How many use vintage phones in your business?

[Greg G.]

For general discussion, and also a young lady in my area wants to talk to you.  I got this via Facebook. 

Amy Watson Campbell
13 hrs
I was hoping someone can help me with a school project. I have to interview someone who uses an old technology (something that is no longer in production) for their business. Any suggestions?

[Owain]

I think quite a lot of people still use typewriters. They're easier than printers for some types of envelopes and labels.

You might find an engineer who still uses a slide rule. Analogue computation has its advantages.

[tallguy58]

I have a modern network phone at work but I also have an old stick and subset on my desk.

[WesternElectricBen]

I have a little lawn mowing business and I was getting tired of using my cell phone for making calls. So, I setup a BT gateway hooked up to the second line on my 1a2 KSU. Works great, now I don't have to have two phones on my desk.

Ben

[Phonesrfun]

Many businesses still have a typewriter around for that occasional thing that needs to be typed.  In banking, for instance, there are some odd documents that come up from time to time that could be hand printed or written, but for the sake of neatness are typed.  Not whole letters or documents, but just maybe a typewritten name under a signature line.  That being said, the occasions for using a typewriter are dwindling. 

The electric light switch, electric fans, the incandescent light bulb, the desk, the chair, the waste-paper basket, the coffee cup....  All of those have been around a long time.  In the early 70's the desk I was assigned to had a 10-key adding machine (Not a calculator) that had a hand crank.  It did not plug in.  What a pain.  It was almost easier to do the adding and subtracting by hand. 

I don't know if you call 1A2 key systems old technology or not.  They kind of came and went, but they were the powerhouse of office communications.  I have heard that some businesses still have them. 1A2 was an improvement over 1A and 1A1 key systems.  1A2 was developed in the late 50's and early 60's, I believe, but has since been replaced by electronic key systems and even VoIP systems.  1A2 was reliable and most people intuitively knew how to use them, and they pretty much all worked the same, which aided in the ease of use.  Electronic phones all seem to work differently.  They do so much more, but because nobody knows how to use them, they actually do less.  At least in the office I work in.

[dsk]

Not easy to help the young lady. We just moved to a "refurbed" building, everything are new, modern or at least still made.  I have a BT gateway too, and a rotary phone, most for fun.

Maybe pen and paper (and a little brain) for simple calculations, but thy are still made, even when they are less used today, especially the brains 

dsk

[Phonesrfun]

Ah, yes, good old paper and pencils.  About as old technology as you can get, and still found in any office today.
As an accountant, I still use pencil and paper, but mostly for taking notes.  Thank goodness for Excel.  I do remember the days of manual ledgers..... and looking for pennies.  Not on the floor, but in the calculations.