this is so wrong - Democratic Underground

pokerfan

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Sat Apr-24-10 10:30 PM
Original message

this is so wrong

A retro handset for your cellphone...

Now with Bluetooth!

Shoulder rest not included...

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/1015-1.htm

Why do I suddenly want one?

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MrScorpio

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Sat Apr-24-10 10:35 PM
Response to Original message

1. I missed those old handsets too

Great ergonomics from back in the day

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pokerfan

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Sat Apr-24-10 10:50 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. In a prior life I designed acoustic couplers

I was quite familiar with the Bell Labs standard and a surprising amount of thought went into it.

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HopeHoops

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Sun Apr-25-10 09:37 AM
Response to Reply #2

3. That's what I started with - Bell-212A or something. And remember "War Games", the movie?

The OMFG moment was when the kid was explaining how an acoustic coupler worked and picked the damn handset off of the base to illustrate without losing the carrier. Um,... RRRRIIIIIiiigggghhhhtt!

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pokerfan

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Sun Apr-25-10 12:54 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. Oh yeah, 103/212A

One of our suppliers was developing one of the first 9600 baud modems. The card was larger than most motherboards are today.

That War Games scene may have been intentional exposition for the unsophisticated audience because they actually had fairly good technical advisers on that film.

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Roon

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Sun Apr-25-10 02:18 PM
Response to Reply #2

10. My Dad retired from Lockheed Martin

and when I was a kid, sometimes he would bring one of these things home and spend all week-end typing away. I remember him putting the phone to my ear so I could hear the modem.

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quakerboy

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Sun Apr-25-10 11:12 AM
Response to Original message

4. That seemed neat before

but the cord stopped me. Now they have bluetooth? I am superiorly tempted. now all I need is money.

Or I could wait and go for the "real deal"

http://www.gearfuse.com/retro-rotary-iphone-dock-tonight-were-gonna-call-like-its-1939/

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pokerfan

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Sun Apr-25-10 01:00 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. Nostalgia

I grew up in a house with one phone and it was bolted to the wall where the old crank phone had once been.

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quakerboy

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Sun Apr-25-10 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. It was before my time,

But my dad still had a rotary in use when I was growing up. I don't care for the styling, but those old ones sure had a solid feel to them. I wonder if these new ones have that feel? Somehow I have my doubts.

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pokerfan

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Sun Apr-25-10 01:51 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. Bakelite no doubt

One of the first thermoplastics but seldom used these days "due to the cost and complexity of production and their brittle nature."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

I have an antique backgammon set with Bakelite checkers. Marvelous feel to them.

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quakerboy

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Sun Apr-25-10 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #8

9. seems likely enough

its interesting how materials have changed in recent history, when they seem to have stayed more or less constant through most of time

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