Comments by "User 2C47" (@user2C47) on "AT&T Tech Channel" channel.

  1. Electric cars will never catch on. *Becomes illegal to manufacture cars with gasoline engines
    17
  2. Smaller, cheaper, and faster. These systems were large, power hungry, and not very smart. It only supported simple telephone calls, and had no common control or advanced routing of any kind. A VoIP system requires a small box connected to the internet, which can do orders of magnitude more. The only thing a VoIP box can't do is ring a big bell or work when the power is out. While the older systems were fun to watch and listen to, they are completely obsolete and most people don't care. It would be nice, however, to still get a voice signal that doesn't sound like 2 bits in 8khz or less that only sometimes get through.
    16
  3. A portable computer that could fit in your hand, with unfathomable processing power.
    16
  4.  @tmastersat  Some exchanges had automated circuits to check the dial. Extra digits we're usually ignored. It is possible that the service man thought you were attempting to bypass security and make free calls. Edit: Could it have simply been a recording?
    9
  5. YouTube didn't exist in 1963.
    8
  6. Fun fact: Centrex once had a bug which would allow an unlimited number of parties to be added to a call.
    8
  7. And now we have affordable high speed internet through one of thousands of orbiting satellites.
    7
  8. Should have been with AT&T back in the 1960s.
    6
  9. The 1965 blackout was the result of a cascade failure of an overloaded power grid, and did not affect the telephone lines.
    5
  10. Too expensive. When transporters do become available in a few hundred years, they will likely be restricted to urgent aerospace and medical uses.
    5
  11. Air strikes are too violent. Let's get rid of the military and make being politically incorrect a punishable crime. (This is a joke)
    5
  12. The phones were still just as dumb. It was the equipment that was smart.
    5
  13. The contacts for non-working numbers are all wired to a recording or a reorder tone.
    4
  14. This technology exists now with GPT-based platforms. The only problem is that they write content to look convincing, rather than be completely correct.
    4
  15. I do believe that replacing a computer every 2 years is excessive, but I also believe that using a 15 year old computer for everyday tasks is a bad idea due to security and compatibility concerns. Note that a high end computer is going to remain useful for a lot longer than a cheaper one. My computer is made from various old parts from a free pile, and is functional for everything but games. The computer uses a Phenom 2.
    4
  16. ​ @brycmtthw  I just played this video over Starlink. I guess we now live in fantasy land.
    4
  17. In the 70s, this would have to be accomplished using ANI (part of the billing system), and would only be able to send a phone number, likely by dial pulsing to the subscriber.
    4
  18. They found the telephone network unsuitable and created IP, and are now in the process of using it to dumb down the general population.
    3
  19. It seems unlikely, due to the increased efficiency of jet engines.
    3
  20. Interesting. I had always thought a fire would be caused by arcing switch contacts.
    3
  21. It may have been essential to the internet we know today, due to how slowly things changed in Bell.
    3
  22. We've been talking about the government so far, but what about the building owner?
    3
  23. ​ @xanderarena  > "well documented" Can you share a link to those documents?
    3
  24. But would the Internet have become a thing if Bell still existed? Edit: just checked. Bell wanted to have proprietary dataphones. The Internet was nothing more than private computers as of 2024. There was, however, text messaging and electronic mail. Computers remained for the most part business machines, with some home video game consoles existing. Smartphones were not much more than PDAs.
    3
  25. If there was a crashed ship from another star system, we would have also reverse engineered the propulsion systems.
    3
  26. Would be more effective if you dialed long distance to non-working numbers that never pick up, such as permanent busy signals.
    2
  27. HAL 9000 (not evil)
    2
  28. In fact, ESS works better with DTMF, and needed a separate processor to efficiently handle dial pulsing.
    2
  29.  @MrEkg98  evan-doorbell.com is a good place to start.
    2
  30.  @Zzznorch  I don't know about individual telephones, but the network was designed to handle a nuclear attack.
    2
  31. As long as it's fused and the entire network is in emergency shutdown mode during the attack. Some serious power can be induced in the long wires used to carry telephone signals.
    2
  32.  @cloneNK1124  This is unlikely to happen in rural areas due to the limited range of 5G.
    2
  33. Taps are applied to individual subscriber lines at the MDF.
    2
  34.  @ernststavroblofeld1961  Did 641A get the security update?
    2
  35.  @franktank9573  Agreed. Bell would have wanted to eliminate dropped packets, allowing for an experience more like T carrier. There would also have been no W3C and therefore no internet.
    2
  36.  @stevestelly3063  While you may not have to pay for directory service, you still have to pay for the call. This service does not fool ANI.
    2
  37. Higher pitched tones are often used in Europe. Some of the American tones in rural areas were literally generated by an oscillating relay. Others were generated from the line frequency or a rotary tone generator. Electronic oscillators were used in newer systems. Listen to a few of Evan Doorbell's phone tapes for examples.
    2
  38. Still better than my rural ISP that's still in 2002.
    2
  39. This did not require a digital office, but it did require an office with computer control. In a 1ESS, the voice path was analog, but a computer controlled all the switches.
    2
  40. *was. We no longer have Intelligence and all of our technology is made somewhere in Asia.
    2
  41. Why? Is there an old electromechanical CDO there?
    2
  42. 116.
    2
  43. Never experienced electromechanical switches, but am somewhat annoyed that there are 3 different area codes serving the same small rural area, meaning that all calls require 10 digit dialing.
    2
  44. The 1ESS is a better switch for larger exchanges.
    2
  45. 5nm.
    2
  46. If it isn't broken, don't fix it, even if you can replace that whole computer with the integrated controller of an IO module.
    2
  47. Back then, you would be holding up one of (probably) less than 25 wire pairs going to the destination, meaning nobody else could use it. NOT OUTRAGEOUS
    2
  48. Or converted with a potato.
    2
  49. It appears to be an early form of laser.
    2
  50. Integrated circuits are not a secret.
    2