Am I alone in liking the feel and sound of dialing a telephone number, as opposed to tapping numbers on a virtual keypad?
Looks like you might be @Ken Anderson! Personally sometimes those rotary phones seemed to take forever to dial those numbers. I liked the push button phones better.
No, you are not at all alone, Ken. I am ever so slightly envious of your keyboard throwback so it might follow that I also loved the rotary phone. It wasn’t long ago that rotary phone users didn’t have to wait for a human when some phone sites do the multiple choice-push this number or that number type of answer. They used to say, “ if you are using a rotary telephone, please wait and someone will be with you”, as opposed to “if you speak English, press 1”. I am sure there are still some sites that still do but alas, I haven’t bumped into one lately. Yes, I liked the clicks and clacks of dialing the phone the same as the bell on a real typewriter but alas, some memories are things of beautiful moments never to be seen or heard again.
I think that I do not miss it at all. It was fine when that was how things were; but now I like just looking on my phone, finding the right name, and with one little tap, it is calling that person. With another little tap, I have them on speakerphone and don’t have to hold the phone up to my ear, and I like that even better. It might take me a little while to adapt to new devices, but I do like learning how to use them, and it is a good way to keep my brain active and not just getting set in its old ways of doing things. I remember reading about the women who didn’t want a refrigerator because they had never had anything besides an icebox, or didn’t want to change from a wood cook stove to an electric or gas range. If that is what someone wants, I have no problem with that, but I like learning new things, as long as it is something that I have a use for. Oh yes....... I really like the emergency dialing function on my Apple Watch, too ! If I am in a car wreck or need help fast, all I have to do is push the little emergency button, and it calls 911 for me, and gives them my location. Dial up just couldn’t offer that same safety function.
Although I think there is still a rotary phone around here somewhere, it is not hooked up. I much prefer keyboards to typewriters, especially with as many mistakes and "typos" as I make. I don't miss having blackened fingers from carbon paper either, although that is another tactile sensation. I have several old typewriters, but I don't think I can get ribbons for them anymore. I once dreamt of being a writer, and I didn't know whether where I wrote would have power, so they are mechanical, not electric. Like Yvonne, I enjoy new things but am not fond of gimmicks. I like refrigerators, but I hate the French door side-by-sides with the freezer on one side and the fridge on the other. I am fond of the French door fridges with the freezer drawers beneath, however.
My Wife got me a rotary phone from Germany. You have to dial the numbers to make the call. There are two extra holes in the dial ring: a star for flash and #/R for redial. It was the color that made me want it. It has been so much fun to use.
And yes, I would like to hear someone human say “operator” when I dial O. Simple things delight simple people like myself.
@Ken Anderson I'm not certain it is so simple anymore to simply "plug-in" a rotary, as today's land line system is completely digitized. The method used with dials was to count up the total number of "clicks", then relate it to that number stored somewhere, ready to make a connection. It may be that late in the rotary game, circuitry was included within the phone set which digitized the number dialed, though. Frank
Although I have all the latest phone technology here... and as a very impatient person I like the speed it affords me, in the same way as @Yvonne Smith described ...but.... I love Rotary phones.. I've been a collector of them for years as well as a seller. I've stopped selling now because I don't buy any more, but I've kept my favourite ones. I'd buy old ones at boot fairs, and then hubs would rewire them to work on modern systems then I'd clean them up and sell them, they were/ are very popular too . However I've kept a few models for myself, just because I love them.