I use old vintage touchtone phones on copper lines at my stores. I use them because they just always work, even when the network is down and the power is out. Now Bell Canada is starting to send me letters saying they are discontinuing support for copper lines and that I have to switch to fibre even though it costs more and I already have the internet connection i need from a different company. Very frustrating.
America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
11–20 of 26 posts
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#12I’ve thought about getting a home phone again. Ready to give up my old mobile and tired of tracking. But a lot of things in life require a phone number, even if many of those times it should not.
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#13While weathering hurricanes in Florida, self-powered landlines were a reliable means of communication, even during a neighborhood power outage. It's sad to see these go.
I know what you meant, but I feel compelled to be pedantic and point out they aren't really "self-powered", except the ones with a crank on the side, and even then that was just to initiate a call. The power comes from the switch it is connected to (though TBF to your turn of phrase they are "self powered" in the sense that the signal lines and power lines are the same).
As far as the old Bell System went: if you look, the old CO buildings have big parking lots around them (sometimes on all sides, and fenced off; other times actual parking lots on one or two sides. Those used to have huge diesel tanks in them (dunno if they still do this). The basements of those buildings we full of -48V batteries (dealing with H2 outgassing was an engineering issue). IIRC they were supposed to have a week's capacity, though that seems implausible to me.
Our current system is more capable but much less resilient.
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#14This isn't exactly a landline, but I've got (an older version of) this bluetooth -> telephone gateway [1] and have a few vintage handsets that I'll occasionally hook up to it. Incoming/outgoing calls route through your cell phone (good or bad depending upon your perspective) but the quality is great and it's nice to just sit and talk on a wired handset.
We're never getting back the phone systems of yore, but for me, it's more about replicating the ergonomics of 'the phone call' rather than stubbornly preserving antiquated technology.
YMMV -- some handsets can be finicky, most work great though, and since it's functionally no different than connecting a BT headset, you get some weird added stuff by default (access to contact lists, siri, whatever your software already provides (incoming call blocking, spam filtering, etc))
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Technolgoies-XLink-Bluetooth-G...
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#15The best home technology is insulation. One time install. Saves the planet. Saves money. No maintenance.
Landlines aren’t missed.
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#16While weathering hurricanes in Florida, self-powered landlines were a reliable means of communication, even during a neighborhood power outage. It's sad to see these go.
Cellular infrastructure is also uniquely suited for emergencies. If landlines get disrupted due to a disaster, it can take a while to get them repaired. While an emergency cell tower can be brought in and immediately provide cell service for a large area.
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#17I’ve thought about getting a home phone again. Ready to give up my old mobile and tired of tracking. But a lot of things in life require a phone number, even if many of those times it should not.
Why not a burner prepaid dumbphone? Battery lasts forever, cheap, and while there is still some modicum of tracking, it's nothing like the firehoses that are smartphones..
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#18Out in the woods, the home and the nearest DSL hub have backup power. Cellular is always a crap shoot. And iPads can make phone calls via Wi-Fi, FaceTime and emergency calls. I have yet to use a landline phone, even from the thrift store, even though the phone service is bundled with DSL internet at a lower cost than DSL internet alone. The blazing fast internet revolution has not reached the woods, though I have nev…
> The blazing fast internet revolution has not reached the woods… Starlink hasn't changed this?
Last I heard, Starlink isn't reliable in a forest. The trees intermittently block the signal.
Re: America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is
#19The best home technology is insulation. One time install. Saves the planet. Saves money. No maintenance. Landlines aren’t missed.
I'd say the best home technology is Roof.