I did not start this module very well. I started by reading section 10.1 - Voicemail. I went to take the voicemail tour and found the link was a page of, what seemed like, adds about web hosting and I could not find the tour link anywhere.
Never mind I thought and I carried on to see what Interactive Voice Response was all about, only to find that, that link also failed. So I decided to set about finding out about it myself by browsing the web.
IVR - a telephony technology in which someone uses a touch-tone telephone to interact with a database to acquire information from or enter data into the database. IVR technology does not require human interaction over the telephone as the user's interaction with the database is predetermined by what the IVR system will allow the user access to. For example, banks and credit card companies use IVR systems so that their customers can receive up-to-date account information instantly and easily without having to speak directly to a person. IVR technology is also used to gather information, as in the case of telephone surveys in which the user is prompted to answer questions by pushing the numbers on a touch-tone telephone. (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/IVR.html).
I also found a short tour at this web location http://www.callwave.com/landing/other/mvvTour.aspx?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=290&width=710.
But most information I found on this was all about Blackberry, so my question is, is it only a Blackberry that can do this or do other phones do it as well?
Tuesday 27 September 2011
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Fax via Email
Fax via email?
I didn't even realise this option existed!
I was also surprised to see that the fax was invented in 1843!
Intrigued I was eager to find out how to send a fax via email.
It turns out that there are many services that will let you send fax via email. Some services you have to pay for and some that are free. Some require that you send and receive electronic mail, or that you have Web access while others require you to install special software on your computer.
And most services allow you to receive faxes as well. When you receive a fax at a special number, it is delivered via e-mail address or available for viewing on the Web and some commercial services include bulk faxing and other special features.
As I do not have a fax line I was not able to try this for myself but it is still something I would like to give a go.
This topic got a bit of a discussion in the forum with John metioning that he tried to send his mother a fax this way but because his mother had run out of paper in her fax machine it continued to ring for hours. Which led into another discussion about not being able to cancel a fax when something like this happens. I always thought that if a fax just continued ringing you would be able to cancel it or stop it. Maybe you can with faxing from a fax machine but not via email or maybe its just that its something that isn't being taught when learning how to send a fax via email?
Either way I think there is some room for improvement with the whole sending fax via email!
I didn't even realise this option existed!
I was also surprised to see that the fax was invented in 1843!
Intrigued I was eager to find out how to send a fax via email.
It turns out that there are many services that will let you send fax via email. Some services you have to pay for and some that are free. Some require that you send and receive electronic mail, or that you have Web access while others require you to install special software on your computer.
And most services allow you to receive faxes as well. When you receive a fax at a special number, it is delivered via e-mail address or available for viewing on the Web and some commercial services include bulk faxing and other special features.
As I do not have a fax line I was not able to try this for myself but it is still something I would like to give a go.
This topic got a bit of a discussion in the forum with John metioning that he tried to send his mother a fax this way but because his mother had run out of paper in her fax machine it continued to ring for hours. Which led into another discussion about not being able to cancel a fax when something like this happens. I always thought that if a fax just continued ringing you would be able to cancel it or stop it. Maybe you can with faxing from a fax machine but not via email or maybe its just that its something that isn't being taught when learning how to send a fax via email?
Either way I think there is some room for improvement with the whole sending fax via email!
Friday 16 September 2011
Fun in Second Life
Met with my team mates, team Roughnecks, a few nights ago, as usual in Second Life and at the end of our meeting we all started playing around with the gesture controls.
I never knew my team mates had such dance moves!!!
It was a lot of fun to give all the dance moves and gestures a go.
It was something that I hadn't really played around with in Second Life and it felt like a nice way to end the meeting.
Maybe I am like, what I am in real life, as I am in Second Life - it always takes me a few drinks, or being completely comfortable with others, to be able to dance around them, or with them.
Who said you couldn't mix work with pleasure?
I never knew my team mates had such dance moves!!!
It was a lot of fun to give all the dance moves and gestures a go.
It was something that I hadn't really played around with in Second Life and it felt like a nice way to end the meeting.
Maybe I am like, what I am in real life, as I am in Second Life - it always takes me a few drinks, or being completely comfortable with others, to be able to dance around them, or with them.
Who said you couldn't mix work with pleasure?
Sunday 11 September 2011
Activity 8.2.2
Met to discuss Activity 8.2.2, with Craig and Tobin, in Second Life. We decided to consider the example in the activity and decide what technology would not be the one to use.
Example: A senior manager is on an urgent business trip by road from Tarawera to Wellington, and is attempting to remain in contact with her PA.
My first thoughts were
Example: A senior manager is on an urgent business trip by road from Tarawera to Wellington, and is attempting to remain in contact with her PA.
My first thoughts were
- Is she driving herself? and
- What is the reception like?
Friday 2 September 2011
Textese
I have never been one for abbreviations in my texts, on my phone, preferring - now that I now how to use it - to use my predictive text on my phone. I only abbreviate words when my phone wants to send more than one text. I therefore find it frustrating, and time consuming, when I get a text from someone who knows all the texting lingo as I can not understand it.
It was interesting then to see all the abbreviations on this website - http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp and to find out what they actually mean.
I had no idea there was soo many!
It was interesting to see that some abbreviations could be interpreted as different things, depending on where you came from or who was sending them to you.
For example:
55555 Can be Crying your eyes out (Mandarin Chinese text messages) or Meaning Laughing (In Thai language the number 5 is pronounced 'ha'.)
88 Can be Bye-bye (Mandarin Chinese text messages) or Hugs and kisses. Which I suppose are similar if its someone you are close to.
AA Can be Alcoholics Anonymous, As above or Ask about.
AAF Can be As a matter of fact or As a friend.
These are just a few examples, if I was to write them all it would become a really long page. But it shows my point that they can be interpreted differently.
How would you know if when someone sends you 55555 that they are laughing or crying?
If it was me, I would be sending more texts to find out exactly what the actual message was and therefore using more money on my phone, which was the original reason for abbreviating texts in the first place!
I have still yet to be convinced that abbreviations provide the same functionality as the numeric codes used in early Morse code transmissions. Morse code had a serious purpose to it whereas textese seems to be more fun.
Maybe I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy or maybe its simply because I haven't used abbreviations with my texts enough to understand the full benefits it could bring!
It was interesting then to see all the abbreviations on this website - http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp and to find out what they actually mean.
I had no idea there was soo many!
It was interesting to see that some abbreviations could be interpreted as different things, depending on where you came from or who was sending them to you.
For example:
55555 Can be Crying your eyes out (Mandarin Chinese text messages) or Meaning Laughing (In Thai language the number 5 is pronounced 'ha'.)
88 Can be Bye-bye (Mandarin Chinese text messages) or Hugs and kisses. Which I suppose are similar if its someone you are close to.
AA Can be Alcoholics Anonymous, As above or Ask about.
AAF Can be As a matter of fact or As a friend.
These are just a few examples, if I was to write them all it would become a really long page. But it shows my point that they can be interpreted differently.
How would you know if when someone sends you 55555 that they are laughing or crying?
If it was me, I would be sending more texts to find out exactly what the actual message was and therefore using more money on my phone, which was the original reason for abbreviating texts in the first place!
I have still yet to be convinced that abbreviations provide the same functionality as the numeric codes used in early Morse code transmissions. Morse code had a serious purpose to it whereas textese seems to be more fun.
Maybe I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy or maybe its simply because I haven't used abbreviations with my texts enough to understand the full benefits it could bring!
List Servers
Over the past one to two weeks our task for our teams have been to join, and observe, a discussion on Topica and to then discuss our experience of this with our team.We were to answer the following.
1. The hypotheses are that list servers
1. The hypotheses are that list servers
limit the number of active users
limit the number of topics under discussion at one time
force the participants into a linear discussion.
Do you agree with these hypotheses?
2. As a team, determine up to 10 characteristics of a list server discussion. What research can you find to support your characterisation?
3.Bearing in mind the mediums characteristics, what business purposes would the team recommend for this medium?
I was not able to make the team meeting (see my previous blog) but sent my team mates an email answering these questions and in the end they also decided to write there ideas in an email also.
For question 1: Do we agree with these hypotheses?
It seemed we were all pretty much in an agreement that, as far as we could tell from using Topica, we do not agree with the hypotheses that the number of active users was limited. Neither was the limit on the number of topics that could be discussed at any time and as for the participants being forced into a linear discussion? I would say the word force would be incorrect. At times the participants seemed to be in a linear discussion but it was something that easily changed, for example if someone changed the topic.
For question 2: 10 characteristics?
We came up with
- Informative
- Debates
- Questioning
- Conversation
- Resultive
- Collective
- Inclusive
- Potentially limiting (as the written word can be mis-interpreted)
- Research
Whoops that was only nine! I will have to think of another and add it to this list.
For question 3: What could business purpose could this medium be used for?
My thoughts were that business could use it to debate stuff, especially those business' which are spread out globally, so they can include every ones opinions.It could also be a way of brainstorming ideas.
It was also mentioned, by my team members, that it could be used to do the following:
Could be used for engineers to discuss design specs.
Production managers based in NZ to discuss issues in China.
Any business that values and uses collaborative work – especially where people are spread, eg geographically - would benefit.
My overall thoughts on discussion lists? They could have the potential to work well for business, students etc if you could find an active, up to date one, to join. Topica was so out of date that, I felt, it was almost pointless using it as a basis for our discussion. As far as I could tell no one on our course could find an up to date discussion.
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