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Ugliest Operator Consoles, part two

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I won’t say this console is “ugly” in the looks department per se, but I believe the user interface is beyond “ugly”. From knowing a little of the old school Mitels (the pure TDM flavors), it had complex features, but accessing them were over simplified.  From my third hand research, I mean is that you had like up to 10 programmable features, then the softkeys, then the arrows to move the cursor around on screen.

They never sold special BLF modules for the console. The same PKM-12, 24 or 48 modules used for the SuperSet digital sets – would be plugged into this console. The ones originally used for the SuperSets kinda had consistency but if you had the 5448 or something of that generation it would look like a hodge podge type of deskset if you still are using these types of consoles, because even the most recent IP-based console is completely a carbon copy of the digital cousin.

The handset retainer is misleading, because (correct me if I am wrong) there is no switchhook, and functions like other consoles, you must initiate by pressing a line key.

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Ugliest Operator Consoles

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As we are going into the spirit of the Christmas season, I thought to spoof “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” to do a similar thing to operator consoles.

Today’s will be img_1692

This is a Mitel operator console. Before they were seriously electronic, the set was bulky, I believe metallic or heavy duty and the Busy Lamp Field would literally mean a field of lamps with no button access.

They stopped making this around the late 1980s, but wouldn’t be surprised to see these installed in SX 50, SX 200 or SX 200 Superswitches.

PICTURE IS NOT MY OWN. It was snatched by an eBay listing

3-1-1 Boston Ad – August 2016

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img_7922 This was taken in Boston, when I visited Fenway Park for the first time to witness a Red Sox game. This ad on a public trash can touts Boston’s 3-1-1 citizen service hotline. For many years, there was a ten-digit number – 617-435-3500 or something remotely similar. In the late 2000s, the City of Boston implemented a CRM – that is a Constituent Relations Management software package similar to Customer Relations Management in a private sector customer support line. Despite upgrades to VOIP and a CRM, Boston never switched the three-digit number until the late Thomas M. Menino didn’t run for his fifth term, and sadly passed away a year later. The hesitant to change most likely came from the very top, since Marty Walsh has been Mayor, Boston has seriously moved forward in the operations sense. Since then a similar service is delivered on smartphone apps.

Regardless of the limited fanfare of the number change; Massachusetts is known for (or to encourage) frivolous 9-1-1 calls as well as local conservative talk show hosts mocking 9-1-1 to report post election “hate crimes” which I feel is so inappropriate on so many levels. It is unsure if the mockery is a joke, or dry at least. But there are really some naive dumbos living in the Commonwealth that could follow a talk show host to call 9-1-1 for a hate crime and another hopeless citizen may be put onto another queue to report a life threatening house fire thanks to the talk show hosts being smart alecks. This is the very same reason why 3-1-1 (or other non life threatening calls) was implemented in the first place.

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POTD: Avaya 6408D+ Digital “Telephone” | Attitash Grand Summit Resort | Bartlett, NH

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I spotted this 6408D+ DCP telset at my last visit to the Attitash Grand Summit Resort in late October. This hotel off US302 is used mostly for conferences and skiers who want a vacation. This set was replaced in between a Labor Day week visit and the visit in late October.  This area is a space for tourist information to help a customer find a place of interest. Previously (and years before) had a generic “trimline” like set. As previously posted, it appeared there was an upgrade of refurbished sets.

What would be nice given the decline of digital office telephony, that maybe digital sets could be seen in more locations in the facility or even in the rooms, despite Avaya and their BPs jacking up the maintenance costs of digital telephones in lieu of going to VOIP for no reason.

The 6400 series sets have been known unofficially to have a “European” look (but never claimed by Lucent or Avaya directly.) While Lucent introduced the line in the late 1990s, mass deployments occurred under Avaya tenure (spun-off late 2000.) The 6400 sets probably had a large friend count with the other models in the line.  What do I mean? 6400 sets were often found in new deployments where a Definity or later MultiVantage systems would be setup. Because the 6400s were made around that time, other models like the 8400 was ether refurbished or not aggressively sold. It was not to say they couldn’t go in existing plants; just you’ll see them more obviously in new deployments after 2001.

These sets also introduced a mandatory two-wired setup (albeit with an RJ 45 jack) where a single pair of tip and ring would run on pins 4 & 5. Aux power would need two pairs with said T&R wire and another pair on pins 7 & 8 on an RJ 45 plug.

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POTD: New Hobby Lobby

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img9912 This newer version of the NEC Electra Key Telephone was found at a local Hobby Lobby that had recently opened. Hobby Lobby is basically the K-Mart of arts and crafts stores. Their footprint is probably quadrupled compared to an AC Moore or Michaels. Coincidentally the stores that Hobby Lobby filled in my area were former KMart stores. Other stores in the area use this system.

Phone of the Day: Nearby Kohls | Undisclosed location

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This was taken at a local Kohls, just a little north of where I live. This is located in massively redeveloped area of box stores when it was just all trees. I can’t remember when it was built, I’m going to bet before the 2009 bankruptcy of Nortel. (Remember a similar post of noticing Mitel sets of their alleged “Do we stand by our man?” post bankruptcy mentality across any former Nortel sites.) Newer stores went with the “screw them” approach of building new stores with Mitel and older stores still run Avaya Blue.

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Rants: at&t Acquires TimeWarner (They THINK They Can)

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AT&T (nee SBC, nee Southwestern Bell) dropped a story Friday evening while some of the East Coast was disrupted by the DDOS attack that they had intentions to acquire Time Warner, the owner of CNN (the Cheap News Network), HBO, Warner Pictures, etc. for about $85 billion dollars.

Of course, this is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission, and similar to the NBCUniversal/Comcast acquisition from GE in 2010; expect concessions and terms of sale to also follow.

This deal however, does not include Time Warner Cable (historically branded for it’s Road Runner triple play services) which was spun off several years ago, but kept the name and the “sight and sound” logo.

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