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Mr. T Pities The Fool Who Won't Turn Left
One of my favorite science-fictional devices (technovelgy!) is that of the machine with a friendly human voice. In his 1950 masterpiece The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury has a voice-clock. The voice of the daily scheduler from Frank Herbert's 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment modulates itself to pander to (or soothe) its human users.
However, not even these great minds of sf could conceive of the idea of cars that talk to you with celebrity voices. Thanks to TomTom, an innovative GPS navigation company, you could be herded to your destination by the likes of Mr. T.
(Mr. T pities the fool)
According to the company, celebrities like Mr. T will regale you in the privacy of your own car with clear directions and a bit of jive. Mr. T will say things like, "Mr. T gonna get you there in one piece… you gonna be there safely — or else!" Mr. T, most famous in his role in The A-Team, also worked as a bodyguard and a bouncer; he had his name legally changed to "Mr. T" so people would always have to call him "Mister."
Celebrity voices will be downloadable online for about $10; generic voices will cost a mere $5. Other variations, like using Easy Rider's Dennis Hopper's voice to create a TomTom Rider for motorcyclists, may also be in the works.
Source article here. Readers are invited to comment on their favorite machines with a human voice.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/4/2006)
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