Ralph.Hyre@ius3.ius.cs.cmu.edu (08/02/88)
In article <466@vector.UUCP> ericb@athertn.Atherton.COM (Eric Black) writes: >Last night I received an automated "junk" telephone call that >set a new low..... I answered the phone, and heard a recorded message say: > > "Hi! You have been reached by United Education and Software. > Please hold for the next available operator." > >whereupon I started hearing the omni-nauseating Musak-on-hold. Amazing! what will they think of next? >Am I going to be forced to have an answering machine screen all my >calls so as to avoid this? Quite an inconvenience to myself and the >people that I *do* want to call me. I've been thinking about putting a more-customizable type of answering machine on my line, and not announcing 'someone you want to talk with is on the phone' until the caller passes some sort of test, like knowing my 'secret code number' or something. Of course, I can pass out various 'secret code numbers' as needed, so the machine can identify callers and dispatch them appropriately. With caller number I.D., all of this external equipment might become unneccessary. Maybe when everybody's converted to touchtone (are any TouchTone tarrif's being successfully challenged?) this sort of system can become more widespread -- - Ralph W. Hyre, Jr. Internet: ralphw@ius2.cs.cmu.edu Phone:(412)268-{2847,3275} CMU-{BUGS,DARK} Amateur Packet Radio: N3FGW@W2XO, or c/o W3VC, CMU Radio Club, Pittsburgh, PA