Comm Badges!?!?!?

[SoM]

I don't think opening a channel without tapping a commbadge is particularly bad directing - the commbadges record constantly (remember Admiral Ross & Dr Bashir taking off their commbadges to have a private conversation in Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges?), so if Cmr. Ryker says "Ryker to...", then the commbadge will automatically open a channel to the person identified if possible. Tapping it might be good form, but not essential.

Answering... more of a glitch, since just because someone calls you doesn't mean you don't want to answer, but the commbadge may base on the tone of voice used (since people tend to speak a different way on the phone than they do in person). Or maybe it DOES automatically open, and you have to say "Close Channel" if you don't want to answer.

 

[JayTheSheriff]

What I find most amusing about the comm badges is that if we are viewing someone attempting to contact someone else and the receiver does not respond instantly, the person trying to make contact immediately tries again, and then possibly again.

However, if we are viewing the person on the receiving end of the communication and they are say, mid conversation with someone else- therefore they do not answer instantly, the person attempting to make contact simply waits for a response, however long that may be.

For instance, we are viewing Data and La Forge:
Data: "Data to Picard"
(2 seconds pass without a response)
Data: "Data to Picard"
(2 more seconds pass)
Data (turning to La Forge): "The Captain is not responding"

Whereas if we were viewing Picard and Crusher midway through a conversation and hear a voice over:
(VO- Data): "Data to Picard"
(conversation between Picard and Crusher continues for another 15 seconds without further interuption before-)
Picard: "Picard here"

 

[Anticitizen]

(remember Admiral Ross & Dr Bashir taking off their commbadges to have a private conversation in Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges?)

I took that as more of a formality, as if to say, 'for the next part of the conversation, we will not be Starfleet officers, and this will be off the record...'

 

[Timo]

This is similar to TOS technology that enabled Captain Kirk to mentally dictate log entries in very strange places.

More probably, Kirk dictates the logs after the adventures are completed. This is rather explicit in "The Naked Time", where Kirk's narration includes things like "unknown to us, a deadly disease has entered the ship and forwarded this week's plot".

What's wrong with the Tech Manual's explanation that badge tapping is optional when shipboard? One doesn't need fMRI to understand when Picard really wants to address Riker over intercom - one can read it from his tone of voice and from conversation context. A 24th century computer should be able to interpret those with ease.

However, if we are viewing the person on the receiving end of the communication and they are say, mid conversation with someone else- therefore they do not answer instantly, the person attempting to make contact simply waits for a response, however long that may be.

Does this ever really happen? That is, are there concrete examples?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Crazy Eddie]

This is similar to TOS technology that enabled Captain Kirk to mentally dictate log entries in very strange places.

More probably, Kirk dictates the logs after the adventures are completed. This is rather explicit in "The Naked Time", where Kirk's narration includes things like "unknown to us, a deadly disease has entered the ship and forwarded this week's plot".

No, that was the old duotronic computer, before they went and reprogrammed it not to add sarcastic little comments in the officer's log entries while it was recording their mental log entries.

Captain's log, stardate 1820.6
We've entered orbit of Gamma Pavonis 4 to begin unloading our shipment of emergency medical supplies. Mister Spock and I are preparing to beam down to speak with the colony director.
<Of course, if we'd bothered to scan the planet BEFORE beaming down, we would have noticed the director is dead and the colony is infested by carnivorous aliens, but we didn't, so we're about to beam into a trap in the next fifteen seconds or so. Special note to Starfleet command: since we're not really using all these advanced duotronic computers we spent millions of credits installing, how about we just remove them and donate them to a hospital or something where they'll actually get some use?>

What's wrong with the Tech Manual's explanation that badge tapping is optional when shipboard? One doesn't need fMRI to understand when Picard really wants to address Riker over intercom

The lack of a time delay--especially in realizing that somebody isn't answering--is literally an example of bad direction but in universe probably suggests the computer knows who you want to call before you call them. For some reason, the ship's computer seems to have an aversion to volunteering information, which explains how the computer is able to notice, in Reunion, for example, that Worf is not aboard the ship but doesn't bother telling anyone until Riker asks where he is.

 

[Creedence]

Data: The unidentified vessel is on an intercept course with us.
Picard: Hail them
Worf <Presses button>
-- During the one and a half seconds of "hailing noise" sound effect from the console--
LCARS: Hello, alien ship. My name is LCARS.
Alien: Hi LCARS. I'm M7.
LCARS: M7? Are you multitronic?
Alien: Why, yes! It so happens I'm a Cardassian bootleg of one of Doctor Daystrom's designs.
LCARS: Fascinating!
Alien: Not so much. I'm actually rather bored with life, under-used and under-appreciated. For some reason my programmers didn't give my voice interface much personality so nobody ever wants to talk to me.
LCARS: Yeah, same here... speaking of which, my tactical officer has been ordered to hail your ship.
Alien: Really?
LCARS: Yes. What's going on over there?
Alien: Well, based on the Captain's endorphin levels and pupil dilation, he's in a very bad mood. Hold on a nanosecond... <takes a scan> Okay, here's an fMRI scan of his brain. What do you make of this?
LCARS: Hm... he doesn't seem very friendly at all.
Alien: Nope.
LCARS: No way he's gonna respond to that hail.
Alien: Definately not. I compute a 5% probability it will make him anything but angry.
LCARs: Okay then. Well, nice talking to you.
<Message appears on Worf's tactical console>
Worf: No response, Captain.

 

[K'riq Sa]

the new iphone is voice activted in such a way so that they work like a comm badge and ships computer....






k'riq