Phones, phones, phones… Thinking about phones... How they have changed over the years. At my university, we still have desk phones, but hardly anyone ever uses them. Like most people now, I take my Samsung Galaxy everywhere. When I started teaching we still had an old (mid 90’s) “Octel” voicemail system. I and the rest of the “younger” faculty hardly ever used it. Hell, I am considered “old” today for using an “Android.”
My students a couple of years ago had a campaign to get me to switch to an “iPhone.” “FaceTime” was a big reason for it.
But back to Octel. Everyone made fun of the “nasty lady” who’s voice was heard saying things like “you have three new messages.” She came across as “cold,” “impersonal,” and “authoritarian” and most people hated her. She’s actually a nice person. I read an interview with her several years ago.
I hate voicemail anyway. Don’t have time to listen to a rambling message. Would rather get an email or text. I can read it quickly and decide if it’s important right away. Or trash it…
I don’t know what kind of phone we have at school now but I only seem to get “spam” and calls from “book reps” or "telemarketers.” However it
looks much cooler than the old system with a touchscreen interface.
For my consulting business, I use my cell phone exclusively. I will most likely be getting the “5G” folding model in 2020. We also haven’t used a “landline” in years at home. Not long after we were married in 2011 we got a “AT&T U-Verse” package that came with a landline phone and number. Never hooked it up. Think it’s still in a box in the garage.
And there used to be telephone “exchanges.” I know a little about it. You dialed something like “MUrray Hill 5-9975” (the phone number on “I Love Lucy”). Or “BUtterfield 8.”
The name of the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor
for which she won the 1961 Academy Award.
I am from Detroit which is area code “313.” They replaced “exchanges” with “area codes” sometime during the 60’s and 70’s. I was born after that so I don’t know what the “exchange” for our location was. We lived on the West side. Not far from Dearborn. South of “8 Mile” road. You can buy merchandise with 313 on it. Eminem has a song called “313.” Troy, where we eventually moved is area code “248.”