Intelligent agent software specialist and chronic loss-maker General Magic Inc, Sunnyvale, California, is building on its latest change of direction (CI No 3,101) and has begun previewing the first of its proposed new network services and applications product lines at the San Diego Internet Showcase in California. Code named Serengeti, the technology previewed this week is an integration of voice mail, pager and electronic mail service aimed at mobile users and accessed via the telephone. It uses a natural language speech recognition system which General Magic claims is capable of understanding a great range of normal, everyday spoken commands, and responding appropriately. The system can also be accessed via a web browser from portable devices running Microsoft Corp’s CE operating system and US Robotics Inc’s Palm Pilot. Included are rules and filters for customizing the service. General Magic is looking for third party partners to help it get product to market faster, and announced the first of these at the show, in the shape of Phillippe Kahn’s Starfish Software Inc, author of the Sidekick 97 contact management utility. Starfish will be providing Serengeti with business information management software, which will be accessible via the speech interface. General Magic said it will be beginning trials for Serengeti by the end of May.
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