And another thing…

Talk radio stations, plagued by bores and bigots who keep trying to get on
air—and that’s just the DJs—will love the system being patented by
Mitel of Canada (GB 2360166). Tiresome types phone from different locations so
that their number isn’t recognised and the call automatically barred. So Mitel
uses voice recognition instead. Switchboard software analyses incoming calls and
builds individual “voiceprints” that are stored in a database. When the software
recognises prints for known bores—as decided by the show’s producer, the
switchboard automatically hangs up. Because no names are associated with the
voiceprints, the firm…