Peter nodded.
"Sending," the Joey said. A few moments later the portable's built-in modem dialed the phone line plugged into it. They heard the line ring through the computer's speaker, and a half-second later the fax machine in the workroom rang. It picked up on the next ring, and William got up and went over to it. The fax he had just dictated, properly dated and addressed, whispered out of the fax machine and lay in the tray, complete. William picked it up and let out a pleased whistle. He heard two beeps behind him and he turned around.
"Fax transmission complete," the Joey said.
"Pip," William said, "thank you."
"You're welcome, William," the Joey said.
William laughed and shook his head. "Incredible," he said. He switched off the microphone and laid it down on the table. "Well, I guess that proves your point. You're right. For simple busy-work like sending a fax or creating an e-mail, being able to speak to the computer directly does make the job easier."
"Right," Peter said. "And some people will use it for longer documents, like a traditional dictation system, but without the need to transcribe it. And in order to avoid being interrupted in the middle of your brainstorm it will wait until you are done to ask you to clarify any words it did not understand."
"What about the handwriting stuff," William said.
"That's another enhancement," Peter said, ready to explain how it fit in with the rest of the product. But just then, Grace came into the room.
"Come on, boys, lunch is ready."