Conference thebay::joyoflex

    	Dictionary consultation suggests that "dial" is a ring, disk,
    or circular arrangement of figures. Maybe the answer is just to
    move the buttons out of that silly square arrangement, and then
    we can continue dialing, even with buttons.

    call, reach, get, ring, ...

    Just to add to the confusion, what do the things (e.g. modems) that
    'dial' numbers automatically do??
    
    Ian.

    Using the old button pushing description of "hitting" keys - you
    could always "punch out the number".
    
    After we figure out the regular "dial" vs "??" can we move to the
    memory phones which do all the work for you?
    
    Just asking,
    Steve

    The manual for my DF2400-AA modem, Digital's Scholar (tm) modem, says
    it has an "Advanced Automatic Dialer (Autodialer)".
    
    It also says, "'P' indicates pulse dialing of the digits that follow.
    'T' indicates tone dialing of the digits that follow."

        All of these are initating a telephone line transaction using
        the appropriate method for the device used.

    Definition:
    
    dial: initating a telephone line transaction using
        the appropriate method for the device used.
                         
    It's called a "figure of speech", folks. 

    ...
    To "ring up" is to establish a telephonic connection; 
    
    to "ring off" is to terminate one such.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

        It meant something quite different when you told a young lady
        you would give her a ring some day.

        I know of a case where he meant phone call and she had
        something entirely different in mind.

    I guess "punch your number" could have a similar misinterpretation.

    G'day,
    
    If dial is having a new connotation (I'll punch your dial) the ring
    up and ring off have changed too. They are hang-overs from the days
    of manual exchanges and party lines when you rang up to use the
    line and then rang off to tell every one you had finished. Long
    gone technology, but he phrases linger on.
    
    About touch dialing on a round button set - yuck really hard 'cos
    the fingers want to rotate the dial but have to move around to each
    number instead.
    
    Though it could be that the first one I used was in New Zealand
    where the numbers on the phone dial are frack to bunt - reading
    from longest dial point they go 0123456789 so 999 is the quickest
    number to dial!
    
    Derek
    

    re: .8
    
    	Jeez, and I thought this
    
    	D igital's
    	I dle
    	A ssets
    	L isting
    
    	Oh well, learn somthing  new everyday.
    
    /p

    
    So now I have to worry about what kind of device on the other end
    alerts the called party that I have dialed/punched them?  No more
    "will give you a buzz" until I am familiar with their innermost
    sanctum?
    
    Gottago, I'm agettin buzzed....

    I grew up in the boonies with a magneto-phone, we didn't 'crank'
    each other up as I remember, but often we'd ask the (human)
    operator to 'ring' someone, and she'd say "Oh, the're visiting
    the Gleason farm, I'll ring them there."
    
    On "VE" day when the operator received news of the WWII allied
    victory in Europe, her son went outside to fire a few shotgun
    blasts in the air to alert the village.  Not aiming, he managed
    to blow the phone trunk right off the pole.  Lit up the switch-
    board real good.  Anybody got a word for that action???...MWR
    

    Sounds to me like that would be :
    
    	Giving a blast on the phone - - 
    
    I might reference a Heinlein short story (the title escapes me at
    the moment) in which the actual phase was something like :
    
    	"I'll give you a blast on the horn when I gits inta town"

.12>About touch dialing on a round button set - yuck really hard 'cos
.12>the fingers want to rotate the dial but have to move around to each
.12>number instead.
    
    Nah, nuthin' to it.  One of my phones at home is like that.
    
  --Simon
    

    Do we really have to worry about the methods used to establish the
    links? Can't we just "'phone" or "contact" somebody or something?

.18�< Note 575.18 by GIDDAY::PARSONS "So many notes, so little time....." >
.18�                          -< It's all too confusing! >-
.18�
.18�    Do we really have to worry about the methods used to establish the
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    
    Of course!!  If we don't, who will?  Indeed, who needs to?
    
    Ian.
    

    I suspect that people will be 'dialing' touchtone phones for quite
    some time without even thinking that the term evolved from the rotary
    pulse generator mechanism.  To draw an analogy, consider everyone
    who 'drives' an automobile...people used to 'drive' oxen or horses
    in order to get them to pull a wagon or whatever, and the term was
    carried over into the operation of self-propelled vehicles.  Now, an 
    automobile is more properly 'driven' by its engine and and is 
    'operated' by a person at the controls (the 'driver'???).
    However, our dictionaries give one definition of 'drive' as "to
    operate (a vehicle)" so the term is generally accepted without thinking
    about its evolution from the times of animal-powered conveyances.

    When I fly to London, I always arrive wondering why my arms aren't
    tired.

    
    
    So if I instruct my computer to ring up your car phone...it ought to
    auto Autodial ????
    
    Mike Randall
    

    Right. And if he has two cars, only one of which has an automatic
    transmission, then your computer ought to 
    
				auto auto autodial.
    

    Re .23
    
>   Right. And if he has two cars, only one of which has an automatic
>   transmission, then your computer
>    ought to 
>			auto auto autodial.
    
    And if his name is Otto .........
    
    
    
    Re .0
    
>   "Reach out and touch some one".
    
    Still doesn't explain how you hit the OTHER numbers, does it?