ChatterBlocker curbs confusion caused by chatty co-workers

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 05 April 2007 14:23

Business IT - Technology

Distracted by co-workers conversations? Cubicle dwellers can help themselves regain their concentration by running ChatterBlocker.

This $US19.95 program for Mac OS X and Windows plays " a soothing blend of nature sounds, music and background chatter" to reduce the intelligibility of nearby conversations.

"Cubicle dwellers can have trouble hearing themselves think when surrounded by irrelevant conversations," said Earl Vickers, CEO of The Sound Guy. "ChatterBlocker minimizes the intelligibility in a way that is more effective and less distracting than listening to music, especially music with lyrics."

I know what he means - that's exactly why I can't listen to the radio when I'm working.

The package includes "meditation tracks" and allows the use of user-provided sound files and playlists. Multiple tracks can be played simultaneously, allowing users to create the mix they find most effective.

Minimum system requirements are modest: 500MHz CPU, 128M of RAM, 75M of disk space (presumably for the sound files) and Windows 98/2000/NT/XP or Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.