Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!shuksan.UUCP!evans
From: evans@shuksan.UUCP (Gary Evans)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Special Spkr Phone wanted...
Keywords: auto answer
Message-ID: <775@shuksan.UUCP>
Date: 18 May 88 23:34:52 GMT
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Organization: The Boeing Co., BAC MMST, Seattle, WA
Lines: 25
Approved: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu


First of all - This is NOT Gary. It is Roger Swann on Gary's system.
	       'inews' on the ssc-vax is having a problem right now.
	       Please send email replies to uw-beaver!ssc-vax!clark.


Now to the meat of the matter:

I had an idea for the phone used in a lab area:

The situation is one where there are persons in the room, but no
one is usually near the phone. So, when the phone rings someone
has to walk over 20ft to get the call. And as a result, no one 
_wants_ to answer the phone. Callers that let the phone ring many,
many times, are usually the only ones to get answered.

My solution would be to hookup a speakerphone type device that would
automatically answer the line after a few rings. Then anyone in the
room could answer the phone by just speaking loadly after the line
had been _picked up_. If no one happened to be there to catch the
call, so what, no problem.

Does anyone out there know if such a device is currently being
marketed???

Again, this is -> Roger Swann	uucp: uw-beaver!ssc-vax!clark