Connections
between
people can be
enabled by
technology, but trust is
dependent on the
passage of time
and the
contiguity of bodies.
Telephone Switchboards,
The electromechanical
the “talk” key allowing the
the front key backwards to
sliders. This switch became
construction of the first
automatic telephone ex-
operator to speak with that
ring the called party. After
known as “The Strowger
regular telephone line
change, invented by Almon
particular cord pair. The
connecting, the opera-
Switch” and was still in use
from Boston to Someville,
Strowger in 1888, gradually
rear key on older “manual”
tor leaves both cords “up”
in some telephone offices
Massachusetts was com-
replaced manual switch-
boards and PBXs is used to
with the keys in the normal
well over 100 years later.
pleted. By the end of
boards in central telephone
physically ring a telephone.
position so the parties can
Almon Strowger was issued
1880, there were 47,900
exchanges. Manual PBXs
On newer boards, the back
converse. The supervi-
a patent on March 11, 1891
telephones in the United
have also for the most part
key is used to collect (re-
sion lamps light to alert the
for the first automatic tele-
States. The following year
been replaced by more so-
trieve) money from coin
operator when the parties
phone exchange.
telephone service between
phisticated devices or even
telephones. Each of the
finish their conversation
Boston and Providence
personal computers, which
keys has three positions:
and go on-hook. When the
The first exchange using
had been established. Ser-
give the operator access to
back, normal and forward.
operator pulls down a cord,
the Strowger switch was
vice between New York and
an abundance of features.
When a key is in the nor-
a pulley weight behind the
opened in La Porte, Indiana
Chicago started in 1892,
In modern businesses, a
mal position an electrical
switchboard pulls it down to
in 1892 and initially sub-
and between New York and
PBX often has an attendant
talk path connects the front
prevent it from tangling.
scribers had a button on
Boston in 1894. Transconti-
console for the operator, or
and rear cords. A key in the
On a trunk, on-hook and
their telephone to produce
nental service by overhead
an auto-attendant avoiding
forward position (front key)
off-hook signals must pass
the required number of
wire was not inaugurated
the operator entirely.
connects the operator to
in both directions. In a one-
pulses by tapping. An asso-
the cord pair, and a key in
way trunk, the originating or
ciate of Strowgers’ invented
until 1915. The first switchboard was set up in Boston
The switchboard is usually
the back position sends a
A board sends a short for
the rotary dial in 1896
in 1877. On January 17,
designed to accommodate
ring signal out on the cord
off-hook, and an open for
which replaced the button.
1882, Leroy Firman re-
the operator to sit facing
(on older manual exchang-
on-hook, while the termi-
In 1943, Philadelphia was
ceived the first patent for a
it. It has a high backpanel
es). Each cord has a three-
nating or B board sends
the last major area to give
telephone switchboard.
which consists of rows of
wire TRS connector: tip and
normal polarity or reverse
up dual service.
female jacks, each jack
ring for testing, ringing and
polarity. This “reverse bat-
A switchboard (also called
designated and wired as
voice; and a sleeve wire for
tery” signaling was carried
In 1877, construction of
a manual exchange) was
a local extension of the
busy signals.
over to later automatic
the first regular telephone
a device used to connect a
switchboard (which serves
exchanges.
line from Boston to Somer-
group of telephones manu-
an individual subscriber) or
When a call is received, a
ally to one another or to an
as an incoming or outgoing
jack lamp lights up on the
The first regular telephone
completed. By the end of
outside connection, within
trunk line. The jack is also
back panel and the op-
exchange was established
1880, there were 47,900
and between telephone ex-
associated with a lamp.
erator responds by placing
in New Haven in 1878. Ear-
telephones in the United
changes or private branch
On the table or desk area
the rear cord into the jack
ly telephones were leased
States. The following year
exchanges (PBXs). The
in front of the operator are
and throwing the front key
in pairs to subscribers. The
telephone service between
user was typically known
columns of keys, lamps
forward. The operator now
subscriber was required to
Boston and Providence had
as an operator. Public
and cords. Each column
converses with the caller
put up his own line to con-
been established. Service
manual exchanges disap-
consists of a front key and
and finds out where the
nect with another. In 1889,
between New York and
peared during the last half
a rear key, a front lamp
caller would like to be con-
Almon B. Strowger a Kan-
Chicago started in 1892,
of the 20th century, leaving
and a rear lamp, followed
nected to. If it is another
sas City undertaker, invent-
and between New York and
a few PBXs working in of-
by a front cord and a rear
extension, the operator
ed a switch that could con-
Boston in 1894. The first
fices and hotels as manual
cord, making up together a
places the front cord in the
nect one line to any of 100
switchboard was set up in
branch exchanges.
cord circuit. The front key is
associated jack and pulls
lines by using relays and
Boston in 1877.
1875 – 1900
ville, Massachusetts was
The First Directory consisted of a single sheet listing the names of 50 subscribers, according to lore. By November, the network had grown to 391 subscribers, identified by name and address — phone numbers did not yet exist. And the phone book, although skimpy, had already taken the form in which it would become the fat doorstop of today, with advertisements and listings of businesses in the back — 22 physicians and 22 carriage manufacturers, among others. Customers were limited to three minutes a call and no more than two calls an hour without permission from the central office. Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent on his telephone in 1876. In early 1878, he installed the first telephone exchange, in New Haven, Connecticut. The first telephone “book” - actually just a single 14 cm. x 21 cm. sheet - was issued in New Haven in facsimile of that sheet. To the right is the same text, suitable for computer searching.
November 1978
1878. Below is a 1978
Rotary Telephone is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send interrupted electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898. The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The device was phased out from the 1970s onwards with the onset of Touch Tone dialing, which uses a telephone keypad instead of a dial. Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, in which case it would have to be ordered from as a special feature, to support older customer equipment.
1910 - 1920
the telephone company
Today the dial is a key pad or “dial pad�, generally with 12 keys numbered 0-9, *, and # that perform an equivalent signalling function to that of a rotating disk dial. From as early as 1836, there were various suggestions and inventions of dials for sending telegraph signals. After the first commercial telephone exchange was installed in 1878, the need for an automated, user-controlled method of directing a telephone call became apparent. The first telephone dial patent was jointly issued to Connolly and McTighe in 1879. There were numerous competing inventions, and 26 patents of dials, push-buttons and similar mechanisms for signalling which telephone subscriber was wanted by a caller were issued prior to 1891. Most inventions involved highly complex, and expensive, mechanisms and required the user to perform complex manipulations.
New technology seems to work best when helping people interact across time, rather than across spaces
Calligraphy is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996: 17). A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is “the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner� (Mediavilla 1996: 18). The story of writing is one of aesthetic evolution framed within the technical skills, transmission speed(s) and materials limitations of a person, time and place (Diringer 1968: 441). A style of writing is described as a script, hand or alphabet Modern calligraphy ranges from functional hand lettered inscriptions and designs to fine art pieces where the abstract expression of the handwritten mark may or may not supersede the legibility of the letters (Mediavilla 1996). Classical calligraphy differs from typography and non-classical hand-lettering, though a calligrapher may create all of these; characters are historically disciplined yet fluid and spontaneous, improvised at the moment of writing (Pott 2006 & 2005; Zapf 2007 & 2006). Calligraphy continues to flourish in the forms of wedding and event invitations, font design/ typography, original hand600 BC -720 AD
lettered logo design, religious art, various announcements/ graphic design/ commissioned calligraphic art, cut stone inscriptions.
QWERTY Keyboard Typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with a set of “keys” that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. For much of the 20th century, typewriters were indispensable tools for many professional writers and in business offices. By the end of the 1980s, word processor applications on personal computers had largely replaced the tasks previously accomplished with typewriters. Typewriters, however, remain popular in the developing world and among some niche markets, and for some office tasks. The QWERTY layout of keys has become the de facto standard for Englishlanguage typewriter and computer keyboards. Other languages written in the Latin alphabet sometimes use variants of the QWERTY layouts, such as the French AZERTY, the Italian QZERTY, and the German QWERTZ layouts. The QWERTY layout is not the most efficient layout possible, since it requires a touch-typist to move his or to type the most common letters. A popular story suggests that it was designed and used for early typewriters exactly.
1875 – 1900
her fingers between rows
Sound
might be a better
communication meium than
vision in the way that it
attrack
and hold our
attention through time.
Cassette Tape,
direction. This reversal is
often referred to as audio
achieved either by manually
cassette, cassette tape,
flipping the cassette or by
cassette, or simply tape,
having the machine itself
is a magnetic tape sound
change the direction of tape
recording format. Although
movemen.
originally designed for dictation, improvements
The mass production of
in fidelity led the Com-
compact audio cassettes
pact Cassette to supplant
began in 1964 in Hanover,
reel-to-reel tape recording
Germany. Prerecorded
in most non-professional
music cassettes were
applications.[1] Its uses
launched in Europe in late
ranged from portable audio
1965. The Mercury Record
to home recording to data
Company, a U.S. affiliate
storage for early microcom-
of Philips, introduced M.C.
puters. Between the early
to the U.S. in September
1970s and late 1990s, the
1966. The initial offering
cassette was one of the
consisted of 49 titles.
two most common formats Sony even made the WM-
alongside the LP and later
10 which was smaller than
the Compact Disc.[2] The
the cassette itself and
word cassette is a French
expanded to hold and play
word meaning “little box.�
a cassette. In 1970s In-
Compact Cassettes consist
dia, they were blamed for
of two miniature spools,
bringing unwanted secular
between which a magneti-
influences into traditionally
cally coated plastic tape is
religious areas. Cassette
passed and wound. These
technology created a boom-
spools and their attendant
ing market for pop music
parts are held inside a
in India, drawing criticism
protective plastic shell. Two
from conservatives while at
stereo pairs of tracks (four
the same time creating a
total) or two monaural audio
huge market for legitimate
tracks are available on the
recording companies and
tape; one stereo pair or one
pirated tapes.[8] In some
monophonic track is played
countries, particularly in the
or recorded when the tape
developing countries, cas-
is moving in one direc-
settes still remain the domi-
tion and the second pair
nant medium for purchasing
when moving in the other
and listening to music.
1930 -1940
for prerecorded music, first
we’re are filling up the world with amazing devices and systems - on top of the natural and human ones that were already here - only to discover that these complex system seem to be out of control : too complext to understand, et alone to shaoem or redirect.
Editor-in-chief Paul Hauge Contributing Editors Emerson Velazquez Chris L. Christina Yea Yvonne Kang Lily Ou Conor Hunter Manny P. Text and Images Resources In the Bubble Wire Magazine A handwriting Manual Apple Copyright Š 2008 BYE MAGZINE. All rights reserved. Nothing in this publication may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. All material is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but published without resposibility for errors or omissions. BYE assumes no responsibility for unsolicited man scripts or photos. PRINTED IN THE USA