Originally Posted By cmpaley I just read two articles in two different papers about the ability to pick up your phone and get the time are going away here in California. I'd post the links but you have to be registerd on latimes.com and sacbee.com to get the articles. Anyway, RIP 853-1212 (SoCal) and POPCORN (NorCal). "At the tone, Pacific Daylight Time will be 6:35 and 30 seconds. Beep!" I'll miss the comforting voice of the time lady. I hear Nevada will still have theirs. I remember summers with my grandma's (RIP) place and dialing 118 to get the time and temperature. "The time is 6:35 and 30 seconds, temperature 104."
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Yep... Nevada is still intact. In Southern Nevada, it's part of an agreement between the phone company and a local TV station whose weather woman (on the recording) gives the time along with weather info specific to the prefix location of the 118 caller. It was Jane Barbe (the original Bell System voice that pretty much EVERY company used) for years here, too. She passed away a few years ago.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Ohhh. I was a latch key kid for part of my growing up and it was scary to be alone. Sometimes I would call her just to hear a grown up voice so I totally get it when cmpaley says, "I'll miss the comforting voice of the time lady." Goodbye Time Lady.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I loved POPCORN! Back before network times on cell phones, my friends and I would use POPCORN so we could "synchronize" our watches so we knew what time to expect the phone calls after curfew. And we'd actually call POPCORN to wait for the call-waiting so the phone wouldn't ring!
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder This is because they need the prefixes for new phone numbers. Thank the proliferation of cell phones for this.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo Oh great. My husband always jumps out of bed when there's a time change and he changes all the clocks. When he does, they're all different. So I always walk around the house later in the day with the time lady and sync them all up precisely. I'll miss her.
Originally Posted By LuLu Wow, I haven't called for time in years. Doesn't everyone's computer display the correct time, now? But that is a touching story, CD.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Computers only display the time the user programs into it. It isn't retrieved from some other source and displayed.
Originally Posted By Dave >>>This is because they need the prefixes for new phone numbers<<< I think that may be right so with the 26 area codes Cal uses that would free up 26 more numbers.
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Computers only display the time the user programs into it. It isn't retrieved from some other source and displayed." << That often isn't true any longer. Starting with XP, Windows by default does periodically synchronize the system clock to a remote time server over the Internet. Unless you go in and edit registry entries to make it do so more often, it only synchronizes once a week. That does increase the chances that it will get out of sync. Most businesses do set up automatic time synchronization whenever a user logs on to the corporate network. -Jeff
Originally Posted By cmpaley >>>This is because they need the prefixes for new phone numbers<<< I think that may be right so with the 26 area codes Cal uses that would free up 26 more numbers.<< Actually, a lot more than that. Here in SoCal, 853-anything gets you time and up north, 767-anything gets you time. That frees up 1000 numbers per area code, so about 26,000 numbers statewide become available.
Originally Posted By LuLu Macs have been retrieving the correct time over the internet at least since OS X, so a few years. SPP, get with the "times!" ;-)
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Macs have been retrieving the correct time over the internet at least since OS X, so a few years. SPP, get with the "times!" ;-)" Hey, I'm still working with tin cans and string here.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x Doesn't everyone's computer display the correct time, now? ----------------- nope. only cell phones that are set to network time. FTR, my watch and car are on iasw time. It just happens that my cell and school are the same time
Originally Posted By LuLu LOL SPP! So, I guess not many PC users have Windows XP? I don't know what's most widely used for PC peeps.
Originally Posted By LuLu >>only cell phones that are set to network time.<< Or computers running Mac OSX or, per JeffG, Windows XP. And I liked your POPCORN story too, xPPx!
Originally Posted By seanyoda LuLu, you can always check the time by going to <a href="http://www.timeticker.com/" target="_blank">http://www.timeticker.com/</a>
Originally Posted By LuLu LOL, I always have the correct time right in my menubar! This seems like such a simple concept, I find it hard to believe it's not in more common use.
