From: Lane Becker (lane@monstro.com)
Date: Thu Sep 21 2000 - 11:16:34 PDT
There was a company named Big Island that made a product called the YoYo
that did something akin to this (and more! personalized rings for
different numers, I think, and a lot of call logging.) They went under a
few years ago; apparently the market wasn't all that large. Or maybe it
was that it was a Mac-only product back in '96, a bad time to be
exclusively loyal to Apple.
Digging for details. Ah!
http://macworld.zdnet.com/pages/november.96/Reviews.2747.html
No idea so stupid that someone else hasn't tried it first. Tho' I
remember really wanting one of these *real bad* back then.
l
-- lane, at monstro.com on the web at http://www.monstro.com/> >Maybe this already exists... > >After installing the spam blocker at http://www.spambouncer.org/ and >being delighted that it's filtering out a *lot* of crap (though I *am* >getting a few false-positives), I got to thinking... > >Somebody should produce a little box that plugs into your phone line. >The box would have caller ID circuitry in it... Each incoming phone >call would have its number checked against an internal database of known >telemarketers. If the call is from such a source, it's blocked -- your >phone doesn't even ring (or, better yet, it answers the phone and says >"hello" a couple of times to get their auto-dialer to hand off to a >real person, and then plays a recording of your choice that tells the >telemarketer to go away, leave you alone and never call back). > >You sign up for a year's service at $19.95 a month, and you get the box >for free. Your box calls the home office periodically to grab a new >list of phone numbers to block. The box would have a few options -- >like what should happen to calls that come from numbers that are blocked >(i.e. let them through, or block them, or auto-answer with a message >that explains why they're blocked). > >Something like this must already exist... > >-- >John Klassa / klassa@mail.com >
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