Comments on: The Call Director – new push-button office telephone… http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/11/19/the-call-director-new-push-button-office-telephone/ Yesterday's tomorrow, today. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:33:34 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mike http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/11/19/the-call-director-new-push-button-office-telephone/comment-page-1/#comment-1064542 Mike Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:22:09 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/?p=6111#comment-1064542 does anybody know where i can pick up one of these old Call Director telephones? a reproduction would be fine also. MC does anybody know where i can pick up one of these old Call Director telephones? a reproduction would be fine also.

MC

]]> By: g663 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/11/19/the-call-director-new-push-button-office-telephone/comment-page-1/#comment-1063058 g663 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:54:14 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/?p=6111#comment-1063058 The Call Director was a Western Electric / Bell System brand name for a 1A1 (later 1A2) key telephone. These were at one time used in the White House. However, Call Directors were primarily useful to receptionists and departmental secretaries, particularly with the DSS/BLF feature that showed the busy/idle status of other phones in a company or department (e.g. one secretary, a number of executives). These phones were faster in use than many "modern" systems, including (notoriously) Cisco VOIP phones, which require users to navigate through menus to find common features such as Hold and Call Transfer. Answer a call, press the Hold button, press the one-touch DSS/BLF button for the desired person, tell them who is calling, and then either hang up or take a message. No navigating, no menus, no excessive nonsense, and a handset actually designed to fit the human ear and shoulder. Wonders never cease. The Call Director was a Western Electric / Bell System brand name for a 1A1 (later 1A2) key telephone. These were at one time used in the White House. However, Call Directors were primarily useful to receptionists and departmental secretaries, particularly with the DSS/BLF feature that showed the busy/idle status of other phones in a company or department (e.g. one secretary, a number of executives).

These phones were faster in use than many “modern” systems, including (notoriously) Cisco VOIP phones, which require users to navigate through menus to find common features such as Hold and Call Transfer.

Answer a call, press the Hold button, press the one-touch DSS/BLF button for the desired person, tell them who is calling, and then either hang up or take a message. No navigating, no menus, no excessive nonsense, and a handset actually designed to fit the human ear and shoulder. Wonders never cease.

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