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If someone gave you a 1-800 number for free, what would you do with it? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I would set up a BBS with lots of text based games on it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But who has a modem to dial it these days?

I probably have an old laptop somewhere with a modem on it, but then my next impediment is I don't have a landline any more.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Not a lot of people, but there are retrocomputing hobbists who'd probably be stoked to find something like this.

Apparently you can tunnel through using a VoIP device, but it's not great. Or get a cellular modem (do not know what kind of connection quality you'd have in 2024, or if it's even a real option).

The other option would be finding an old payphone that works with an acoustic coupler. See here (Wayback link as on my phone, direct one doesn't seem to work on all browsers, fine in Firefox but host pretends the site doesn't exist in my default one that opens in Jerboa*)

https://web.archive.org/web/20220520161806/http://wrybread.com/WryRoad/gadgets/coupler.htm

I am admittedly a giant dork, but a quest to try and find a payphone that still exists AND you could actually do this with sounds fun. Seeing someone sitting next to a payphone with a buncha wires and a computer would be some high weirdness I can get behind.

*Sidenote: Anyone know how to change the default brower Jerboa on Android uses?