I am a huge LL supporter but I cant deny that I too am quite dissapointed with LL's decision to integrate voice into the client without giving due consideration to that portion of their customer base who do not, for whatever reason, want voice in their SL.
Likewise, I don't think due consideration has been given to how we interact with objects which at the moment can listen and speak to avatars on an equal footing.
See https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-230
Matthew