pay phones

8 Stories

One Man in Rural Vermont Is Setting Up Free Pay Phones

Patrick Schlott fixes up old units, hooks them up to internet in areas with traditionally spotty cell service

(Newser) - An electrical engineer by trade, Patrick Schlott has spent countless hours tinkering with new and old technology. But it wasn't until he found himself living in rural Vermont when it hit on him that his penchant for repairing old pay phones could provide a public service. "I realized,...

Meet the '80s Pay Phone Bandit Who Eluded the FBI for Years

Pay phone lockboxes were designed to be impenetrable—until James Clark entered the scene

(Newser) - Once upon a time, long before the days of smart phones, pay phones were the most convenient way to reach someone when you were on the go. Jake Rossen delves into a true crime story for Mental Floss centered on these relics from the past, and an anti-hero of sorts...

New Yorkers Bid Fond Farewell to Once-Iconic Street Staple

City's last public pay phone is yanked from its perch on corner of 49th Street, 7th Avenue

(Newser) - You can save those quarters for laundry—New York City's last freestanding public pay phone is no more. The Big Apple's "planned long goodbye" for these technological relics came to a close Monday, as the last unit was yanked from the ground at the corner of 49th...

It's the End of an Era for NYC's Pay Phones

Nearly all of the city's pay phones are about to be yanked out

(Newser) - They used to be a staple on the Big Apple's streets. Now, what Gothamist calls a "planned long goodbye" to New York City's pay phones is finally wrapping up. The site reports that, in the age of smartphones, locals have been griping about the remaining open-air phones...

NYC's Phone Booths Becoming Something Much More Useful

City unveiling WiFi hotspots today

(Newser) - New York City still has thousands of pay phones on its sidewalks, but many have been gathering dust in the cellphone era. This month, the city will start replacing them with free WiFi hot spots, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ultimately, more than 7,500 phone booths will be turned...

RIP, Mix Tapes, Porn Age Limits, Typewriters, and More

(Newser) - Word processors, dot-matrix printers, rotary phones, and other formerly state-of-the-art technologies are just about gone and nearly forgotten. Carrying the torch for the likes of holding up a cigarette lighter at a concert is JR Raphael of PC World, who lists 40 leading lights of abandoned technology:
  • Looking up numbers
...

Winslet Recalls Teen Trial: Dad's Pay Phone

Dad's tactics threw off her dating routine, actress says

(Newser) - When Kate Winslet was growing up, her dad knew how to keep her from gabbing on the telephone all night: He installed a pay phone in their house. "He would pick up the extension and sigh and tut down the line when I was talking to boyfriends," says...

Cellphones Sound Last Call for British Icon

Famous red booths disappear from English streets

(Newser) - Britain’s iconic red phone booths are going extinct in a country where cellphones outnumber people, USA Today reports. British Telecom is shrinking the overall number of pay phones and replacing the red booths with modern ones that double as wireless hotspots. With just 12,700 of the originals left...

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