Today, we not only have to explain what a TTY is we have to explain what Bob's rotary phone was 🤭Eventually, people who didn't have a TTY could communicate with someone who did through an operator that works as an interpreter of what's being written and then spoken over the phone. It's called the telephone relay service and it is still used.
At least in Canada, there are still pay phones in major transit hubs with this attached. But that’s just a remnant of the early 2000s when they were introduced locally. (I think early 2000s, my memory of it is vague.)
There is a TTY mode on cell phones, so you can essentially text to someone with one of the physical devices on a land line. But it’s indeed increasingly uncommon.
I can vouch that these devices are still usable in some form. My one friend still uses one of these regularly. Even still uses calculator like displays like this one. He texts but he's used one of these for so long it's just what he prefers. You can also call a special number that will act as a middleman if you wanted to, so what my friend types gets spoken to me by the operator, and what I say the operator types to my friend on my behalf. But I don't do that myself, I just call him directly with my device when I want to chat with him.
It's not a device like this but TTY technology has transferred to the phones we have now. Plus deaf folks can video chat and sign as well as there's a resource where folks can have an interpretor apart of their video chat but I forget what it's called
So can what David did be considered a fourth wall break? He ran away to say the sponsors offscreen when he could’ve just easily just said them to us as Bob and Linda were doing their stuff in the room. Maybe he was just being polite? XD
Nowadays, people who are deaf can talk to people on the iPhone by texting. You deaf people out there can read what I just said, can you?😄😄😄 Just kidding! I know you can.
How long ago was this? 45 years yet? Must have been pretty cool! But we still have some way to go; smart devices still don't have any tactile display Unless you count the rumble feature, which MAY be able to read dits and dahs to deaf-blind people at about 3 words per minute My point is, our devices need something more like Tacttoo and/or Braibook built in (as well as transflective screens that don't damage vision) When dealing with modern tech companies, I hope you will ask them to be more considerate of people who are differently abled Thursday, February 9, 2023 CE, 23:55 EST
