Analog technology tends to be comprehensible to the amateur, at least if the amateur takes an interest and invests some time in studying it. Thus if something goes wrong, the user has a good chance of analyzing what it is and maybe even doing something about it.
Digital technology, on the other hand, has a tendency to crap out for no apparent reason. In the larger sense the reason is that it's not built for durability and you're using it to do everything.
Mobile-exclusive telephone users are out on a ledge made of sand. To some extent that also applies to those of us whose landlines are push-button, cordless, etc. So I think Ted Rall is right to be dismayed at the deliberate obsolescence of copper wire landlines. It's the destruction of a piece of communications infrastructure that we may remember is necessary only when it's too late.
If you have the knowhow, the equipment, and a little bit of capital, consider stepping in where AT&T is stepping out. The telecoms' shortsightedness may be your golden opportunity.
1 comment:
I learned a few analog tricks from my dad - how to wire a lamp, how to fix a string of Christmas lights, how to change a fuse, and my favorite was when he taught me to read time on an analog clock. I was very young when he toted a paper pie plate with numbers drawn around the rim and two cardboard hands that revolved up to my room. Okay, it's not much all things considered, but it's weird to think there are kids today who don't know what those few things entail. I won't even mention leaky sinks and how to turn off a water line.
The thing is that you and Ted are right that we no longer support old tech whether it's record players, radios, phones or anything else you can think of. Unlike today’s disposable tech, many older devices were built to last, with sturdy casings, repairable parts, and a tactile quality that feels personal. It's like the old devices we've seen in Fallout were the height of civilized technology. They also required people to interact with them.
The problem with old phones no longer being connected by copper lines and low voltage electricity is definitely a problem - a serious one. Other apparatuses are also vulnerable to failure - things like bank cards, automatic doors, cash registers, medical devices, keyboards etc. I can't help but believe that one day something will happen to interrupt or terminate our power supply and we'll be back to square one.
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