Cory Doctorow
SHODAN 
@pluralistic Seen similar in Cockfosters Tube Station in the UK. Still illuminated mind. Not sure there are any public phones left in London at this point.
Martijn de Vrieze - TK69241@SHODAN @pluralistic
I do not recall seeing any functioning payphones in London, However I ran into this still functioning relic last year in Oxford.
I do not recall seeing any functioning payphones in London, However I ran into this still functioning relic last year in Oxford.
Charlie Stross@martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic BUSINESS STARTUP IDEA: Buy up empty phone booths, slap PV panels on top and a battery/distribution board inside, then rent them out as smartphone fast-charge charging points (with a lock-box to leave your phone in while it's sucking juice at £1/30 minutes).
"It's a phone box. You pay us for permission to leave your phone in it. You're welcome."
@cstross Some UK phone booths are already given to the community afaik. Some are used to store defibrillators and some are libraries.
@SHODAN As I live in the UK, I knew that already. Shocking, isn't it?
@cstross Heh, missed that. I think BT want to get rid of these generally mind, so offloading them to the community to maintain instead seems cynical enough from a certain angle I suppose.
@cstross Hell, maybe I could see if I could buy a working phone from one at some point, see if I could get it working on the mobile network and use it as an alternative for home use only instead of giving out my mobile number.
@SHODAN I had a friend (now dead) who once lifted most of a Strowger exchange from a skip outside a BT building they were re-equipping with System X. He took it home, set it up, added a speaking clock, and put the speaking clock on a premium-rate phone line with a number he could give to people who annoyed him.
Elias Mårtenson
armadillosoft@cstross @martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic
Sadly, too late they are mostly gone now.
Also by the end there, they had gotten quite stinky.
snaprails@Armadillosoft @cstross @martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic They always were. Even back in 1979 when I worked with the payphones engineers the kiosks were known as the most expensive public toilets in the country.
It's also when I learned about always checking the handset before listening for dial tone - just in case someone had filled the mouthpiece with shit.
It's also when I learned about always checking the handset before listening for dial tone - just in case someone had filled the mouthpiece with shit.
rlonstein@cstross @martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic We tried the smartphone charger lock-box. Other than a few specific environments both venues and users prefer open cables and advertising over paid secure charging. Outdoors and even in mall hallways people will attack the boxes with prybars and hammers to try to steal the contents.
NKT@cstross @martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic Scotland has quite a few derelict blue police boxes scattered about. Some have become coffee houses, one in Edinburgh is a tool loan/exchange, etc.
I'm sure someone creative could see an equivalent use? Charging point for robot police cars in the near future?
I'm sure someone creative could see an equivalent use? Charging point for robot police cars in the near future?
@Dss @martijndevrieze @SHODAN @pluralistic The Edinburgh ones are all Grade 2 Listed buildings (at least). (Source: a friend of mine bought one.)
James Gleick@Dss @pluralistic @cstross @martijndevrieze @SHODAN I understand they are larger on the inside than the outside.
@JamesGleick @Dss @pluralistic @martijndevrieze @SHODAN No, but they have electricity and running water (and a sink so the cold copper could brew a mug of tea in the middle of a winter shift). They gradually fell into disuse when the telephone, radio dispatchers, and cars enabled the police to work out of centralized stations rather than patrolling on foot.
Paul Lalonde@cstross @JamesGleick @Dss @pluralistic @martijndevrieze @SHODAN Though more comfortable for the copper, something has been lost in passing of solo foot patrols being the default. Detachment of the police from the community really makes a mess.