Forum Topic

Looking at changing technology ...

... perhaps it's not anly older people that are in danger of losing touch. It seems that some small business aren't aware of what's going on in the world of telephony: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/05/businesses-unprepared-for-end-of-openreachs-copper-phone.htmlStill, roll on faster broadband!

Michael Ixer ● 1809d3 Comments

Yes, I've also been in Sainsbury's when the card machines were not working - luckily I had some cash to pay with otherwise supper would have been a lot more complicated.

Philippa Bond ● 1807d

Yes, Philippa. Once all communications is dependent on fibre links our home phones (if that's what people use for calling emergency services) will need to have battery backups. I was reading an article today which detailed how those in Texas relying on care at home who were dependent on machines such as ventilators, etc had their lives endangered by the recent electricity blackouts caused by the recent exceptional weather there. They had battery backups but they only lasted food hours not the two or three days without power some households experienced.Most of the modern offices I've worked in recently had backup power supplies with generators and batteries, although I have knoien those fail if they haven't been regularly serviced and tested. As the banks prove every so often - most recently Santander! - no matter how much redundancy and backup one builds in there's no such thing as 100% reliability ...

Michael Ixer ● 1808d

It is always a bit worrying when options disappear - like going all-electric when you can remember the electricity cuts and short working days of the 1970s.  Why we all need to look at the insulation in our homes!Much more recently I remember an electricity cut at the office, and amongst the more obvious things that did not work was the door entry system and the telephone switchboard. We had to communicate by mobile phone and it was difficult to do any work.

Philippa Bond ● 1808d