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AT&T Stops 'Time', Ends An Era
theoeag writes "Starting in September, you will no longer be able to pick up a landline, payphone, etc and find out what time it is at the beep. AT&T, which has had the service since the 20s, cited a lack of demand in the digital age as the reason for "time"'s extinction. Actually, the service had already stopped in most states, but Nevada and California — with their large rural and unmapped areas — were still holding out, should the lost motorist or weary hiker need to know the time of day. But no more! The "Time Machine", which consisted of two large drum-like devices that contained several audio-tracks and a quite advanced system for syncing up with the caller, will probably end up in a museum, anxiously awaiting the arrival of its cousin: The Pay-Phone."
I use the time on my computer, it's accurate to within a couple of seconds. Why would I need better accuracy?
I think you have an extra 'N' in there somewhere...
NTP
NNTP
Anyone else think the comments just weren't rendering right before they turned off ABP and saw ads?
Try this: http://www.time.gov/
G
All of the phones I have every had sync themselves up with the provider. Even when traveling around, it will pick up the local time without any intervention...
Actually, I go to http://www.time.gov/ .
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
Actually, the US Naval Observatory, which maintains the official time for the US still has the voice announcer available over the phone. According to this page the numbers are
(202) 762-1401 and (202) 762-1069
for Washington DC and
(719) 567-6742
for the alternate master clock in Colorado Springs, CO.
Or like 'ping 4.2.2.1'. If that server ever gets eliminated, I will be one unhappy camper.
If you really need to hear a talking clock, call 202-762-1401. The service is provided by the US Naval Observatory.
You can still get time and temperature (preceded by an advertisement for Captain D's) at:
901-526-5261
It's commonly known around Memphis, TN -- at least among those who know about it -- as "JAMJAM1".
The Freelance Wizard
Whilst Asterisk (especially in conjunction with a Grandstream Handytone ATA and a voice modem with ALSA drivers) is in most respects the fabled "sky blue pink box with yellow spots on", you cannot spoof caller ID with it. The only known way of spoofing caller ID (without the assistance of a telco) is for you to be on a Strowger exchange (i.e. non-DTMF) and the person on the far end still to have one of the first-generation Cable TV phones with caller ID (which used DTMF tones sent between the ringing pulses, as opposed to the 1200 baud modem tones used by modern caller ID). After dialling, and before they answer, press * to switch your phone to DTMF; any digits you dial will be appended to the display (which will scroll, and lose the original number [sent by the cableco] off the LHS. This behaviour is rather a giveaway). I don't believe there are any clicky-clicky exchanges left anymore (you can buy DTMF-only phones for home use, and they don't come with any warnings).
.....
Even if you have your own PRI, you get allocated (or can buy) a block of 30 numbers to go with it. You can assign any of those thirty numbers as the visible ident on any of your thirty B-channels, even to all of them at once; but if you try to assign a number that isn't yours to one of your lines, then it won't work -- it will come up on the far end's telephone as "number withheld". This all happens transparently and you do not receive any error messages.
I know this from experience, because we ordered a second PRI; and sometimes when we tried to ident a line on PRI2 with a number from the PRI1 group, it would bomb out. Turned out that (due to a spelling mistake on the order form) BT hadn't properly associated the two lines with each other (they thought we were two different companies, and so not entitled to use each other's numbers). It didn't bomb every time, because (1) sometimes the calls were going out over PRI1 and (2) some people's lines still accept anonymous calls. Only once we had made this connection did anyone from the phone company have any clue what was up
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
The UK speaking clock, on 123, still works. American who need a time fix can call +44 123, as long as they remember to convert from GMT to their own time zone.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
(What's this about 30 b-channels, btw? I'm used to 23 b-channels and 1 d-channel).
"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
He's in europe. It's an E1 PRI, which has 3 chans.
Happy Birthday (by way of Wikipedia).
- The Amazina Llama