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"trying to edge my way into point of sale restaurant software/hardware" Having ventured into this realm, Just Say No. Or, at least don't think about the problem like, "Restaurants pay much too much for POS systems...I could build something cheaper and better." Contact me if you want to know more or would like an intro to some people in that space. Having said this, here's what I want..... I just bought what is, at least for me, a kick ass USB microphone from M-Audio for $60. Even as the world has become more accepting of telecommuting, the conference call still sucks from an audio standpoint. Skype seems optimized for modems. [Still true?] POTS lines are, of course, awful. Instead of compressing my voice from a cheap microphone into a 2Kbit upstream, what if my voice was recorded with a good microphone and sent upstream at, say 64Kbit? What sort of set-up should I have so that I can collaborate with someone and have the same audio efficiency (meaning, I don't have to expend brain cycles on a bad S/N ratio) as being in the same room? On a much broader scale, I think that there are huge opportunities for companies who can produce better A/V collaboration tools, and I think that audio is much more important than video from an efficiency of human interaction standpoint. I'd be willing to spend my day in studio headphones and speaking into a mic -- much like a radio DJ -- if it meant I could have effortless conversations. |