Before smartphones, most people kept in touch using landline telephones. And before direct dialing was common, some calls were handled by switchboard operators. During the 1950s, more than 220,000 ...

This vintage film demonstrates the procedures and techniques used by telephone operators for toll dialing. It covers the essential equipment, including the dialing key and tool, and illustrates how ...

The rise of generative AI — and ChatGPT in particular — has raised a lot of alarm bells in some industries worried that the technology could make many humans’ jobs obsolete. And those concerns are ...

Before smartphones, landline telephones were the way most people kept in touch. And until direct dialing became common, a switchboard operator's assistance was often needed to help with long-distance ...

Mike Lazer-Walker has repurposed a 1927 Western Electric 551-A switchboard into a hectic game that tasks players with quickly learning the obsolete job. “Hello, Operator!,” although controlled by a ...

HINES, Minn. — The earliest telephone systems connected people, eased some of the loneliness and isolation of homesteaders who lived far from other family members, provided alarms in times of ...

This program begins with the installation of the first telephone system in NH in 1878. This program begins with the installation of the first telephone system in NH in 1878 and ends when the last ...