On the same day that Microsoft was tacked with a record fine for its near-monopoly tactics by the European Union, Bill Gates has established a new front for Microsoft dominance: integrated speech servers. Perhaps the EU’s message ($613 million) on the perils of over-integration wasn’t clear. This, from Microsoft’s official press release:
Microsoft is breaking new ground in the speech industry by becoming the first company to offer a single platform that combines Web technologies, speech-processing services and telephony capabilities. The Speech Server enables companies to unify their Web and telephony infrastructure and extend existing or new ASP.NET Web applications for speech-enabled access from telephones, mobile phones, Pocket PCs and Smartphones.
The technology is designed to eliminate human call-center jobs for routine requests and database lookups, with clients including the NYC School System (tracking student attendance) and the Southwest Alabama Integrated Criminal-Justice System (allowing “police officers to access driver's license, social security and license plate data over the phone via a direct voice query.”).
Here’s hoping Microsoft’s speech server does a better job of securing personal data than the Windows tradition!