Whether you are an old timer who (fondly or not so fondly)
remembers "Ma Bell" or a newcomer to IT on your way to greatness; we
combed the internet to find some old relics (we're talking about the
machines, now) that we thought you'd enjoy.
Back in the day, businesses often referred to themselves as a ROLM
shop or a Nortel shop. And, there were the Dimension folks too.
That's a Nortel Meridian switch off to the right; very popular in
the 1980s. In those days you needed plenty of room in the back of your
office to house one of these systems.
And there are still some out there chugging along. It goes without saying that this
was back when "clouds" were puffy and white and words like "wireless"
pertained primarily to transistor technology. A term like "VoIP" would
have had people shaking their heads.
Then there were those stylish front office consoles. Do any of these look familiar?
Now here's a questions for you. Does anyone out there remember
the days before the fax machine as we know it today? Did you "Quip"? To
send a single sheet via this early version of the fax machine would take
about 10 minutes. But, hey, it was the 80's man!
We did actually have "live chat". It was called Telex, and
it was the best way to avoid those outrageous overseas calls. Sort of a
cross between a teletype and a phone. Some are still used today. Really.
And,
yes, we finally got around to inventing a cell phone. What a blast to
be able to speak to your friends on your way to their house! But those
battery packs weighed a ton!
Then
came the oh-so-stylish Palm Pilot with its screen and lots of confusing
buttons; but it blew everything else out of the water.
And, as fate (and Steve Jobs) would have it, we finally got around
to the iPhone, BYOD, and all the other great things that have changed
our telecom world forever.
Don't remember any of this? Good. you have a long life ahead of you to rack up your own memories.
You'll no doubt be showing your kids and grandkids pictures of the
iPhone 6 and saying "Believe it or not, this was considered a major
innovation." And they will probably say "Wait a minute. You had to touch
a screen?"
Now that we've had our stroll down
memory lane, it might make sense to take stock of your own back room.
What needs updating? Replacing? Whether you need help integrating old
technology with new technology or are just eager to get control over the
ever-mounting costs of telecom,
contact us and we'll be glad to put our seasoned team of experts on the job for you.
