More conference call fun..

Having the privilege to work for a industry-leading technology company, I am surrounded by brilliant inventions and forward-thinking implementations on a daily basis. One such innovation is what I have dubbed the "surround sound conference room". The local attendees gather in the appointed room, joined by remote employees dialed in via telephone. The local users' voices are picked up by strategically-placed ceiling microphones and transmitted across the conference bridge. The remote users' verbal input is broadcast to the conference room via speakers, also located in the ceiling. NetMeeting transmits the PowerPoint slide show, in real time, from the presenter to the remote users' desktops.

One such gathering, a big-shot director was at the front of the room lecturing on the future direction of an exciting, cutting-edge product at the brink of its unleashing to the public market. Everyone was listening intently, hanging on his every word, when the following remote user's contribution was broadcast from the ceiling above:

(shuffle) (shuffle) (shuffle) **BURRRRRRRRRPPP !!!!**


The presenting director, without missing a beat, inquired:

"Is there a question on the phone ?"


It seems that the gaseous dialed-in employee had not yet discovered the technological innovation known as the mute button.