Phone Torture & Simputer
Interactive voice-response systems are torture. Why do businesses insist on using a technology that alienate their customers so much?
Indian engineers have developed a handheld computer to help the poor and illiterate join the Internet. The Simputer reads web pages aloud in native languages, making it possible to reach the 50% of Indians who cannot read. Not that they can afford the $300 cost alone — the Simputer is designed to be used by a number of people, each one with a smart card that stores information and customises e-mail and browsing software.
Indian engineers have developed a handheld computer to help the poor and illiterate join the Internet. The Simputer reads web pages aloud in native languages, making it possible to reach the 50% of Indians who cannot read. Not that they can afford the $300 cost alone — the Simputer is designed to be used by a number of people, each one with a smart card that stores information and customises e-mail and browsing software.