Who Invented the Telephone?

There are many competing theories as to who actually invented the telephone. Many countries have even come up with their own local resident to hail as the "inventor of the telephone." In this country, Alexander Graham Bell is chiefly given the title of "inventor of the telephone", although he had many legal battles to fight in order to retain that title. Recently, Bell's title was removed and the honor went to a little-known (at least in the US) Italian-American man, Antonio Meucci.

The article reprinted here has expired. To read the article, please visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,738675,00.html

or visit http://www.telephonetribute.com/tribute/telephone_inventors.html and scroll down to the last story on the page.

For more details on this subject, visit: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone.htm

Press Release from Congress: http://www.house.gov/fossella/pr020611.htm

More on Meucci: http://www.italianhistorical.org/MeucciStory.htm

Alternatives to 411

With the cost of directory assistance (dialing 411) rising, campus employees can utilize one of the many web sites that provide free directory assistance. A phone call to 411 costs at least 95¢ (and through some carriers can cost up to $15!) but using one of these web sites is free. However, each site contains advertising and links to their sponsors. Many also give you the opportunity to purchase phone software or to make the phone call for you. Purchases or phone calls made this way would be a personal expense for you and of course these calls are expensive. It’s best to simply use these web sites as a way to obtain free directory assistance.

·        www.infospace.com provides an easy interface to search for a particular person. It also offers yellow pages and an Internet directory.

·        www.switchboard.com allows you to search for a phone number, address or e-mail address for a business or person.

 

·        www.anywho.com is sponsored by AT&T. It has a very user-friendly interface and allows you to search for toll free numbers in addition to people and businesses.

·        www.dogpile.com is an all-in-one search engine and includes many other items on their home page.

·        www.411.com has a very simple interface but is very comprehensive. Besides all the standard search choices (white pages, yellow pages, zip code, internet), it also will do a phone rate comparison.

 

·        www.four11.com is sponsored by Yahoo and takes you directly to where you fill in the person’s name. However, it is a simple design and may not be able to find the person you’re looking for.

·        yp.yahoo.com can search for businesses by type or business name. Yahoo will even locate businesses close to the city/address you choose and will give you driving directions to the business. A great resource.

·        www.yellowpages.com can search for businesses by name or type of business in the US and internationally. Finding by business type is a little difficult at times and it won’t locate businesses in other cities near the one that you choose.

Try out some of these sites and see which one best fits your needs. If you have other sites to recommend, please let us know!

Did You Know....  

• "Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires. Even if it were, it would be of no practical value." --Boston Post, 1865
   
• Let your campus phone be of practical value to you! Did you know that Telephone Services offers classes on how to use your phone and voicemail? Did you also know that guides for your phone and voicemail are available on the Telephone Services website? Did you further know that you can find contact numbers for Telephone Services staff on the website?
   
• Be very wary of what you sign up for over the phone or internet! Please do not use your campus phone to sign up for a voicemail service or special rate plan, etc. Pay special attention to a caller who is attempting to get you to agree to something -- on occasion, they will take your "yes" response to an innocent question and sign you up for some type of phone service. When in doubt, refer the caller to Telephone Services.
   
• Accepting a collect call from your campus phone can be extremely costly. Recently, we found a one minute collect call that cost $5!
   
• Remember: Local calls are free at home but not at Cal State Fullerton! All businesses are charged for local calls.
   
• Total incoming calls to campus in October:160,545
  Total outgoing calls from campus in October: 251,678

Miscellaneous

 Telephone Services is offering several classes during November. Register for Telephone Services classes through Employee Training & Development. All classes will be held in PLS-180A. For more information on course content, contact Lori Arthur.

Voicemail Class: Thursday, November 14th from 2pm - 3:30pm

Telephone Features Class: Wednesday, November 20th from 9am - 10:30am

Telesoft Online Billing Class*: Wednesday, November 27th from 9am - 10am

* This class restricted to those authorized to view department phone bills on the web. Prior authorization is required.

• May you all enjoy time spent in the company of those that love you this holiday.
  
  

• The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. —Alexander Graham Bell

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