Another barn-raising suggestion...kind of strange.
Posted by: wave <wave@...>
attention-getter for FB, maybe it should also be an all-out
attention-getter for the Mac itself. After all, what's FB if the Mac dies?
What we need is something that the public will eat up, something that will
make a computer easier to use and more functional than ever before.
Something that will make a computer not just a tool, but a helper.
Something with a voice interface, using the existing speech manager.
The project does not have to be comprehensive, just targeted, with room to
grow. An app that does everyday tasks would be a good beginning. Some
kind of Finder scripting, possibly. One that allows the user to say
something like, "Computer, get me my e-mail" in order to trigger a script
of sorts. (Of course, one would follow this with, "computer, read me all
the FB listserver messages".) In other words, some kind of Voice Shell.
Another possibility is to take the database idea and develop it into a
voice-scriptable app. Imagine a user being able to design a database by
saying, "computer, configure menu bar. Put these items into File menu.
Define tasks for item 'open file'., etc."
I know this is probably way too ambitious, and that I've watched way too
much Star Trek in my life, but you are a wonderfully forgiving and
industrious group of people. Right now only a small fraction of people own
computers. Why not convince the new buyers to buy Macs.
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Use e-mail with integrity.
M Goodes (wave@netcom.ca)