Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 14

B-2 SEPT. 2, 1998 Technoloi THE UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL. Airlines www.ukidhdailyjournal.com Continued from Page B-l reservations by just asking a computer. "Touch-tone was the first step, but companies were finding that their callers didn't like it because it was too cumbersome," said Todd Berkowitz, marketing manager of Nuance Communications, which produces the speech-recognition program that American is using. "Up to 60 percent of the callers at American would just punch zero," to talk to an operator, he said.

United Airlines spokesman Tony Molinaro said passengers just don't like punching in answers on a telephone keypad. "They get lost, they feel they can't get back," he said. So airlines are beginning to use voice-command software. This week, American began offering the voice-command option to its executive platinum members, who must earn 100,000 frequent-flier points a year. If they speak their identification number into the telephone, the computer will pull up a list of personalized passenger information before an operator handles the call.

"We see this as a customer service enhancement," said American spokesman Tim Smith. "It's a very personalized service for these top customers." The airlines also say speech technology can save money, but Molinaro said he doesn't believe United will ever use it to book travel. "That's the important part. That's where people really want people," he said. "I don't think people will accept making reservations and buying tickets from the voice software." Net Continued from Page B-l like that and demanded the remailer services divulge the identity of people who posted information the church felt was copyrighted.

The homes of several users were raided by church members and law enforcement. It eventually reached the point that every single document from lawsuits by the church against some of the group members were posted in the group. Grossman ends the chapter by asking an important question: Should people have the power normally reserved for journalists to publicly distribute information which might be classified or copyrighted? It's one thing for the New York Times to make the decision to print the Pentagon Papers. But is it also right for non- Scientologists to decide to post Scientology documents if they think it will discredit church claims and positions? I was also particularly impressed by the book's introduction, which raised some good points. Grossman writes in part about meeting people who didn't know much about the Internet.

"These are people who make their lives with ideas, and yet their primary perception of the Net was negative: they didn't see it as a tool they could use to spread information or counter misinformation, or interact with like-minded others. Instead, they saw it as a new danger. And I reacted as any typical Nethead might protective instincts to the fore, along with a sort of exasperated alienation: they didn't get the jokes. For those looking to get a good, solid grasp on issues surrounding the Internet, Grossman's book is a must-read. Scott Butki is a reporter and columnist for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas.

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