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Indeed that voice was louder. I remember calmly reading an INTERCOM
article and being jolted out of my concentration by that voice, then
suddenly realizing it was saying something was wrong with the bus.
-----Original Message-----
From: McLauchlan, Kevin [mailto:Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 11:27 AM
To: Downing, David; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: User-friendly documentation (was: "Button Gravity" and
"WarningGravity")
Downing, David muttered:
> This thread is reminding me of a not terribly user-friendly -- or
> perhaps I should say, not terribly client-friendly -- error reporting
> system that was in place for awhile on some of the busses I ride. The
> system would beep and announce the warning out loud in a strident
female
> voice -- i.e., "Fuel line delivery failure!" Of course, the idea was
to
> immediately alert the bus driver, but it didn't exactly help the
> passengers' peace of mind.
Of course, that voice was much clearer than the automated voice (or the
driver's tired voice in un-automated systems), that announced the next
stop.
Anyone on an unfamiliar bus, going to an unfamiliar destination was
doomed to hang about at the front of the bus, getting flack from driver
and other passengers for not clearing the aisle and for occupying the
"Pregnant women and old folks" seats, while desperately trying to see
through the dirty windshield and discern the street signs and
addresses... as they slid past in the murk.
- Kevin
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