Welcome to Coffee Hour. This is an open topic thread so help yourself to the goodies and sit a spell and let us know what is new with you. The invention of the telephone has got to be one of the most important in the field of communications. Even though the history of the telephone is mired in claims and counterclaims as to who invented it Alexander Graham Bell gets most of the credit since he was the first to patent it.
Even in my lifetime telephones have changed drastically. When she was first married my Mom worked at the telephone office on a switchboard. At that time most of the phone lines were party lines with multiple users. When I was a teenager the telephone was the one that hung on the wall in the kitchen. You had as much privacy as a party line. Later Mom and Dad got an extension for their bedroom and a Princess phone.
When I was on my own I first had a landline. I also got some "silly" phones such as the Enterprise and Magic 8 Ball ones that currently delight my grandchildren. The landlines were plugged into the early computers when I went on-line.
The early digital phones that were not connected to landlines were big and bulky. Car phones were popular for many years. As digital technology advanced the phones became more sophisticated. They now connect you to the Internet with ease. Here in North Carolina I don't bother with a landline and just use my cell phone.
I had an Android LG phone that I loved. I was able to download the Doctor Who theme free for my ringtone. A couple months ago we I switched to Sprint because Reid needed a new phone and a North Carolina number. I switched my carrier and phone. All I've got to say is I miss my Android and hate my Apple iPhone with a passion.
My Enterprise phone complete with dragon hitching a ride.
My Magic 8 Ball phone.