Voicemail. What a nuisance! And the endless ringing. If you know someone is in the office, you want to talk to them right then and there. Freecell can wait. With Direct to Speakerphone, the caller bypasses all the ringing and is immediately connected to speakerphone, without futher ado. The caller can hear noise in the room and listen for idle chitchat. Once the presence of the occupant has been determined, the caller can loudly demand attention through the speaker.

Direct to speakerphone is especially effective for those folks who wear headphones, as one can simply begin speaking right into their ear. It is considered polite to start in a whisper, so as not to startle the call recipient.
-- bungston, Nov 22 2005

This would either revolutionise or destroy the provision of legal services.
-- calum, Nov 23 2005


I heard that.
-- skinflaps, Nov 23 2005


There'd definitely be some privacy issues with this. It would mean that anyone who had your phone number could evesdrop on your conversations! Why would people agree to this?
-- Minimal, Nov 23 2005


I'm with [min]... that's an invasion of privacy, no matter how nicely its used by some. I would call this unbakable, at least in the US.
-- roleohibachi, Nov 23 2005


Yeah, bad idea as conceived, but that's what Halfbakers do. What I would prefer is, instead of "buzzzz buzzzz", I hear someone saying "hello .. hello ... EXCUSE ME!"

As long as they can't hear me ignoring them, I don't see (or hear) a problem.
-- reensure, Nov 23 2005


This wouldn't work for me personally, I often hum and make up bogus lyrics to myself as I work. This would tip clients off to the true depths of my neuroticism.

Plus half the time I get startled/disturbed when the stupid IM window pops up with questions, this would be *way* worse. {whispers} "Zuzu? You there?" "Ack! Uh, oh, yeah, um, sorry...Hey Bob, what's up?"
-- Zuzu, Nov 23 2005


You could always set your ring-tone to "Hello, hello, stop ignoring me, I hate it when you do this, hello, why aren't you answering?"

Then pure shame will force you to answer the phone.
-- darkclown, Nov 23 2005


Great for when the phone rings when you are on the job.
Even better when it is your spouse phoning!.
-- gnomethang, Nov 27 2005


I was thinking about this again. One could make cell phones which did not ring, but on being called went direct to speakerphone. These cell phones would act like microphone bugs: you could leave one in a room, then later call it to hear what was going on in the room. I assert that they would not be detectable until they were called. Such a phone would use regular cell phone service and so should cost only as much as a regular phone. It might even be cheaper since such a phone would not need buttons, display or a speaker.
-- bungston, May 06 2010



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