I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me. These days with caller ID, why does nobody offer a phone that selects a ring tone to identify a caller? We even have the technology to announce the caller by name. I hereby place those ideas into the public domain. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Ring tones and all that
Started by ●April 23, 2007
Reply by ●April 23, 20072007-04-23
Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> wrote in news:gLidnaT97pDJnrDbnZ2dnUVZ_t- mnZ2d@rcn.net:> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old > two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the > hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me. > > These days with caller ID, why does nobody offer a phone that selects a > ring tone to identify a caller? We even have the technology to announce > the caller by name. I hereby place those ideas into the public domain. > > JerryMy cell phone indeed comes with a traditional striker-ring sound, and it does let me set different rings for different callers. It needs to be done on the receiver end-- I can't make everybody's phone I call have MY special ringtone, but I do make my wife's cell phone ring differently from my home phone, and differently from everybody else. The names do flash on the screen, and I suppose we could use simple text-to-speech to make this happen, as opposed to transmitting the wav with each call. -- Scott Reverse name to reply
Reply by ●April 23, 20072007-04-23
Scott Seidman wrote:> Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> wrote in news:gLidnaT97pDJnrDbnZ2dnUVZ_t- > mnZ2d@rcn.net: > >> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old >> two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the >> hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me. >> >> These days with caller ID, why does nobody offer a phone that selects a >> ring tone to identify a caller? We even have the technology to announce >> the caller by name. I hereby place those ideas into the public domain. >> >> Jerry > > > My cell phone indeed comes with a traditional striker-ring sound, and it > does let me set different rings for different callers. It needs to be done > on the receiver end-- I can't make everybody's phone I call have MY special > ringtone, but I do make my wife's cell phone ring differently from my home > phone, and differently from everybody else. The names do flash on the > screen, and I suppose we could use simple text-to-speech to make this > happen, as opposed to transmitting the wav with each call.I had indeed imagined receiver functions in my proposal. I see that (as usual) I'm late to the party. So much for public domain! Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Reply by ●April 23, 20072007-04-23
Jerry Avins wrote:> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old > two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the > hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me.I know there are some with more modern two bell ringers, maybe not to the hand crank days. In 1980, I was driving around the desert areas in southern California when I saw a phone booth with a hand crank phone. Having never had one to actually use before, I decided to make a call on it. There can't have been many in actual use by that time.> These days with caller ID, why does nobody offer a phone that selects a > ring tone to identify a caller? We even have the technology to announce > the caller by name. I hereby place those ideas into the public domain.The voice mail on my cell phone, when it records a call from someone else on the same network, uses the voice of the person instead of the number when introducing the recorded message. It wouldn't seem so hard to do as an addition to caller ID, if everyone would add a voice introduction to their account. -- glen
Reply by ●April 23, 20072007-04-23
On Apr 23, 2:14 pm, Scott Seidman <namdiestt...@mindspring.com> wrote:> My cell phone indeed comes with a traditional striker-ring sound, and it > does let me set different rings for different callers. It needs to be done > on the receiver end-- I can't make everybody's phone I call have MY special > ringtone, but I do make my wife's cell phone ring differently from my home > phone, and differently from everybody else. The names do flash on the > screen, and I suppose we could use simple text-to-speech to make this > happen, as opposed to transmitting the wav with each call. > > -- > Scott > Reverse name to replyIn some systems (outside the US) it is possible to use custom ringtones for when somebody is dialing your phone. The way it's done is the wireless service provider "picks up" the phone right after it receives the request from the caller, and plays your custom ringtone while it's dialing you and waiting for you to pick up your phone. I see this "feature" as much as an annoyance as big, in-your-face bumper speakers, installed at driver's face-height (I have a short car). So many Britney Spears fans, so little time. Julius
Reply by ●April 23, 20072007-04-23
julius wrote:> On Apr 23, 2:14 pm, Scott Seidman <namdiestt...@mindspring.com> wrote: > >> My cell phone indeed comes with a traditional striker-ring sound, and it >> does let me set different rings for different callers. It needs to be done >> on the receiver end-- I can't make everybody's phone I call have MY special >> ringtone, but I do make my wife's cell phone ring differently from my home >> phone, and differently from everybody else. The names do flash on the >> screen, and I suppose we could use simple text-to-speech to make this >> happen, as opposed to transmitting the wav with each call. >> >> -- >> Scott >> Reverse name to reply > > In some systems (outside the US) it is possible to use custom > ringtones > for when somebody is dialing your phone. The way it's done is the > wireless > service provider "picks up" the phone right after it receives the > request from > the caller, and plays your custom ringtone while it's dialing you and > waiting > for you to pick up your phone. > > I see this "feature" as much as an annoyance as big, in-your-face > bumper > speakers, installed at driver's face-height (I have a short car). So > many > Britney Spears fans, so little time.What I have in mind is entirely in the receiver's phone and under his control. Just as physicians who don't want to be pestered by suggestible patients who have see those "Ask your doctor if <snake oil> is right for you" commercials can avoid prescribing the offending medicines when an alternative is available (and making that decision known to the pharmaceutical houses), those offended by blaring ring tones forced upon them can respond to such intrusions by turning off their phones. The only acts of vandalism I ever committed were all directed at the same overly loud Muzak speaker in a small elevator. Destroying the speaker wasn't enough. The system wasn't replaced after I picked the lock on the elevator room and connected the cabling to the power line. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Reply by ●April 24, 20072007-04-24
Jerry Avins wrote:> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old > two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the > hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me.Well, here's a cellphone that's up your alley: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=Port-O-Rotary
Reply by ●April 24, 20072007-04-24
Jerry Avins wrote:> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old > two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the > hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me. > > These days with caller ID, why does nobody offer a phone that selects a > ring tone to identify a caller? We even have the technology to announce > the caller by name. I hereby place those ideas into the public domain. > > JerryWhat I used to want was a caller-id based router. One incoming line, four outgoing lines connected to various phones/answering machines in the house. The plan was to make the answering machine the default outbound line. Ideally, the answering machine could be built into the router. But now that the do-not-call registry has been enacted, this is not as urgent. -- Jim Thomas Principal Applications Engineer Bittware, Inc jthomas@bittware.com http://www.bittware.com (603) 226-0404 x536 When you're great, people often mistake candor for bragging. - Calvin
Reply by ●April 24, 20072007-04-24
Jim Thomas wrote:> What I used to want was a caller-id based router. ...That would be a nice suggestion for a DSP project. We sometimes get asked. Reed relays or solid state: neither are hard to implement. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Reply by ●April 24, 20072007-04-24
Gary Marsh wrote:> Jerry Avins wrote: >> I don't use a cell phone, but if I did, I'd want the sound of the old >> two-bell, alternate-strike ringer that goes back to the days of the >> hand-cranked ringing alternator. It just says "telephone" to me. > > Well, here's a cellphone that's up your alley: > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=Port-O-RotarySome of my phones are older than that. Verizon still charges extra for Touch Tone and I refuse to pay. I think I'm the last rotary customer in the central office, so they need to keep rotary capability just for me. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
