Re: the early teletype

On 2024-11-18 18:31, Dennis Boone wrote:

  > Telex calls were charged by the minute and most Telex machines had paper
  > tape readers and punches, so what one usually did was to type up the
  > message on tape first, then make the call and run the tape through at
  > full speed.
 Later, say late 70s / early 80s, devices like HP 264x terminals with
cassette data storage drives were used to pre-type and store messages,
then send from tape.  I saw this exact setup used in a government office
in Saudi Arabia.

I knew telex was used, but I never worked at, or visited, a place using them.
What I did use was telegrams. I seem to have a vague memory that you could also send a telex from a post office, but I may be imagining it.
We could send faxes from a post office. We still can, I think. It is called "burofax", and it has legal standing. I mean, you send one and it is considered a certified method of communication. For example, to leave your job, one legal method was to send a burofax.
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Cheers, Carlos.