Why internet telephony is pants
23 Jan 2008 | 17:34 GMT
Humour bypass
MAKING PHONE CALLS over the Internet can ruin your sense of humour, an IT expert has claimed. Telecoms guru Paul Green, a director of telecoms vendor Vianet, dropped this bombshell when theInq interviewed him about security.
IP phones are useless for conference calls involving traditional landlines, he explained. (Some might say that’s a good thing) Worse, he explained, the cutting edge IP telephony bullies will eventually force the rest of us luddites into upgrading, or we won’t be compatible with modern thrusting businesses.
But then he dropped an even bigger bombshell. Internet telephony doesn’t support humour.
The problem is, you see, the range of frequencies used by conventional land line telephones was far wider. The top and bottom end of the spectrums are cut off, and there’s far less variation in tone available on Internet telephony systems.
Thing is, it’s the variation in vocal tones that gives human communication its many nuances. You can call someone a buffoon, and make it sound like you’re joking, by raising the pitch of your voice. “When we joke, we go to a higher pitch,” explains Green. “and the human voice has a frequency spectrum from 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz. With IP telephony, a lot of that range is lost.”
So if you employ even the most harmless dig at your colleague on an IP telephony call, all human warmth is excluded, and you end up delivering the gravest insult possible, in a flat sneery sarcastic tone. So there you have it. Internet telephony: it’s no good for meetings, and it’s bad for communications.
Still you get to save 1p on every call. And that’s what’s important in life, isn’t it?
Imogen Bailey, Skype’s wise-cracking head of global PR, was having none of it. “If there’s a limitation, you can get around it. If you want nuances, haven’t you heard of chat?” she asked, rather evenly. “For example, if I thought you were being a bit silly, I could always send you an emoticon, like a punching fist.”
Er, yeah, good point. µ
© 2007 Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007