[cynwoody]

Is anyone here is old enough to remember telephone WITHOUT an operating system, without a built-in telebision and tiddle winks games, a telephone that the telephone company handed to you for FREE, yes, FREE without you having to sign any 2 year contract?

You mean the good old Western Electric 500 set?

Back in the day, Jedgar & Co. were perfectly capable of turning those into room bugs that worked with the phone on or off the hook. Required a bag job, however, for on-hook listening to work.

[Revolting cat!]

Yeah, all that sophisticated technology developed by STASI and KGB for nothing these days.