business blunder of the past
- Thread starter darkbeaver
- Start date
Me too, I think there was only a dozen houses on the line when they replaced it.
Ours was "modern" ... and even by 1969 standards it was old
Ever seen field telephone torture? With those dry cells, you didn't even have to crank....
Ever seen field telephone torture? With those dry cells, you didn't even have to crank....
Kodak invented the digital camera but they convinced themselves that everyone will offer to stick with good-old-film.
My first digital camera in '97 or '98 was a Sony Mavica that recorded on floppy disc..
Still have some of those dics....good thing I transferred them to hard disc before the disappearance of floppy drives on PCs
Still have some of those dics....good thing I transferred them to hard disc before the disappearance of floppy drives on PCs
Everything goes in circles. In the early days of telecommunications, we sent short text messages. Then we got telephones. Eventually, the telephones got advanced enough to allow us to. . . send short text messages.
My sister still has our old one in her home - great conversation piece. We were on a rural party line shared by four other families. Anyone could listen in on a conversation.
There was no such thing as a dial on our first phone you just turned the crank to get the operator. I still remember our phone # - 86-L-2 and when the call was for us the phone rang twice, otherwise we didn't touch it. Before placing a call you listened to make sure no one was talking. I'm not sure when the dials came in- probably mid- late 50s.
I think that was considered rude in some circles.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, 1949
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
"Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax." -- William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, British scientist, 1899.
"It will be years - not in my time -- before a woman will become Prime Minister." -- Margaret Thatcher, 1974.
"With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market." -- Business Week, August 2, 1968.
"Aeroplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
"Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein" -- Dick Rowe, A&R man at Decca Records, to the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein.
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, 1949
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
"Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax." -- William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, British scientist, 1899.
"It will be years - not in my time -- before a woman will become Prime Minister." -- Margaret Thatcher, 1974.
"With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market." -- Business Week, August 2, 1968.
"Aeroplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
"Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein" -- Dick Rowe, A&R man at Decca Records, to the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein.
Not sure, but I imagine the system was different in the big cities than from out in the sticks where we lived.
Not to keep private parts out of sight you think?
Dial tones came into effect when the switch became automatic. If it was manual, you always talked to an operator.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dial_tone