gabe@sirius.ctr.columbia.edu (Gabe Wiener) (10/04/89)
I was just thinking about the 2500 set I had in my house when I was growing up in the 1970's. Over about 8 years that we had it, the thing got tossed around, was dropped more times than I care to mention, and it never developed one problem. Were you to take an AT&T 2500 set manufactured today, I doubt it would survive even one fall to a hard floor. Interesting, isn't it, how even AT&T builds phones differently when they know that they won't be maintaining them forevermore. Frequently, you can go into some back-roads store and see a 500 set that's been working fine since the '50's. I dare say that in 30 years it will STILL be working fine after all the phones manufactured today are long gone. Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ. "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings gabe@ctr.columbia.edu to be seriously considered as a means of gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu communication. The device is inherently of 72355.1226@compuserve.com no value to us." -Western Union memo, 1877
sandy47@ucsco.ucsc.edu (90784000) (10/08/89)
[Passed on as received from an anonymous AT&T employee...] October 6, 1989 AT&T Announces Major Force Reduction New York AT&T Chairman Robert Allen announced the most comprehensive force reduction in the company's history today. Affected will be all current AT&T employees who will be offered financial incentives to leave the payroll by the end of 1989. It is expected that by January 1, 1989, Mr. Allen will be the only employee left, with the long distance network being controlled by the chairman's PC 6300 WGS. During a question and answer session in front of Wall Street analysts. Allen felt the plan "should not have an negative affect on current service levels, as we will be utilizing the latest technology from Bell Labs to take up the slack." Allen was referring to "RALPH" (Replaces A Lot of People Here"), the 300,000 port AUDIX adjunct that will soon be installed at AT&T's Madison Avenue headquarters. Employees leaving the company will be required to record a generic AUDIX message to handle AT&T's 450,000 calls per day. Although "RALPH" does not return these calls, customers should not notice any change, "our 2-year trial in New Jersey proved this", Allen added. Allen could not estimate the savings to AT&T by this move, saying that, "in general terms, we're looking at saving a shitpot full of dough". [Humorous intent only]