You betcha! I worked for Western Electric, Bell Labs, AT&T Network Systems, and at the end...Lucent Technologies! Long gone great years and rewarding career!
I'm only 31, but my late grandfather worked with what was part of the Bell company. He was a telegraph operator, and he also worked with the phone system. I'm actually from Clarenville Newfoundland originally, where TAT-1 and TAT-2 came ashore. Nothing makes me miss him more than watching these old videos. I wish people today had the respect for our communication systems that it seems they once did. I wish I could have been a part of it.
I agree with the pink slip comments. People weren't AT&T's strength in the 80's and 90's. Their unofficial motto was the only good employee was a terminated employee. They dumped all their talent, just in time to miss what new technology brought in the mid to late 90's and the new millennia. AT&T ended up being backward thinking, not forward thinking.
Back in these days, you had to rent your telephone from them, you couldn't own your own. It took a lawsuit from various manufacturers (like answering machine makers, telephone makers, etc) to get AT&T to allow customers to use their own equipment. And even then, they would run tests to see how many ringers were on the line (tested the ohms load) to see if you were paying for all your phones. Had to pay a fee to use your own equipment too.
@sygo7g I have mixed feelings about the divestiture. I mean on one hand, a great company with lots of innovations and ideas got split up because the government felt like it was a monopoly. But on the other hand, we now have nationwide, and world wide calling included with our monthly services. We also have VoIP, and many other phone technologies that AT&T/Bell fought to prevent. Remember when you couldn't use answering machines & your own equipment on their lines? All because of money.
Central office hardware. pulse is just a break on and off of the phone line. Tones are actual audio frequencies, a pair at a time, that represent a single digit. The central office in your town needs both types of circuitry to handle either one.
I wonder if there really were over 1,800 engineers, scientists, etc., all in one building. An enormous amount. Were they all working on inventing/developing things? It sounds like a lot of bloat.
You betcha! I worked for Western Electric, Bell Labs, AT&T Network Systems, and at the end...Lucent Technologies! Long gone great years and rewarding career!
I'm only 31, but my late grandfather worked with what was part of the Bell company. He was a telegraph operator, and he also worked with the phone system.
I'm actually from Clarenville Newfoundland originally, where TAT-1 and TAT-2 came ashore.
Nothing makes me miss him more than watching these old videos.
I wish people today had the respect for our communication systems that it seems they once did.
I wish I could have been a part of it.
I agree with the pink slip comments. People weren't AT&T's strength in the 80's and 90's. Their unofficial motto was the only good employee was a terminated employee. They dumped all their talent, just in time to miss what new technology brought in the mid to late 90's and the new millennia. AT&T ended up being backward thinking, not forward thinking.
Back in these days, you had to rent your telephone from them, you couldn't own your own. It took a lawsuit from various manufacturers (like answering machine makers, telephone makers, etc) to get AT&T to allow customers to use their own equipment. And even then, they would run tests to see how many ringers were on the line (tested the ohms load) to see if you were paying for all your phones. Had to pay a fee to use your own equipment too.
RIP Dennis Ritchie.
@sygo7g I have mixed feelings about the divestiture. I mean on one hand, a great company with lots of innovations and ideas got split up because the government felt like it was a monopoly. But on the other hand, we now have nationwide, and world wide calling included with our monthly services. We also have VoIP, and many other phone technologies that AT&T/Bell fought to prevent. Remember when you couldn't use answering machines & your own equipment on their lines? All because of money.
How do they tell the difference between pulse and touch tone
Central office hardware. pulse is just a break on and off of the phone line. Tones are actual audio frequencies, a pair at a time, that represent a single digit. The central office in your town needs both types of circuitry to handle either one.
The people are the strenght. Is that the reason for all the pink slips?
gosh this makes me feel old-school
@toresbe you could say the same thing about Xerox PARC too.
Yeah man the good ole days
Steve Severin yes Sir
@toresbe I know. I was just making a joke.
Sound?
Where's #s 1-7 ????
0:17 In this one building is the reason why your telephone bill is so high.
I wonder if there really were over 1,800 engineers, scientists, etc., all in one building. An enormous amount. Were they all working on inventing/developing things? It sounds like a lot of bloat.