sure, but I think that NJ Bell will be putting a funny mark in the White Pages beside any phone number that has Caller*ID. -- michael.scott.baldwin@att.com (bell laboratories)