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Technology Victim: Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram
ComputerWorld ^
| February 3, 2006
| Todd R. Weiss
Posted on 02/05/2006 3:03:05 PM PST by DaveCooper
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To: DaveCooper; mhking
2
posted on
02/05/2006 3:05:53 PM PST
by
Fiddlstix
(Tagline Repair Service. Let us fix those broken Taglines. Inquire within(Presented by TagLines R US))
To: DaveCooper
RIP, God love the old telegrams. The computer age made a dinsour out of 'em.
3
posted on
02/05/2006 3:06:32 PM PST
by
xJones
To: Neil E. Wright
4
posted on
02/05/2006 3:13:39 PM PST
by
Fiddlstix
(Tagline Repair Service. Let us fix those broken Taglines. Inquire within(Presented by TagLines R US))
To: DaveCooper
Western Union sure knows how to change with the times... they could have easily died off with the telegram, but instead, they've shifted their core business a number of times and now look pretty firmly set for the future.
5
posted on
02/05/2006 3:14:28 PM PST
by
stormlead
To: xJones
I bought one volume of a two-volume set called
Modern Electricity copyrighted 1912 at an antique store a few years back. In it is a block diagram of a telegraph multiplexing system patented in Ireland around the turn of the century that allowed nineteen telegraph circuits on a single (earth-return) wire. The book said that the system worked best during very damp weather since the dampness discharged the capacitance of long copper lines more rapidly. It used a tuning fork (struck every twentieth pulse by an electromagnetic armature to keep it pulsating) to time a stepper relay through 19 contacts that connected 19 telegraph keys to a single wire. An identical device at the other end of the wire sync'd its tuning fork to the originating fork, demuxing the 19 channels to sounders at its location. Pretty amazing: no electronics!
I once knew a very old man who had worked on WU teletype multiplexors. His stories were fascinating, epics of mechanical technical challenges and nightmares. As an electronic tech, I loved his stories. He had also worked as a wireless operator in the merchant marine in the 1930s using an arc tranmsitter. Neat stuff.
6
posted on
02/05/2006 3:27:24 PM PST
by
TheGeezer
To: stormlead
The only times I used a telegram in the last decade was to send messages to Washington; I suppose those last thirty people worked there, New York, and a few other large cities.
RIP.
7
posted on
02/05/2006 3:28:38 PM PST
by
kingu
(Liberalism: The art of sticking your fingers in your ears and going NANANANA..)
To: stormlead
..at least they didn't sue their way ahead to preserve their old business model (like the MPAA and RIAA hav)....
8
posted on
02/05/2006 3:29:08 PM PST
by
telstar1
(...peace is possible ONLY through precisely applied firepower...)
To: stormlead
Did you know that WU refused to buy Bell's telephone? They considered it a fad...
9
posted on
02/05/2006 3:29:32 PM PST
by
TheGeezer
To: DaveCooper
It is 2006 - we are in the 21st freakin' century! What took Western Union so long to shut down the stupid telegram business?
10
posted on
02/05/2006 3:31:28 PM PST
by
Spiff
("They start yelling, 'Murderer!' 'Traitor!' They call me by name." - Gael Murphy, Code Pink leader)
To: Spiff
”It is 2006 - we are in the 21st freakin' century! What took Western Union so long to shut down the stupid telegram business?”
”20,000 messages were sent in 2005”
there was still some money to be made I guess
11
posted on
02/05/2006 3:37:16 PM PST
by
Steve Van Doorn
(*in my best Eric cartman voice* “I love you guys”)
To: DaveCooper
Wonder who had the honor of sending the last telegram and how much they paid. (and what it said!)
To: TheGeezer
Stories like those are fascinating. So many creative minds, so many inventions and sometimes the best ones were beaten out by lesser - but much better promoted - models. You could spend a lifetime just reading through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office files.
Best regards
13
posted on
02/05/2006 3:38:00 PM PST
by
xJones
To: operation clinton cleanup
Wonder who had the honor of sending the last telegram and how much they paid. (and what it said!)Well, one's thing's for sure, it wasn't to Marty McFly (Back to the Future) again.:)
14
posted on
02/05/2006 3:41:20 PM PST
by
xJones
To: DaveCooper
I don't know why- but this brings a tear to my eye..
We (my family) still have telegrams from all the big events- births, deaths, ones from overseas when all the men were in WW I and WWII...and other assorted special moments...
15
posted on
02/05/2006 3:41:25 PM PST
by
SE Mom
(God Bless those who serve..)
To: DaveCooper
How long before the last newspaper is printed and CNN makes its last telecast?
16
posted on
02/05/2006 3:45:38 PM PST
by
Moonman62
(Federal creed: If it moves tax it. If it keeps moving regulate it. If it stops moving subsidize it)
To: DaveCooper
the company ended its telegram services quietly on Jan. 27 by laying off 30 workers who still operated the telegram business.What a way to end a 150 year product.
17
posted on
02/05/2006 4:48:12 PM PST
by
fso301
To: DaveCooper; All
18
posted on
02/05/2006 4:53:01 PM PST
by
backhoe
(-30-)
To: DaveCooper
added keyword western union
19
posted on
02/05/2006 5:04:31 PM PST
by
Coleus
(IMHO, The IVF procedure is immoral & kills many embryos/children and should be outlawed)
To: DaveCooper
"This is our last telegram." Stop
"Use email or fax." Stop
"Have a nice day". Stop
20
posted on
02/05/2006 5:16:55 PM PST
by
manwiththehands
(Screw Allah. Everything I ever cared to know about Islam I learned on 9/11.)
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