[ih] AT&T, carterfone, the 103, and why didnt BBSs start earlier?

[Louis Mamakos]

If there's interest in physical manifestations of the hardware from  
this era, I was inspired to photograph my Bell 113A "DATAphone" so you  
might see what some of us were using circa 1978 and earlier.   <http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95847&id=508217899&l=edbc972609 
 >  (Yes, it still works and I've used it as a voice phone on my  
Vonage VoIP telephone service, pulse dialing and everything).

Someone also pointed me to a document on the silent700 terminal that  
was also quite popular during that time <http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ti/terminal/984025-9701_743_KSR_745_Portable_Maint_Dec75.pdf 
 > - the silent700 was a 300 bits/second terminal that was "silent" in  
that it used a thermal print head on paper.  Certainly silent compared  
the teletype it often replaced, and portable, too.

louie


On Aug 14, 2009, at 1:14 AM, Vint Cerf wrote:

> i was running a Quiktran time sharing system for IBM on an IBM 7044  
> using a 7740 multiplexor/communications controller. We served dial  
> up users (using IBM 1050 terminals) in 1965.
>
> vint
>
>
> On Aug 14, 2009, at 12:53 AM, Randy Bush wrote:
>
>>> I'm pretty sure that no one could actually see the other boxes  
>>> behind
>>> a 7090 :-)
>>
>> they did not go on the 7040 and 7094 or 1401 we had (u chi comp  
>> center).
>> no comms, period.  well, bisync.  and the 1130 had nada as i  
>> remember.
>> perhaps we were deprived, don't remember.
>>
>> maybe the lgps and GEs etc vint and the other kinky left coasters  
>> played
>> with had comms in those days.
>>
>> and let's not forget 134 baud 2741 selectrics.  doug mosher (rip) was
>> able to whistle into an acustic coupler to get those to type his  
>> name,
>> an amazing feat.
>>
>> and we shoukd really say dale heatherington, the engineer behind the
>> curtain, not hayes.  dennis was management, and bad management it  
>> turned
>> out.  (i consulted to hayes through those years).
>>
>> to try to be a bit on topic, i too think carterfone was all about
>> opening to competition.  and not just modems.  it meant we could  
>> attach
>> anything (reasonable) to the at&t's and itt's (you do remember them,
>> yes?) networks.
>>
>> randy
>