abcdefz
09-25-2007, 10:31 AM
....it's the end. :(
From the Mercury News (http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_6991828):
Action Line: Time to give up calling to find out time of day
By Dennis Rockstroh
Article Launched: 09/25/2007 01:36:02 AM PDT
Q I called the "POPCORN" telephone number to get the correct time.
I was utterly dismayed to hear the following message: "Effective September 17, 2007, the time reporting service has been discontinued."
What!
Whose bright idea was this?
How are we supposed to find out the correct time when we need to reset our clocks after a power failure or when the time changes?
Was this a sly "cost-cutting" measure by the phone companies?
I feel that the time announcing line is a public service.
The phone companies should not be allowed to discontinue it.
Sue Contreras
Santa Clara
A I checked with AT&T spokesman John Britton, Sue.
Here is his response.
"Calls to the time announcement have steadily decreased," he e-mailed me.
"Today, customers have access to accurate time information from a variety of sources, including televisions, wireless telephones, their computers and other devices.
"People carry around wireless phones with GPS set time, which is available to them 24 hours a day without dialing any phone numbers.
"With broadband now the norm, people are connected to the Internet and their computers display GPS set time.
"In addition, the older equipment that supports this service has reached the end of its lifespan.
"The manufacturer stopped supporting the equipment 15 years ago, and replacement parts are no longer available."
Telephone companies have
Advertisement
been providing the time since the 1920s, according to the Los Angeles Times. "In the early days, live operators read the time off clocks on the wall."
In the 1930s, the paper said, an Atlanta company called Audichron devised a system for the time to be provided automatically.
The most prominent POPCORN lady of our time was Jane Barbe.
She was the voice from the '60s through the '90s.
She was also the voice that told you when circuits were busy, please try again later.
And, it was Barbe who told us that our calls could not be completed as dialed and, "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service."
Barbe died in 2003 at age 74.
It has been estimated, the Times said, that at the height of her fame, Barbe's voice was heard worldwide about 40 million times a day.
So we have reached the end of an era. Out of time, so to speak.
So now to find out the correct time, just fire up the computer and do a Web search for "time of day."
Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say your electricity is out?
From the Mercury News (http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_6991828):
Action Line: Time to give up calling to find out time of day
By Dennis Rockstroh
Article Launched: 09/25/2007 01:36:02 AM PDT
Q I called the "POPCORN" telephone number to get the correct time.
I was utterly dismayed to hear the following message: "Effective September 17, 2007, the time reporting service has been discontinued."
What!
Whose bright idea was this?
How are we supposed to find out the correct time when we need to reset our clocks after a power failure or when the time changes?
Was this a sly "cost-cutting" measure by the phone companies?
I feel that the time announcing line is a public service.
The phone companies should not be allowed to discontinue it.
Sue Contreras
Santa Clara
A I checked with AT&T spokesman John Britton, Sue.
Here is his response.
"Calls to the time announcement have steadily decreased," he e-mailed me.
"Today, customers have access to accurate time information from a variety of sources, including televisions, wireless telephones, their computers and other devices.
"People carry around wireless phones with GPS set time, which is available to them 24 hours a day without dialing any phone numbers.
"With broadband now the norm, people are connected to the Internet and their computers display GPS set time.
"In addition, the older equipment that supports this service has reached the end of its lifespan.
"The manufacturer stopped supporting the equipment 15 years ago, and replacement parts are no longer available."
Telephone companies have
Advertisement
been providing the time since the 1920s, according to the Los Angeles Times. "In the early days, live operators read the time off clocks on the wall."
In the 1930s, the paper said, an Atlanta company called Audichron devised a system for the time to be provided automatically.
The most prominent POPCORN lady of our time was Jane Barbe.
She was the voice from the '60s through the '90s.
She was also the voice that told you when circuits were busy, please try again later.
And, it was Barbe who told us that our calls could not be completed as dialed and, "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service."
Barbe died in 2003 at age 74.
It has been estimated, the Times said, that at the height of her fame, Barbe's voice was heard worldwide about 40 million times a day.
So we have reached the end of an era. Out of time, so to speak.
So now to find out the correct time, just fire up the computer and do a Web search for "time of day."
Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say your electricity is out?