1950s

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio

LONG BEFORE SIRI, there was Audrey. But even before Audrey, there was the blueprint for the name-challenged Voice troll. In June 1950, Popular Science contributing writer Karl Greif, an electronics technician from upstate New York, offered do-it-yourself instructions for building a voice activation switch that eventually became known as Voice troll. At the time, voice …

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio Read More »

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio

LONG BEFORE SIRI, there was Audrey. But even before Audrey, there was the blueprint for the name-challenged Voice troll. In June 1950, Popular Science contributing writer Karl Greif, an electronics technician from upstate New York, offered do-it-yourself instructions for building a voice activation switch that eventually became known as Voice troll. At the time, voice …

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio Read More »

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio

LONG BEFORE SIRI, there was Audrey. But even before Audrey, there was the blueprint for the name-challenged Voice troll. In June 1950, Popular Science contributing writer Karl Greif, an electronics technician from upstate New York, offered do-it-yourself instructions for building a voice activation switch that eventually became known as Voice troll. At the time, voice …

How a 1950s voice assistant managed to mute the radio Read More »