The general decline in standards today

[sheeplady]

Perhaps, but you'd also probably be paying hundreds of dollars per month for it. Ma Bell may have been good at getting service to the masses, but it was "you'll get the phone we give you, use it *where* we put it, use it *when* we let you and pay *what* we tell you."

Sounds kind of similar to the current cellphone racket, doesn't it?

Live in a rural area- one provider if you're lucky.
Want to buy your own phone and unlock it work on your network- out of luck.

I smell something a lot like Ma Bell the only thing is that their quality sucks a lot more, there's less coverage, and the phones cost more for less consistent reliability. Competition doesn't directly lower prices unless it is true competition- something which we don't really see in telecomm. They've got you locked in every way to Sunday.

Important too to note that Bell Labs was the fountainhead for nearly all the technology that shaped the twentieth century: Ma Bell didn't just make nationwide telephone a reality, she also gave us network broadcasting, electrical recording, talking pictures, stereophonic sound, the semiconductor, the laser, the solar cell, the communications satellite, the foundations for the internet, and much of the technology that put man on the moon -- and all that over the span of a *single human lifetime.* No single human enterprise that has ever existed ever accomplished more in a shorter span of time.

Of course, Ma is in her grave now, and in her place we have companies that have given the world on-demand pornography in every home, Nigerian Prince scams, Google looking over every shoulder, texting-while-driving, dropped calls, "titanium" as another name for "pot metal," "digital audio quality" that sounds like someone talking thru eight layers of wax paper, and Indian call centers. Progress.

And no matter how people tout that so-and-so technology company is the new Bell Labs, not a single one of them is.* How many inventions did Bell Labs create- simply by allowing people to work independently on whatever they wanted for part of their jobs.

*I've known people who have worked for the technology companies and most seem to be a sweatshop. Sure- we have professional chefs on staff. Sure, we let you come in the hours you like. Sure, we encourage fun. Just be sure to come in 7 days a week and work 13 hour days- don't even leave the building- we'll bring you a meal. Oh, we'll do your laundry too. Bring in a cot so you don't even to go home at night if you're tired. Look at all the shiny nice things we do for our employees..... (cough, cough.)

 

[jamespowers]

They couldn't get into the computer business as long as they had both the phone service and the equipment manufacturing business. They gambled on the equipment piece and lost. Sort of. Several of the Baby Bells are now back together with AT&T.

They had computer equipment operating their systems. They were in it one way or the other whether they did it directly or through another company they contracted with. lol They way they did it was designed to fail. Fortunately, it makes no difference now as we get much better phone service for less thanks to cellular phones. We have long run over the ancient technology and left them in the dust.
TV is done by satellite, we also have cable and a host of other things.
Bell might have wanted to be in computers but they were hemmed in for good reason it seems now. Without the lawsuit they would never had a spectacular chance to fail. lol lol

 

[GHT]

They couldn't get into the computer business as long as they had both the phone service and the equipment manufacturing business. They gambled on the equipment piece and lost. Sort of. Several of the Baby Bells are now back together with AT&T.

Is this the same AT&T that is making a move on Vodafone? AT&T explore Vodafone deal.
Should I be looking for a new provider?

 

[jamespowers]

Is this the same AT&T that is making a move on Vodafone? AT&T explore Vodafone deal.
Should I be looking for a new provider?

Not exactly the same AT&T although if they do I would look for a new provider if it were me. The new AT&T is the old SBC. SBC took over AT&T and then changed their name to match several years ago. There has been so much merging and selling off with the former companies that it is difficult to keep track of. Put simply though, AT&T cell service stinks here compared to other providers. I have no idea how it works there though.

 

[LizzieMaine]

All I want to know is, if the modern service is so good, how come half the calls I get from people using modern phones over modern networks are unintelligible? I've never had anything but a Western Electric phone on New England Telephone legacy lines, and nobody's ever had any trouble understanding me.

And don't even get me started about VOIP and Skype and all the rest of that stuff. We use those things at work, and every time I have to make a call it's like trying to talk with my head encased in Jell-O.

 

[GHT]

We had a world class chocolatier, name of Cadbury, up until two years ago. The circus is still the same but the clowns now wear Kraft Komic Klothes. How long will it take AT&T to do something similar with Vodafone?

 

[jamespowers]

All I want to know is, if the modern service is so good, how come half the calls I get from people using modern phones over modern networks are unintelligible? I've never had anything but a Western Electric phone on New England Telephone legacy lines, and nobody's ever had any trouble understanding me.

I have no problem out here. Your network out there must be sparse. Then again, I don't use AT&T.

 

[jamespowers]

We had a world class chocolatier, name of Cadbury, up until two years ago. The circus is still the same but the clowns now wear Kraft Komic Klothes. How long will it take AT&T to do something similar with Vodafone?

I had forgotten that Cadbury was taken over by Kraft. Interesting. I hope I get more dividends from it.
The AT&T Titanic that it is will likely run that company into an iceberg. Although it depends on how the market there reacts.

 

[sheeplady]

They couldn't get into the computer business as long as they had both the phone service and the equipment manufacturing business. They gambled on the equipment piece and lost. Sort of. Several of the Baby Bells are now back together with AT&T.

Given the fact that AT&T is one of the largest companies in the world and the largest cell provider in the U.S., lost is an interesting way to put it. Of any piece of the former Bell System, they seem to have reinvented themselves as a cell provider. (I'm not sure if you could call Verizon Wireless a former Bell, given how separate they are from Verizon itself.) If they dump their rural landlines (which many people speculate are losing them money) they'd likely be even more well positioned, but they'd lose ground as the largest U.S. landline company. Lots of people say they've got their hands in too many pots.

For all of the stumbling of AT&T (there was one time when I thought they'd go under) they've emerged relatively unscathed. Compare their position to Sprint and MCI, I'd say while AT&T is precariously positioned, they've come out a fair bit better. (In my opinion.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Kraft is another one of my pet hates at the moment. They used to be a good company, making good cheese and Miracle Whip and such, but as soon as they got into the "diversification" game, they wrecked everything they touched. Especially Nabisco -- once a great American company with a great line of products, one-to-one service with its wholesale accounts, and a reputation for longstanding quality. But when Kraft got control of it, look out. Krap Krap Krap.

 

[sheeplady]

All I want to know is, if the modern service is so good, how come half the calls I get from people using modern phones over modern networks are unintelligible? I've never had anything but a Western Electric phone on New England Telephone legacy lines, and nobody's ever had any trouble understanding me.

Because we've got a bunch of idiots who are distracted by shiny objects (AKA cell phones). Look how individual you can be with your device that looks like everyone elses! Forget that it's a functional paperweight! Shiny object! Shiny object!

We had a world class chocolatier, name of Cadbury, up until two years ago. The circus is still the same but the clowns now wear Kraft Komic Klothes. How long will it take AT&T to do something similar with Vodafone?

Given the fact that vodaphone (in my experience) has such a different model as a pay-as-you-go provider (don't know if they are mainly, but I know that much of Europe prefers pay as you go) than AT&T who is plan-based in the U.S., it could be very interesting. Unfortunately, I doubt that we'd get any advantage from the merger this side of the pond. (My experiences with vodaphone have always been good while traveling. AT&T had horrid coverage of my area as of a few years ago, so I haven't used them.)

 

[AtomicEraTom]

We have a Kraft line at work, and there's a lot of speculation about what's going to happen to the plant, now.

Kraft is another one of my pet hates at the moment. They used to be a good company, making good cheese and Miracle Whip and such, but as soon as they got into the "diversification" game, they wrecked everything they touched. Especially Nabisco -- once a great American company with a great line of products, one-to-one service with its wholesale accounts, and a reputation for longstanding quality. But when Kraft got control of it, look out. Krap Krap Krap.

 

[jamespowers]

Kraft is another one of my pet hates at the moment. They used to be a good company, making good cheese and Miracle Whip and such, but as soon as they got into the "diversification" game, they wrecked everything they touched. Especially Nabisco -- once a great American company with a great line of products, one-to-one service with its wholesale accounts, and a reputation for longstanding quality. But when Kraft got control of it, look out. Krap Krap Krap.

Kraft and the like were all once part of Philip Morris. It always amused me to think that Nabisco was a Philip Morris Company. The unfortunate thing is that most people do not know the difference there. They take what they can get from Kraft because it is a big brand name. Kraft didn't really get control of it. Mondelez did. The shareholders got a screwing there too in the stock shares conversion. Kraft is struggling from that split because they can no longer draw on their international strength like they used to.

 

[jamespowers]

We have a Kraft line at work, and there's a lot of speculation about what's going to happen to the plant, now.

Kraft's revenue declined nearly 5% last quarter. They will make money but unfortunately, you will likely see a cut as they drawback with their inability to raise prices and their declining product mix. They got hosed in the split.....

 

[HudsonHawk]

Given the fact that AT&T is one of the largest companies in the world and the largest cell provider in the U.S., lost is an interesting way to put it. Of any piece of the former Bell System, they seem to have reinvented themselves as a cell provider. (I'm not sure if you could call Verizon Wireless a former Bell, given how separate they are from Verizon itself.) If they dump their rural landlines (which many people speculate are losing them money) they'd likely be even more well positioned, but they'd lose ground as the largest U.S. landline company. Lots of people say they've got their hands in too many pots.

For all of the stumbling of AT&T (there was one time when I thought they'd go under) they've emerged relatively unscathed. Compare their position to Sprint and MCI, I'd say while AT&T is precariously positioned, they've come out a fair bit better. (In my opinion.)

I meant "lost" as in their attempt at the computer business failed, as did Wester Electric once they no longer had the internal phone service company to keep them going. Furthermore, AT&T's subsequent attempt back into the phone serive arena didn't go so well and only after they were bought back by one of the subsidiary companies they spun off did the name recapture much market share. The "AT&T" you know now is not the same company that broke up in 1984...it's one of the "Baby Bells" (Southwestern Bell to be exact) that co-opted the AT&T name for marketing purposes.

 

[Captain Neon]

Most of us in the biz thought Kraft was foolish to sell off their very profitable frozen pizza brands to Nestle to have capital to buy Cadbury's.

Kraft's revenue declined nearly 5% last quarter. They will make money but unfortunately, you will likely see a cut as they drawback with their inability to raise prices and their declining product mix. They got hosed in the split.....

 

[HudsonHawk]

All I want to know is, if the modern service is so good, how come half the calls I get from people using modern phones over modern networks are unintelligible?

Probably because people mumble nowadays.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Kraft and the like were all once part of Philip Morris. It always amused me to think that Nabisco was a Philip Morris Company. The unfortunate thing is that most people do not know the difference there. They take what they can get from Kraft because it is a big brand name. Kraft didn't really get control of it. Mondelez did. The shareholders got a screwing there too in the stock shares conversion. Kraft is struggling from that split because they can no longer draw on their international strength like they used to.

My dad worked for Maxwell House coffee for years. Which was owned by Kraft. Which was owned by Philip Morris. He's retired now and doesn't give a flip anymore though.

 

[jamespowers]

My dad worked for Maxwell House coffee for years. Which was owned by Kraft. Which was owned by Philip Morris. He's retired now and doesn't give a flip anymore though.

They have a production facility in our town here. I used to live close enough to smell the coffee roasting. Ah, good times.

 

[jamespowers]

Most of us in the biz thought Kraft was foolish to sell off their very profitable frozen pizza brands to Nestle to have capital to buy Cadbury's.

Well those of us in finance didn't think it was such a good idea either. They diminished their mix of products that they could draw on as I wrote before. I have no idea if Cadbury was a good buy or not---yet. I suppose it gave them new avenues for revenue but it was at the expense of tried and true brands. :doh: Maybe they made a good gamble but it may take a year or two to profit from it. All that reorganization is not cheap.