Amusing post from a social media group I'm a member of on LinkedIn

Quoth Donald:

…

Just in case anyone is interested, I didn't ride a horse and buggy, but I did witness the very first fax machine and heard some people say..."This will never last". Look at us now.

 

Which earned the pithy reply:

Donald - what's a fax machine? :-)

 

Donald responds:

Ha Ha. Glad you asked.

It was a sunny day in June and many of today's Social Media Experts were either just learning to touch their belly button or they were an egg waiting for a swimmer. The office staff was gathered near the center mail room table as we watched the technician plug in phone lines and electrical power. The box that the fax machine came in looked like it was carrying very delicate equipment. There was a lot if padding (Styrofoam hadn't been used for shipping yet.) Several pieces were laid out on the table and we watched as the "rotor" was carefully placed on its axles. The "Hood" or shield was the last piece to be assembled and we were told to be very careful not to break the shield. It was glass.

The box shaped device was approximately 2 feet wide and just under a foot deep and no more than nine inches high, with the hood closed. To the left of the device was a cradle that would hold the earpiece and mouthpiece of a desk phone. (another item that no one has seen in over 40 years). There were only two buttons next to the attached cradle. One was marked "Start" and the other was an On/Off Switch.

We were getting nervous as the technician asked if we had a phone number of someone else with a Facsimile Machine. We had been in business over ten years and we knew of two companies that had made the investment and purchased the new technology.

It was time. Our office manager lifted the shield, slid the holding rod to the right and slowly and carefully rolled the rotor to fit the single sheet of typing paper between the right and left margins. Then he locked down the holding rod and closed the shield-hood. He had spent three days in training to learn how to operate the new wonder-toy.

As he picked up the heavy black handset, we all gulped. He dialed and waited for an answer. "George, we are ready if you are". He listened for instructions from the experienced user at the other end of the phone.

"Ok then, here we go". He placed the handset on the cradle and made sure it fit tightly. It did. Then he pressed the start button and we all just stood there waiting.

The next sound we heard was so new to us, we nearly giggled with excitement. It was nothing we had ever heard before. Sort of a cross between feedback and Morse code.

The nose stopped and the rotor began to turn. It was spinning pretty fast. We all just stood there staring. Then the second noise started. "pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-pocita-...this went on for a total of seven minutes. Then a bell rang. "Ding". The boss picked up the phone to listen and the line was dead.

The technician, lifted the shield and slid the holder rod aside and slowly rolled the paper off the rotor. With a giant grin on his face he turned to face the crowd and held the paper up for all to see.

Oh my God! The blank sheet of paper now had a single paragraph in the center of the page. It read: To Bill From George. Dear Bill, Welcome to the future of communication. You are in Chicago and I am in Miami. And this document only took seven minutes to get there. Today a single sheet. Tomorrow the world. Regards George.

Unbelievable! You had to be there to really appreciate it.

Oh memories: www.twitter.com/memrees

Tres amusant. ;)

Posted via web from veruus' lifestream