TELEFLEX
Articles TFLX:
1)
Encyclopedia;
The FIRST
2) Macworld 89
3) Macintosh Guide Teleflex 89
7) MacUser 92
11)
Voice
Processing
Lab Report July
94
12) Tidbits Feb 95
TFLX keeps working 6.7 EarthQuake
Links
TidBITS#262/06-Feb-95
TFLX: Iconic Voice Mail for the Macintosh
by Chuck Bartosch <chuck@baka.ithaca.ny.us>
A company like mine, with more than one location and seven people trying to
retrieve messages while out of the office, presents significant phone management
difficulties. Possible solutions include hiring a receptionist and hoping
the receptionist doesn't call in sick, hiring an external answering service
(which I hate using as a customer), or finding another solution. I've looked
at some of the software-based options in past years, and had never been satisfied
with the voice quality. But, I kept looking because if I could solve this
problem for my company, my company could solve similar dilemmas for our clients.
First Impressions -- After seeing a short reference to Magnum
Software's TFLX product in a Mac periodical, we called their non-toll-free
number for a demonstration of their phone answering system. It seemed to work,
so we ordered a copy of TFLX and the associated hardware. TFLX is an interesting
voice mail system that can be controlled from a computer as old as a Mac Plus
with a hard disk drive and preferably 4 MB of RAM (though it can run in 2.5
MB of RAM).
Our initial experience with TFLX was frustrating. The company's software only
works with their own hardware (which is a good thing, I suspect), but you
can't buy into the base level system for less than about $500. They offer
no free trials, no money-back guarantees. Not auspicious. Nonetheless, they
did agree in the end to take the product back, if necessary, in 30 days for
a 10 percent restocking fee. We bit. We were so excited, we paid to have the
product rushed to us for Saturday delivery.
Things got scary fast. The manual was missing every other page. Seeing myself
as a reasonably clever guy, I almost tried to implement the system even with
only half the pages. I'm glad I didn't waste my time. I got real scared though,
when I called their non-toll-free tech support line and it rang... and rang...
and rang.... "Oh no," I thought. "Did they leave town already?!"
Let me say right here, the product is good, and I do recommend it.
Nonetheless, it's not a journey for the faint of heart. Turns out Scott, one
of the authors, stays around until about 2 AM his time, and answers the phone
that late. He forgot to turn the system on when he left the day I needed to
leave a message. They got a new manual to me the next day and apologized.
So, I started the "Read Me First" section - and was totally confused.
Not only is the manual riddled with (minor) errors, but some of the descriptions
were terribly incomplete. Like "Some model Macintoshes have a microphone
jack in the back. DO NOT plug the TFLX audio or microphone cables into this
jack." OK, fine, they scared me. I had no idea which jack was which,
and they never told me what to look for. Yes, we figured it out, but wasted
a bit of time doing so. Even a spell checker would have helped the manual
(unless "Magilbox" is a new industry term that has escaped me).
The first time I ran the software, I got an immediate, cryptic, error message
in a dialog box "Unable to Load STR# 9997,1". Gulp. A call to Magnum
tech support identified the error as an unidentified model of computer (a
PowerBook 540). Turns out this was important, though I didn't learn that until
later.
I had numerous, frustrating crashes, or what seemed like crashes as I worked
through the tutorial. When the system thinks it's recording something or in
the middle of a call, everything else freezes, even SuperClock and mouse movement.
I now think some of my crashes weren't exactly crashes but a jaundiced outlook
on my part. In the end, I eliminated all crashes but one by setting an obscure
parameter appropriate to my PowerBook. Again, Magnum's technical support led
me through the solution. This problem could arise with any new model of Macintosh,
it turns out. The other reproducible bug is an avoidable problem with Option-dragging
a text box to copy it, and - now that they know about it - Magnum plans to
fix it for the next version.
Programming TFLX -- In spite of these problems, development
went smoothly, especially after I figured out the program's philosophy. Most
important, the tech support was absolutely first rate. I got through every
time up to about 2 AM and the help was comprehensive. (They don't advertise
tech support to 2 AM and presumably it isn't dependably available.) Even when
I was being an idiot they patiently led me through the steps necessary to
complete my tasks and showed me tricks to speed my testing. Though it was
always on my dime, the support was worth it. The fact that they were never
condescending brightened my outlook immeasurably.
TFLX uses icons to program the steps in routing an incoming call. The program
has "speak icons" to speak messages and it can construct completely
new messages like "the time is 8:18 PM" by stringing together stored
words and phrases. You can use supplied sounds or record new ones.
You can easily see (and print) the logic of your program since it's all graphically
displayed. For example, to program a voicemail function to retrieve a message,
you'd need an icon to speak a greeting when a user calls in, a line drawn
to the next icon that accepts keypad input from the phone, a line from there
to Accept icons that see the input and determine which branch the program
should follow, a Message Retrieve icon, and a Quit icon. A Message Retrieve
icon gives you options for listening to messages, deleting them, and traversing
them, all without any effort on the designer's part. Once you understand the
flowchart-like programming paradigm, it's incredibly easy
and you can make changes quickly.
TFLX Hardware and Software -- The TFLX software comes in
two sections: the development tool and the runner application. The runner
simply runs what you've developed. The cool thing is, the runner can be set
to accept keyboard input so you don't have to dial your phone continually
to test what you've done.
The software itself comes in various modules. The base module does basic incoming
call routing and retrieving. Optional modules handle fax-back, database connectivity,
and videophone applications.
Database connectivity offers some especially neat features. Imagine a client
calling with an urgent pricing question when nobody is available to take the
call. With a supported database and password protection, clients can retrieve
prices, issue purchase orders to you, and even use the phone response system
to log orders by entering part numbers when prompted. I don't know how practical
some of this is, but the possibilities seem endless.
Because TFLX uses its own hardware to digitize sound (one reason the
sound quality is superior to others we'd tested), you have to buy
a "box" for each phone line in addition to the software. Also, it
requires a computer for each line. That would be outrageous for even a four-line
office if it weren't for the fact that a Mac Plus can handle the program (by
design). A 4 MB Mac Plus with a decent hard drive costs about $250.
In implementing this system, we had to be concerned with the dislike many
people have to voice response systems. In our case, a voice response system
makes us more efficient and allows us to serve our clients more quickly and
less expensively. Even so, we plan to listen to our clients closely as we
continue to develop the system.
Magnum Software -- 818/701-5051 -- 818/701-5459 (fax)
To contact us send eMail. ScottMcTyre@MCFIII.COM
