telephone

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Gaza Gets Back Some Power, Internet After Fuel Deliveries

Israel says it will permit 2 tanker trucks of fuel daily into Gaza, though UN says more is needed

(Newser) - Limited phone and internet services began working again Friday across Gaza after fuel was delivered to restart generators that power the networks, according to the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel. Israel announced that it will allow two tanker trucks of fuel (about 15,850 gallons) into Gaza each day for the...

That Rotary Phone in the Forest Can Ease Your Grief

After Army vet created a 'wind phone' for a local park, they're now popping up everywhere

(Newser) - At the end of 2020, Corey Dembeck heard the awful news that the 4-year-old daughter of a friend had suddenly died after a bout with strep led to sepsis. The US Army veteran and former photojournalist wanted to do something immediate for the family of little Joelle Sylvester, so he...

Grown-Ups Can Now Use This Fisher-Price Classic

Company's working adult version of toddler toy uses Bluetooth to connect to your own smartphone

(Newser) - Bridget Carey says she's "broken inside from working at home way too long" (we hear that), but a recent addition to her home office has her newly perked up: an adult version of Fisher-Price's Chatter Telephone , the pull toy for toddlers you may remember from your childhood...

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...

Weird Garfield Mystery Is Finally Solved

Long-lost shipping container lodged in French cave has been dispensing plastic phones for decades

(Newser) - For 35 years, parts of Garfield novelty telephones have been washing up on the shores of the Brittany region of France, and no one knew why. Now the mystery has been solved: The cat-shaped phones are coming from a long-lost shipping container, reports the BBC . Renewed attention to the weird...

Expert Claims 'Hitler's Phone' Is a Fake

Accusation has made British major very angry

(Newser) - It's been called history's "most destructive 'weapon'" —but it might just be a convincing forgery. Frank Gnegel, head of collections at the Frankfurt Museum for Communication, believes the telephone auctioned off as Adolf Hitler's personal phone is "clearly a fake." The...

One of History's Deadliest Phones Sells for $243K

To an unnamed bidder

(Newser) - The telephone Adolf Hitler used to bark out orders that led to the deaths of millions is apparently worth $243,000 to someone. Hitler's chipped red phone, which is engraved on the backside with the Fuhrer's name and a swastika, sold to an unnamed bidder who made his...

Here's How to Make Being on Hold Less Infuriating

Companies should play pop tunes, not elevator music: study

(Newser) - No one likes being on hold, and the elevator music that typically plays while you cool your heels doesn't enhance the experience. Fortunately, a new study is suggesting a solution, Time reports: Just change the music. We're already conditioned to find elevator music annoying, researcher Karen Niven says....

Why You're Still Plagued by Robocalls

And how to deal with them

(Newser) - Why do telemarketers keep pestering you, long after you signed up for the federal "Do Not Call" list? First of all, you're certainly not alone, Consumerist reports: "If this were a disease, it would be an epidemic," says a consumer advocate. The Federal Trade Commission gets...

Wrong Number Saves Man's Life

Woman heard struggle, called police

(Newser) - With a blood clot threatening his life, a British man reached for the phone and dialed the wrong number—but as wrong numbers go, this was the right one. Hearing heavy breathing and moaning, the woman who picked up initially believed she was the victim of a prank call. But...

Italy Stewing Over Bain's Tax-Free Phone Deal

Mitt Romney's company sold phone company for $1B profit

(Newser) - Good thing Mitt Romney ducked Italy on his European tour; Italians aren't too thrilled with him right now. That's because Romney's Bain Capital played a key role in acquiring a phone-directory company from the Italian government and selling it for a $1 billion profit at the height...

Qantas Puts Caller on Hold ... All Night

Says he waited 15 hours for response

(Newser) - When an Australian businessman called up his national airline at 7:22pm on Wednesday, an automated message told him an operator would be with him "as soon as possible." But no one ever picked up; instead, he stayed on the line until 11:01am the next morning and...

Woman Calls Ex 65K Times
 Woman Calls Ex 65K Times 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 11, 2011 7:15 AM CDT

Woman Calls Ex 65K Times

...in a single year

(Newser) - Fatal Attraction, much? A 42-year-old Dutch woman apparently had a very, very hard time letting go of her former boyfriend ... or his phone number. Prosecutors claim she called him 65,000 times in the last year, and are charging her with stalking. Spaced over 365 days, that's 178 calls...

'Sensual' Phones Kiss, Cuddle
 'Sensual' Phones Kiss, Cuddle 
Sep 9, 2011 3:47 AM CDT

'Sensual' Phones Kiss, Cuddle

Don't hang up on me, baby

(Newser) - Here's a cellphone that's got your number. In pursuit of more "emotional" and "sensory" phones, a designer at the Berlin University of the Arts has come up with three different touchy-feelie models that will blow on your neck, coo, and even kiss, reports the Los Angeles ...

New Phone Etiquette: Don't Call Anyone
 New Phone Etiquette: 
 Don't Call Anyone 
OPINION
Mar 20, 2011 7:53 AM CDT

New Phone Etiquette: Don't Call Anyone

Phones are so smart now, we've stopped calling altogether

(Newser) - Smartphones are the most important accessories in our lives, good for doing just about anything—except actually calling people, writes Pamela Paul in the New York Times . In fact, phone use in general is way down over the past five years, reports Paul, so much so that when her phone...

Why I Love My Land Line
 Why I Love 
 My Land Line 
OPINION
Sep 7, 2010 10:42 AM CDT

Why I Love My Land Line

Because I can actually talk on it

(Newser) - That smartphone can text, email, navigate, surf, organize, amuse, and waste time indefinitely. But the one thing it sucks at? Actual phone calls, writes Stephen Randall in an LA Times requiem for the land line, which "sits like a weird dusty antique on my desk. It won't let me...

Call Centers Return to US, With a Twist

More companies hire trained operators to work from home

(Newser) - It’s still not as cheap as outsourcing to India or the Philippines, but US companies are increasingly choosing homegrown telephone operators to handle their customer service needs. The trend is fueled by the advent of “phonesourcing” or “homesourcing,” which uses linkups to allow trained operators to...

Why Talking on the Phone Stinks

 Why Talking on 
 the Phone 
 Stinks 
Uh, how are the kids?
Feb 27, 2010 5:11 AM CST

Why Talking on the Phone Stinks

The pleasantries, the epic goodbyes make conversation totally lame

(Newser) - Though you'll have to pry the smartphone out of most Americans' cold, dead hands, there are plenty of reasons why those gadgets are good: They allow you to communicate in so many ways other than talking. The Oatmeal illustrates (literally) 10 good reasons why talking on the phone sucks:
  1. All
...

'TigerText' iPhone App Bails Out Philanderers

App automatically deletes text—or sext—message trail

(Newser) - Tiger Woods probably wishes he’d had TigerText, a new iPhone app that automatically deletes sensitive text messages and cleans up cellphone call records. When a user sends a TigerText, it resides on the company’s servers. After the recipient reads the message, the system deletes it immediately, 5 days...

O'Keefe: The Media Are Picking on Me!

Was at Landrieu's office, 'could have used a different approach'

(Newser) - James O’Keefe says he did not try to bug Mary Landrieu’s phone, and reports saying he did are false. In a lengthy statement on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism blog railing against the media, the conservative activist acknowledges a "visit" to the senator's office and says, "...

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