Forgotten shops

[spkennyuk]

I spent a very challenging few hours in about 1985 trying to fix an HP1000 minicomputer where the computer was in Balikpapan and I was in Jakarta, and my only means of communication with the oil rig roughneck who was trying to start it was via telex.

I think its 1982/1983 when telex was brought to market. I started in logistics in 1987 and worked on the cargo center. Multi company office block around 20 companies. Everybody by then had a telex machine but there was only one fax machine.

35 years later and i wonder how many fax machines are still in use other than for solicitors, banks and football clubs (transfer deadline day). Since the introduction of scanning and emailing documents its probably down to 1 in 20 businesses or less that still have a fax machine in use.

 

[safrane]

Apparently the NHS is still the largest use of the fax machine.

 

[D Walker]

Hintons
Finefare
Safeway all morphed into Morrisons
Newboulds
Pybus

Romer Parish. Spent hours in their as a kid choosing my scalextrix upgrades.
and got my light sabre in their too.

 

[mjheathcote]

Toshiba Libretto!!! Best computer I ever had. May still be around somewhere!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_Libretto

View attachment 105758

Still got mine, I overlooked it to 100Hz and changed the HDD from 800mb to 2gb!!
Also have the 800x480 wide-screen 100CT too!
Would be interesting if both still boot up.

 

[midlifecrisis]

Apparently the NHS is still the largest use of the fax machine.

Air Tragic still use fax machines if the usual Comms system fails for aircraft movements. We got rid of them finally last year.

 

[midlifecrisis]

I think its 1982/1983 when telex was brought to market. I started in logistics in 1987 and worked on the cargo center. Multi company office block around 20 companies. Everybody by then had a telex machine but there was only one fax machine.

35 years later and i wonder how many fax machines are still in use other than for solicitors, banks and football clubs (transfer deadline day). Since the introduction of scanning and emailing documents its probably down to 1 in 20 businesses or less that still have a fax machine in use.

My mum was good on a Cheetah...

 

[spkennyuk]

Apparently the NHS is still the largest use of the fax machine.

I did actually type doctors in my list as i knew they were still using fax 18 months ago then i edited doctors /NHS out incase they had moved on from snail mail and fax in the meantime.

 

[Oneball]

I think its 1982/1983 when telex was brought to market. I started in logistics in 1987 and worked on the cargo center. Multi company office block around 20 companies. Everybody by then had a telex machine but there was only one fax machine.

35 years later and i wonder how many fax machines are still in use other than for solicitors, banks and football clubs (transfer deadline day). Since the introduction of scanning and emailing documents its probably down to 1 in 20 businesses or less that still have a fax machine in use.

Telex started before WW2. Pretty sure Western Union were using it in the States in the 1920s

 

[spkennyuk]

My mum was good on a Cheetah...

Cheetah was the telex machine i used 5 days a week as well.

It had two modes. Live mode where you keyed in the address you were sending too and it then connected and typed live on your copy and the reciprients copy. If you made a mistake it stayed there on the printer roll. Almost like a remote typewriter. It printed live on yours and the receiving telex machine.

The other mode was draft mode where you could type everything out first and then hit send to save modem time. It didnt save a copy though so if you forgot to CC somebody on the message then you had to retype the whole thing again.

When your sending pre alerts of hundreds of SKU's and associated data then it could be a real pita.

 

[spkennyuk]

Telex started before WW2. Pretty sure Western Union were using it in the States in the 1920s

Learn something new every day. I thought they were still using morse code and telegraphy in the 1920s.

 

[spkennyuk]

Bit of a thread drift there as per the SM way.

Toys r Us

I think Hobby Horse and Toy Master have gone now as well.

 

[CatmanV2]

Telex started before WW2. Pretty sure Western Union were using it in the States in the 1920s

Fax started before phones. Strange but true....

C

 

[Gooner]

Fascinating how a thread about bricks and mortar retail has been taken over by email and the Internet.

My first emails were in the early 80s as well. I installed my first corporate email system before Internet email was a thing. Wrote my first code on punch cards in 1974. I never anticipated what computers would mainly be used for.

 

[Mavster]

C&A is a major brand in much of Europe. It is a Dutch company, founded by Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer. I don't really know why it dropped out of the UK market in 2000/2001.

My mother used to call it "Coats and 'ats"

View attachment 105743

Every time I hear C&A it reminds me of the joke. ...Why do Essex girls have C&A on their knickers?