A smart phone from 1984 - The STC Executel

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  • Опубліковано 20 вер 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 2,2 тис.

  • @Techmoan
    @Techmoan  5 років тому +4853

    *M Y S T E R Y S O L V E D* - *THIS PHONE WAS PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY H&S (The company who answered my call)* *It is an executive recruitment consultancy.*
    *This message is pinned and in bold to make it as visible as possible*

    • @JacGoudsmit
      @JacGoudsmit 5 років тому +151

      How did you find out?

    • @Techmoan
      @Techmoan  5 років тому +801

      Old phone directories showed the numbers as belonging to them. The company still has offices in all those locations and has been around sixty years. I think the problems with the numbers I rang were just down to changes over the last 26 years - e.g prefixes of some numbers or consolidating to a central exchange.

    • @JacGoudsmit
      @JacGoudsmit 5 років тому +250

      @@Techmoan Ah, right. Of course. Like almost all phone numbers in the Netherlands changed in 1995 because of a giant reorganization to make more space for phone numbers and comply with new international standards.

    • @felixdietzCGN
      @felixdietzCGN 5 років тому +94

      Not pinned any more - i think it gets unpinned if you edit the comment

    • @TheRanblingjohnny
      @TheRanblingjohnny 5 років тому +184

      @@Techmoan it's a minor miracle that at least one of these numbers worked.

  • @mcolville
    @mcolville 3 роки тому +274

    "New York, London, Paris, Munich." Maybe it has something to do with pop music?
    I love this channel so much!

  • @JonWallis123
    @JonWallis123 5 років тому +541

    Gordon McBeath (listed in the calendar at @10:01) was the Personnel Director at ASDA until 1994. Prior to that he was the Personnel and Administrative Director for... drumroll... STC Telecommunications.

    • @frankcooke1692
      @frankcooke1692 4 роки тому +33

      Most of those people are probably dead now. We're looking at dead people.

    • @theguywhofoundwaldoo7939
      @theguywhofoundwaldoo7939 4 роки тому +5

      @@frankcooke1692 good

    • @petros_adamopoulos
      @petros_adamopoulos 3 роки тому +94

      @@frankcooke1692 History books are full of those. Don't be spooked.

    • @tsvetangeorgiev
      @tsvetangeorgiev 3 роки тому +8

      @@wesleyswafford2462 This is the most profound thing I've read today... Should mention I've been reading mostly tech literature :)

    • @undefined40
      @undefined40 3 роки тому +4

      you mean 10:01 , 19'35" is the end of the video (how am I the only one in 2 years mentioning this?)

  • @Simple_Jackass
    @Simple_Jackass 4 роки тому +136

    Until he explained the data of the previous owner stored inside, I was actually wondering if he had taken the time to input a whole bunch of random information just to show us how it worked... I was thinking "man that's some serious dedication there"...

  • @lurid_phaesporia
    @lurid_phaesporia 5 років тому +560

    Hah, the calendar's actually got a better user interface than a lot of modern apps these days.

    • @bicycleninja1685
      @bicycleninja1685 5 років тому +60

      Lurid Phaesporia And everything is in one place and integrated. Today you may have to open several desktop and web apps to do the same thing, interrupted by various prompts and ads. User experience is at the bottom of the list for software and technology companies today. They just want to squeeze more money out of you.

    • @bicycleninja1685
      @bicycleninja1685 5 років тому +45

      @PrintOmnivore20 Not boomer, am developer. Is boomer an insult these days? I see it thrown around alot. Nothing wrong with being old. You too, one day, will be old, if you're lucky.

    • @bicycleninja1685
      @bicycleninja1685 5 років тому +36

      @PrintOmnivore20 Son, go back to eating avocado toast and getting high scores on your video games while talking on your Obamaphone.

    • @bicycleninja1685
      @bicycleninja1685 5 років тому +21

      @PrintOmnivore20 whoosh

    • @lurid_phaesporia
      @lurid_phaesporia 5 років тому +10

      Wow LOL who is this printed omnivore and where on earth did they learn this "boomer" nonsense. A regular internet troll moron that one.

  • @amiralavi6599
    @amiralavi6599 5 років тому +1316

    This device has yellowed a bit
    *8-Bit Guy wants to know your location*

    • @mrkitty777
      @mrkitty777 5 років тому +10

      😁😆😂

    • @robertgaines-tulsa
      @robertgaines-tulsa 5 років тому +45

      He knows, and he's not interested... ua-cam.com/video/cIXOH1tJJu4/v-deo.html

    • @38911bytefree
      @38911bytefree 5 років тому +9

      LOL ... but then, it he will have so many rainy days that it will take ages.

    • @frixyg2050
      @frixyg2050 5 років тому +13

      Still, I wouldn't mind seeing it wretchrowbreighted (or one of those spellings).

    • @YoStu242
      @YoStu242 5 років тому +11

      I have many yellowed devices in my mouth, 8bitguy where art thouuu

  • @zappawench6048
    @zappawench6048 5 років тому +338

    You've become a telephone sanitizer as per Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

    • @pegtooth2006
      @pegtooth2006 5 років тому +18

      Yes and he has a forest load of money. If you don't believe me, go ask the head honcho in the large bath tub.

    • @ederst9759
      @ederst9759 5 років тому +8

      Must have been retrieved from the wreckage of the 'B'' Ark...

  • @CesarAbeid
    @CesarAbeid 5 років тому +368

    The lady from Heidrick & Struggles answered your call on her STC Executel

    • @Halfpipesaur
      @Halfpipesaur 5 років тому +104

      on the Executel's slave unit

    • @CesarAbeid
      @CesarAbeid 5 років тому +20

      Halfpipesaur indeed.

    • @jk9554
      @jk9554 5 років тому +27

      @@Halfpipesaur "slave unit" sounds so much worse than it should in that context.

    • @CaptainCaveman1170
      @CaptainCaveman1170 5 років тому +2

      @@Halfpipesaur Lololololol

    • @harukatakahashi8822
      @harukatakahashi8822 5 років тому

      @@CaptainCaveman1170 Lololololololololololololo

  • @carriageofnoreturn.1881
    @carriageofnoreturn.1881 5 років тому +534

    I was using one of these until recently when it died in a house move - best phone ever invented. Let me know if you want any instruction manuals. Also, the mystery button you mention at the end was a printer button on the next iteration. Lovely to see one still working!

    • @martinfitzpatrick697
      @martinfitzpatrick697 5 років тому +13

      Do you still have it? I'd be interested in getting a broken one for hacking around with.

    • @carriageofnoreturn.1881
      @carriageofnoreturn.1881 5 років тому +59

      @@martinfitzpatrick697 Hi - I do still have it, but I'm hoping to get it repaired. I've been in conversation with Adrian from Binary Dinosaurs, and he has a cunning plan. If that all goes awry, though, I will bear you in mind.

    • @martinfitzpatrick697
      @martinfitzpatrick697 5 років тому +20

      @@carriageofnoreturn.1881 great, hope it works out! I'd want to get it working too, not many of them left it seems.

    • @edwardanimations6296
      @edwardanimations6296 5 років тому +8

      Include me in that list of people that hopes it works out!

    • @georgemaragos2378
      @georgemaragos2378 5 років тому +9

      @@carriageofnoreturn.1881 And i thought only Baldrick had a cunning plan :)

  • @futurepastnow
    @futurepastnow 5 років тому +199

    "Faulty Time"
    Yes, phone, yes it is.

  • @stevenjlovelace
    @stevenjlovelace 5 років тому +980

    For a machine marketed to millionaires, it's funny that the calculator can't go to a million.

    • @jusb1066
      @jusb1066 5 років тому +249

      it was to calculate others pay, not their own

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L 5 років тому +133

      This got a laugh from me but then my pedantic mode kicked in and remembered that for them, they usually just count in millions anyway. Like shareholder reports. "255.32” for 255,320,000.

    • @ballsrgrossnugly
      @ballsrgrossnugly 5 років тому +53

      @@kaitlyn__L Yup, they simply moved the decimal point 6 places when computing their OWN pay, while doing the grunt's payslips in pov mode with the decimal in the standard position.

    • @pannenkoekspek
      @pannenkoekspek 5 років тому +27

      @@ballsrgrossnugly i want a "pov mode" button on my keyboard. Just to remind my employees i view them as peasants..

    • @mbirth
      @mbirth 5 років тому +19

      Because after buying one, you wouldn't be a millionaire anymore…

  • @binarydinosaurs
    @binarydinosaurs 5 років тому +146

    Thanks for the nod to my STC page which I've realised is sorely out of date :) When I first saw one of these back in 2016 I didn't care what it was, I just had to have one. The resemblance to a Beocenter was striking and there's reasons it won a design award. These days thanks to the generosity of STC ex-staffers I have the motherlode of Executel goodness which is awesome, and the demo unit that went around the world will once again be on display at the Centre For Computing History in Cambridge UK at the Retro Weekend on the 7/8th September. Your unit is an early version missing the printer capability, later versions had not only serial printer support (hence your missing key) but also an external RGB socket so you could hook up to a large SCART TV to show off your stocks and shares on Prestel. A quick note about the One Per Desk - the project manager for the Executel was also responsible for the Wunper.

    • @GrahamDenison
      @GrahamDenison 5 років тому

      Adrian Graham I was thinking OPD as soon as I saw it.

    • @binarydinosaurs
      @binarydinosaurs 5 років тому +5

      @@GrahamDenison The main difference is that the 3910 is a computerised phone whereas the Wunper is a computer that happens to be nailed to a 2 line phone exchange. I need to revise my OPD page though, I wrote that back in 2002.

    • @lucidphreak1137
      @lucidphreak1137 4 роки тому +2

      youre right.. it DOES look like a B&O device.

  • @911ben8
    @911ben8 5 років тому +236

    🎶 “New York, London, Paris, Munich
    Everybody talk about pop muzik!” 🎶

    • @mistermatix8241
      @mistermatix8241 5 років тому +11

      🎵"pop pop pop pop pop pop muzik!" 🎵

    • @lucianoleali9526
      @lucianoleali9526 5 років тому +8

      Talk about !

    • @shadshowadradna
      @shadshowadradna 5 років тому +2

      Leeds, Detroit, Berlin, New York.

    • @1974UTuber
      @1974UTuber 5 років тому +8

      OK now I have dust off the record player and dig out the record.
      I could bring the song up on youtube but its just not the same as putting the needle on the record

    • @originalmossman
      @originalmossman 5 років тому +6

      @@1974UTuber put the needle on the record, when the drumbeat goes like this...

  • @HowieHaigh
    @HowieHaigh 5 років тому +63

    I'm so glad you mentioned the ICL One Per Desk units. I worked at a computer company where the managers were given these. One of my mischievous colleagues managed to coax the speech synthesiser into saying something along the lines of "I cannot take your call at the moment as I am busy servicing my secretary" (which in those days might not have been too far from the truth with a couple of the managers...) 😂

    • @theenzoferrari458
      @theenzoferrari458 5 років тому +7

      Bill Clinton knows about that. :]

    • @binarydinosaurs
      @binarydinosaurs 5 років тому +6

      The best I made one of mine say was "My Secretary is giv_ing me head in the office on holiday"

  • @gerrys1
    @gerrys1 2 роки тому +13

    I love the voyeristic look into the past as much as the tech! Also you found the company, heidrick and struggles is a massive executive search company around since the 1950s and several of the other names in the addressbook worked there

  • @alptigin5438
    @alptigin5438 5 років тому +122

    Hang on, my shoulder pads aren't big enough to be watching this video.
    I also seem to be out of L.A. Looks Ultra Hold.

  • @NicMG
    @NicMG 5 років тому +225

    Clicked the video, waited for a Blade Runner reference, you never let me down.

    • @trippmoore
      @trippmoore 5 років тому +15

      Eh, with that tiny monitor it looks more like something out of Brazil. Just add a magnifying screen in front and pull off the keyboard cover to expose the wires and it would look exactly like something Sam Lawry would use.

    • @TouhaiDensetsu
      @TouhaiDensetsu 5 років тому +2

      @@trippmoore Or straight outta Alien. I bet the software can easily calculate the landing trajectory.

  • @ButterBallTheOpossum
    @ButterBallTheOpossum 5 років тому +744

    I wonder if it has a removable mirror for chopping up cocaine.

    • @ButterBallTheOpossum
      @ButterBallTheOpossum 5 років тому +95

      @kloadit You don't necessarily need a mirror,just a smooth,hard, non porous surface. A mirror meets all of those criteria plus a mirror has other uses that you could use as an excuse for having it in your possession. interesting fact: In the 1980s the Lamborghini Countash had removable visor mirrors lol. I wonder what a wealthy person in the 1980s would need a removable mirror for? Probably just for doing makeup I'm sure! 😂

    • @davidbass3178
      @davidbass3178 5 років тому +7

      @@ButterBallTheOpossum thats funny af

    • @pqlasmdhryeiw8
      @pqlasmdhryeiw8 5 років тому +5

      Cocaine paraphernalia is more of a 1970s thing.

    • @throttlebottle5906
      @throttlebottle5906 5 років тому +4

      senses a presence of DEA and law agencies following butterball now

    • @BillAnt
      @BillAnt 5 років тому +7

      They should have included a fake credit card too... you know "just for fun" xD
      OMG Techmoan has actually smiled at 17:30 ... wooo-hoooo!! ;D

  • @k3ntris
    @k3ntris 5 років тому +96

    You know, I love the old quirky designs of old technology. Now it’s just flat panels and thin everything.

    • @DogSerious
      @DogSerious 5 років тому +5

      You can thank the USS Enterprise-D for that, but they did make it look cool.

    • @francisgaba4457
      @francisgaba4457 5 років тому +3

      OLD WAS GOLD: TEC ADVANCED BUT DESIGNS DISAPPEARD: I KEEP LOOKING FOR AMAZING ELECTRONIC DESIGNS:

    • @mrcaboosevg6089
      @mrcaboosevg6089 5 років тому +5

      I like how stuff changes, modern stuff looks good but in 20 years we'll be wondering how dumb we all were.

    • @charlesroberts3650
      @charlesroberts3650 5 років тому

      I don't think that "quirky" is the adjective here, it would only apply if there had being some contemporaneous way to have designed it differently, "better", if ANOTHER, less "quirky" way was available. This was state of the art. "Quirky" would apply to, for example, the way that things were done in (early) Widows PCs; very awkwardly, in an un-intuative way, with a clunky interface, with garish CLUTs (Color look-up Tables). This, in comparison to the smooth responsiveness, ELEGANCE, and beautiful color pallets that the Macintosh had and used at that same time. Now, THAT was "Quirky". You cannot compare the "old" state-of the-art designs to the new. It'd be like trying to compare, unfavorably, the way that cars used to be designed in the 1950s to the way they are designed in this age, they did not have the technological, advanced know-how that we do today, they could not have done it differently. A more apt adjective would be "Quaint".
      "The adjective "quirky" is often used to describe those unconventional things that are characterized by peculiar behavior or an UNEXPECTED point of view".
      "Quaint", having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: a quaint old house".
      I hope that I did not irritate or BORE you.

    • @CockatooDude
      @CockatooDude 5 років тому +3

      Not necessarily, I would point you to custom PC builds, those can take on all sorts of cool shapes and sizes.

  • @JeepBoiFL
    @JeepBoiFL 5 років тому +3

    I know this is lame but when I saw the note -call___ "if no contact", that phrase sparked memories. Back in the 90s when I had cubicle and tie jobs that was a common sticky note I would place on the wall in front of me. Definitely reminded me of, IMO, better times when a person was only reachable at their office or by paging them. You always had the time to think through the business at hand as opposed to how it is now. Instant is not always the best or most productive.
    (I used the acronym "INC" on my notes to remind me)

  • @DjNikGnashers
    @DjNikGnashers 5 років тому +51

    You never cease to amaze me, with the sheer number of unheard of technology items you discover. Every video is a learning day, thank you so much.

  • @TheGramophoneGirl
    @TheGramophoneGirl 5 років тому +58

    OMG I remember those. I went for work experience with a tech company in 1986 and the boss had one and I thought he was the bees knees for having one. What a blast from the past!

    • @lifeisgood12341
      @lifeisgood12341 5 років тому +1

      Awesome

    • @Madmonk
      @Madmonk 5 років тому +2

      "i taught he was the bees knees" is enough of a blast from the past for me thanks

    • @TheJosep70
      @TheJosep70 4 роки тому +4

      @kiyonexus And judging by your comment you must be 12 at most...

  • @AndySmallbone
    @AndySmallbone 5 років тому +31

    My Dad worked for STC all his working life, first in London and then moved to Basildon, Essex in the 60s before moving to Harlow till it became Nortel Networks till he retired. I worked for them as well in Basildon for sometime.
    Funny that the green phone was also made by STC for BT.
    They had so much cool tech in the factory including equipment that floated on a bed of air on a special coated floor.

    • @mjarbar3204
      @mjarbar3204 5 років тому +2

      I have lived in Basildon since the early 1970's and I wondered why STC sounded familar!

  • @OnnieKoski
    @OnnieKoski 5 років тому +58

    I love the idea of having to spin up micro cassettes to spy on someones’s 25 year old calendar. Now all you have to do is ask FaceBook

  • @AthenaNova1
    @AthenaNova1 5 років тому +148

    A way around the Y2K year issue would be to set the calendar year to 1985 or 1991. They have the same days of the week as 2019. That's the way I do it on vintage devices.

    • @MusicalArmageddon
      @MusicalArmageddon 5 років тому +36

      Not 1985, because that wouldn't sync up with leap years. 2020 and 1992 are leap years; 1986 is not.

    • @alainportant6412
      @alainportant6412 4 роки тому +2

      @@MusicalArmageddon why are you being a dick?

    • @aliatef7203
      @aliatef7203 3 роки тому +23

      @@alainportant6412 correcting someone being considered dick behaviour must be a leading contributor to ignorance everywhere

    • @nthgth
      @nthgth 3 роки тому +6

      @@aliatef7203 _Mic dropped._
      That was actually a very helpful correction

    • @imperialspy3457
      @imperialspy3457 2 роки тому +1

      @@alainportant6412 the comment is concise, helpful and free of insults. You are the dick here.

  • @BillAnt
    @BillAnt 5 років тому +24

    OMG Techmoan has actually smiled at 17:30 ... wooo-hoooo!! ;D

  • @haroonabassi1821
    @haroonabassi1821 5 років тому +29

    It really does look like something Sean Connery would have sitting on his desk while he's sipping coffee and viewing security footage on an off-world deep space mining colony.

  • @Orinslayer
    @Orinslayer 5 років тому +182

    The 80's and 90's were big on those fake cooling fins.

    • @bicycleninja1685
      @bicycleninja1685 5 років тому +12

      Orin Anthony Xbox original has them as well.

    • @TheDonSapius
      @TheDonSapius 4 роки тому +1

      Lol, Atari 2600 though.

    • @petros_adamopoulos
      @petros_adamopoulos 3 роки тому

      I don't think most fins are fake, there was heat to dissipate even back then.

    • @Leo9ine
      @Leo9ine 3 роки тому

      All thanks to the Ferrari 512 Testarossa which innovated the design.

    • @Wolfstanus
      @Wolfstanus 3 роки тому

      Most of them weren't fake, just a clever way of hiding the tiny holes

  • @dwoodman26
    @dwoodman26 5 років тому +15

    13:01 That ringer is a time machine! I was instantly transported back to the 80's.

  • @KevReillyUK
    @KevReillyUK 5 років тому +13

    Everything about this video is a delight, from the device itself through the 1993 time capsule on the cassette to the dad jokes.
    And what a stunning bit of industrial design that thing is. I got an immediate Blade Runner / 2010 / Tron vibe so I'm glad to see at least one of those got an inevitable callout.
    As for the person whose machine this was, he or she (but let's be honest, in the early 90s more likely he) seems to have embraced the whole digital calendar thing with great enthusiasm. I like to think that, if he didn't retire, he switched to a Psion Series 3a around 1993. It would have been like putting his whole desktop in his pocket.

    • @TheJosep70
      @TheJosep70 4 роки тому +2

      Tron was so advanced for its time Dillinger even had a giant touchscreen under the table top.

  • @JimnyVR5
    @JimnyVR5 5 років тому +638

    Please don‘t start calling your secretary the "slave-unit" after watching this...

    • @demogorgonzola
      @demogorgonzola 5 років тому +55

      On the other hand, calling Secretary of State a Slave-Unit is quite funny.

    • @bland9876
      @bland9876 5 років тому +40

      Is it ok if the secretary is black?

    • @SionynJones
      @SionynJones 5 років тому +13

      "primary" and "secondary" is the preferred terminology from master and slave. I'll give you that slave and master is a egregious.
      But you have to remember techmoan makes videos about periods time. That was just the terminology from a old model of communication standards.

    • @ukeyaoitrash2618
      @ukeyaoitrash2618 5 років тому +44

      @@SionynJones bdsm uses master and slave all the time and were not gonna change lol
      So yeah depending on context I think the terms are fine

    • @shadshowadradna
      @shadshowadradna 5 років тому +7

      "She'll have access through her keyboard and screen..."

  • @leerosevere3286
    @leerosevere3286 5 років тому +104

    I truly appreciate the M reference

    • @alliejr
      @alliejr 5 років тому +6

      Brilliant! M Pop Music!

    • @darrenkrivit6854
      @darrenkrivit6854 5 років тому +3

      I had that 45rpm single😎 great song

    • @5roundsrapid263
      @5roundsrapid263 5 років тому +6

      I knew he was going to say it! 😊

    • @brianl4366
      @brianl4366 5 років тому +9

      @@5roundsrapid263 I think anybody in a certain age range is going to hear that in their heads as soon as somebody goes 'New York London Paris...' :)

    • @johannes914
      @johannes914 5 років тому +2

      @@alliejr he made my day. Now I have to listen again to this wonderfull track.

  • @tsdarc
    @tsdarc 5 років тому +131

    The design is really reminiscent of old Bang & Olufsen BeoCenter HiFis

    • @TheRealColBosch
      @TheRealColBosch 5 років тому +3

      That's what I was trying to think of. It really does!

    • @tmc-bh1eo
      @tmc-bh1eo 5 років тому

      My thoughts exactly!

    • @peterlinddk
      @peterlinddk 5 років тому +2

      Exactly. Especially the 2200 series, from 1979/1980.

    • @JimUK
      @JimUK 5 років тому +1

      Yes that what I thought when I first saw it.

    • @beitie
      @beitie 5 років тому +2

      As an owner of a Beocenter 9000, I agree.

  • @MarvelDcImage
    @MarvelDcImage 5 років тому +12

    That was an impressive phone receptionist for H&S - I can tell how high quality a firm is in their employee staffing/training based on how professional the receptionist is. Especially these days when firms just replace receptionists with temps if they have any at all.

  • @scottd9448
    @scottd9448 4 роки тому +4

    That is a fantastic piece of kit! Funnily, I did some work at Heidrick & Struggles a couple of years ago in Chicago. This reminds me of the Seiko Data 2000 watch that I had in 1991 in the 5th year at school. I used it to take notes in IT on the BBC Micro's.

  • @AndersEngerJensen
    @AndersEngerJensen 5 років тому +73

    The good old 80s business life! 😂😎 Things haven’t changed much though, except that people tend to deal with mails and enquiries themselves (with the exception of those very high end brass CEOs perhaps). Just as much stress and work now as in 1985.

    • @cleverlyblonde
      @cleverlyblonde 5 років тому +6

      Some lawyers offices in sweden and norway still have the secretary thing going on, but now it's "Office assistant" or "Chief Organising Executive" etc. Predominantly women hold these though, in 2019. ;)

  • @TombstoneChris
    @TombstoneChris 5 років тому +59

    3:30 a.m. here in Florida and I get a notification of a techmoan video and I instantly click. Absolutely one of my favorite channels. I can't wait a smartphone from 1984 wow.

  • @victorhugotoledocofre1366
    @victorhugotoledocofre1366 5 років тому +132

    A new Techmoan video. The perfect way to spice up an otherwise dull Saturday.

    • @kevinr.3542
      @kevinr.3542 5 років тому +6

      I like to organize my paper clips on Saturdays but now I have to watch this! I hope my paper clips aren't too disorganized this week. I like to keep the smalls with the smalls, the big with the big, etc

    • @GreenAppelPie
      @GreenAppelPie 5 років тому +4

      Víctor Hugo Toledo Cofré just as good as Saturday morning cartoons in the 80s.

    • @sailaab
      @sailaab 5 років тому +1

      and I thought I was the only lonely one

  • @pgibsonorg
    @pgibsonorg 4 роки тому +1

    I texted my dad and received confirmation that he is indeed the lunch contact shown at 9:55
    Such a small world! Thanks for showing off this nifty machine.

  • @chrisbircham221
    @chrisbircham221 5 років тому +3

    Had one of these in our shop, I finally re-tubed it in 2000 & it still worked fine, everyone thought it was fantastic.

  • @tychosis
    @tychosis 5 років тому +37

    Per Wikipedia, Heidrick & Struggles appears to be an executive search firm--you know, the companies that go headhunt for people looking for executives. Anyway they apparently started in 1953 and eventually had over 50 offices in six continents.

    • @gcewing
      @gcewing 5 років тому +9

      Sounds like they may have been singlehandedly responsible for most of STC's sales of Executels...

    • @cgavin1
      @cgavin1 5 років тому +1

      50 offices on six continents... nobody has ever heard of them. Definitely a CIA front.

    • @dominateeye
      @dominateeye 2 роки тому +6

      I know this is a few years old now, but I think there's a good chance that this device was in fact used by someone from Heidrick & Struggles. I've looked up their list of offices, and the only places he reads out at 15:36 that aren't on their website are Barcelona and Greenwich. I think it's plausible that those offices got folded into the Madrid and London offices, respectively. Considering that only two of those locations no longer have H&S offices, and one of the phone numbers still works, and this is both a headhunting AND executive consulting firm that would probably send people all over the world... There'd be no proof unless something on the machine specifically mentioned being owned by H&S, of course, but I think it's a reasonable conclusion to say it was owned by that company.
      Jury's still out on whether it's a CIA front, though.

  • @SudaNIm103
    @SudaNIm103 5 років тому +7

    Beautiful. Looks kind of like an early AT&T Merlin deskset that was the unlikely love child of a B&O BeoMaster, and a Mitsubishi Visitel, but manufactured by Tandberg. I love it!

  • @The1Nomad
    @The1Nomad 5 років тому +29

    On a more random note, I recently saw an Executel on an episode of Gerry Andersen's Space Precinct. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

    • @boredfartless4221
      @boredfartless4221 5 років тому

      Probably it will pop up in all sorts of 80s TV and Movies

  • @GVCarroll71
    @GVCarroll71 5 років тому +9

    "Don't be surprised if that doesn't ring a bell." I see what you did there.

  • @sagichnicht6748
    @sagichnicht6748 4 роки тому +3

    The minicassette was Made in Austria. Oh those were the days :)
    Greetings from Austria.

  • @Oldermodels_are_twitchy
    @Oldermodels_are_twitchy 5 років тому +14

    New York, London, Paris, Munich - Thanks for that earworm Techmoan...

    • @rkan2
      @rkan2 5 років тому

      Everybody talk about... Which version did you get?

    • @rkan2
      @rkan2 5 років тому

      @@davidjames579 Try google

    • @s.kxx1956
      @s.kxx1956 4 роки тому

      New york, paris, peckham you mean haha

  • @areyouserious3092
    @areyouserious3092 5 років тому +29

    What a fantastic looking piece of equipment and someone got value for money out of it by using it for over ten years lol. Brilliant video buddie.

  • @TwoWholeWorms
    @TwoWholeWorms 5 років тому +9

    Damn you, I've been after one of these for ages for a project, and now the bloody prices are gonna shoot through the roof. xD

  • @hiterss
    @hiterss 5 років тому +10

    Hahaha I LOVE YOUR CURIOSITY dialing the numbers, trying to figure out what company could've been 😂😂!
    Love from Mexico

  • @mittfh
    @mittfh 5 років тому +24

    "And he takes a train from London to Runcorn - it can't be all fun and games, can it?!" 😁

    • @lucidphreak1137
      @lucidphreak1137 4 роки тому

      what does that mean? im a yank and have zero clue what the meaning of that is..... obviously he was being "cheeky" though. :)

    • @lucidphreak1137
      @lucidphreak1137 4 роки тому

      ahhh.. in that its a long commute?

    • @tigerchillyable
      @tigerchillyable 4 роки тому +4

      lucid phreak Runcorn is a shithole. Watch a show called 2 pints of larger and packet of crisps.

  • @wrestleswithangels
    @wrestleswithangels 5 років тому +9

    This had been one of the most fascinating pieces of retro tech that I've seen. Thanks for sharing!!

  • @chrisfreemesser5707
    @chrisfreemesser5707 5 років тому +112

    OMFG the Pop Musik reference made me laugh out loud

    • @WaltonPete
      @WaltonPete 5 років тому +8

      "Everybody's talkin' 'bout pop music!"

    • @Quick_Fix
      @Quick_Fix 5 років тому +3

      I wonder how many of the younger viewers got that little in joke. 😋

    • @JackBealeGuitar
      @JackBealeGuitar 5 років тому +4

      Yes, it's rare for me to actually lol, but I did at that, such a crap joke, it just broke me :D

    • @sverkermarklund6709
      @sverkermarklund6709 5 років тому +3

      Brilliant. One of my favorites at the time it came out and still a good one :)

    • @JanBabiuchHall
      @JanBabiuchHall 5 років тому

      Quick Fix I did not :(

  • @JohnnyX50
    @JohnnyX50 5 років тому +8

    The look on your face when the lady answers was bloody hilarious :D

  • @HughRaine
    @HughRaine 3 роки тому +1

    Thanks for that clean, isolated, royalty free sound effect of a phone ringing! CASHBACK!

  • @cubeflinger
    @cubeflinger 5 років тому +2

    In love with that screen. Right out of alien.

  • @woofgbruk5947
    @woofgbruk5947 5 років тому +55

    This would not have looked out of place on CMDR Straker`s desk in Gerry Anderson`s UFO!

  • @AnonyDave
    @AnonyDave 5 років тому +211

    Perhaps his cocaine habit finally took him in '93 🤔

    • @lashyndragon
      @lashyndragon 5 років тому +36

      The keyboard was probably sticky from all the rails he did off of the surface over the years.

    • @AnonyDave
      @AnonyDave 5 років тому +15

      @@lashyndragon Line of coke, then drop his can of coke on the keyboard. *shudders*

    • @sophieewohaa
      @sophieewohaa 5 років тому +24

      That's when he became a Conservative MP.

    • @ericpode6095
      @ericpode6095 5 років тому +11

      @@sophieewohaa could be worse, he could have joined Labour. 🙄

    • @steviebboy69
      @steviebboy69 5 років тому +4

      @@lashyndragon Maybe also sticky because of all the Nicotine and Tar residue. Maybe Mr Retromancave can retro bright the thing.,

  • @patrickmccurry1563
    @patrickmccurry1563 5 років тому +1

    Oh, my. That pop music joke is not something younger fans of this channel could possibly get. lol But thanks, for getting that song stuck in my head again.

  • @avishinka
    @avishinka 4 роки тому

    Best was calling and sneaking into personal details. Loved that.

  • @mattround5071
    @mattround5071 5 років тому +6

    No Matt, the 'Pop Music' joke was brilliant!! Thanks for all the great content..

    • @stulop
      @stulop 5 років тому

      Yes, that gave me a chuckle.

  • @deadfreightwest5956
    @deadfreightwest5956 5 років тому +8

    6:26 - You are seriously overdue for that meeting with Chris Canty Kapiti!

    • @jasonrfoss248
      @jasonrfoss248 4 роки тому

      Kapiti is in New Zealand and H&S had an office in Wellington New Zealand that serviced that area. Unfortunately Chris Canty is also the name of a fairly well-known American football player so if you Google the name that's all you really get.

  • @alastairbarkley6572
    @alastairbarkley6572 4 роки тому +4

    STC was part of the US telecoms giant ITT - and that's one of the contacts/appointments (can't remember which) left in your Executel's memory. Is it possible your phone was actually used by one of the STC executives - particularly if the units never sold very well? You can imagine unsold Executels being recycled by for internal use.

  • @danielstephenson7558
    @danielstephenson7558 5 років тому

    I like your self realisation at the terribleness of that joke towards the end. Gave me a quick giggle that did.

  • @goodtimeswerehad
    @goodtimeswerehad 5 років тому +1

    I worked at STC in New Southgate in the early 90’s and when it became Northern Telecom. I installed PABX systems similar to this called SDX that also had a top end device of this nature. Thanks for a trip down memory lane

  • @joejoe3011
    @joejoe3011 5 років тому +15

    New York, London, Paris, Munich
    Everybody talk about pop muzik

    • @stella-vu8vh
      @stella-vu8vh 3 роки тому

      can't recall the name of this song? help plz

    • @joejoe3011
      @joejoe3011 3 роки тому

      @@stella-vu8vh "Pop Muzik" by M

  • @radry100
    @radry100 5 років тому +4

    This is extremely amazing for the time it was released.

  • @tubester4567
    @tubester4567 5 років тому +23

    New York, London, Paris, Munich, everybody talkiin about Pop Music!! The younger kids probably didnt understand that reference. Song is called Pop Muzik by M

  • @pkeshish
    @pkeshish 5 років тому +2

    This video and device (STC Executel) just became my favorite! :-)
    The design is lovely. Simply gorgeous.
    Thank you.

  • @acoow
    @acoow 5 років тому

    Boy did you ever fool me! When I saw a phone handset on a keyboard in the thumbnail for the video, I was 100% convinced it was a gag to tease us into a video showing something different. What a surprise!

  • @wojiaobill
    @wojiaobill 5 років тому +3

    I still remember when call display was introduced. What a breakthrough that was!

  • @neonte13
    @neonte13 5 років тому +4

    Man, I really need to get around to rewatching Blade Runner!
    Actually, I was thinking of Max Headroom, for where it could come from, what with everything having a telly screen. I could totally see Theora talking to Edison, with his camera feed appearing on the phone's screen, then Murray comes in, turns the screen so he can see it, Theora huffs sarcastically before leaning in to see, again. As a bonus, Max could pop up on it, later, and pretend to be an uppity business man.

  • @mistermatix8241
    @mistermatix8241 5 років тому +20

    Looks like something designed by Bang & Olufsen, their horizontal components had that same look.

  • @MetalTrabant
    @MetalTrabant 5 років тому +1

    Amazingly fun video! It's like a time travel with all that appointments and names still on the tape, we can sneak-peek into the everydays of a high-fly executive in '93, awesome!

  • @dereksmith7781
    @dereksmith7781 5 років тому +18

    It looks like the video phone they used In aliens! Try calling Wayland Yutani corporate office 😂😂

  • @photolabguy
    @photolabguy 5 років тому +61

    It looks like an Atari 5200 with a keyboard.

    • @stevebollinger3463
      @stevebollinger3463 5 років тому +6

      It looks like there is some 7800 mixed in there. The colored stripe across it is very much like a 7800.

    • @Wflash00
      @Wflash00 5 років тому

      It looks like a mix of the Timex Sinclair 2068 and the Atari 800xl to me

    • @lucidphreak1137
      @lucidphreak1137 4 роки тому

      agree completely... that silver piece with the orange line is also a rip...

    • @JeeGee114
      @JeeGee114 4 роки тому

      Ti 99 4a

  • @matthewwilkes6162
    @matthewwilkes6162 5 років тому +55

    "If that doesn't ring a bell"
    Groan.

  • @quirqq
    @quirqq 5 років тому +27

    1k+ bonus points for the Pop Muzik joke! Does it come with a fresh keytar shoulder strap? Any salacious ASCII art on the casstte? :P

  • @juanarellano5511
    @juanarellano5511 5 років тому

    This "yellowish" device, was part of the history of the modern office .... A concept, which formed the basis for an industry, with a focus on business ... A piece of unique and special history .... ( If the calendar does not work at a date greater than 1993, it is why the software is NOT updated, this, and the battery of the real time clock (RTC) that was sulphated "battery Rotten"). good video, greetings from Mexico

  • @davidchristensen6908
    @davidchristensen6908 5 років тому

    Yup your right I do want to know about this. What an amazing find. It is just a fascinating time capsule of that persons appointments and schedule on a machine that has been long forgotten. Just exactly what we love to snoop through and remember back to that point in time. It will make a nice addition to your museum. Some university needs to give you an honorary degree in electronic history of home, office and industrial electronics. Nice find.

  • @gushiperson
    @gushiperson 2 роки тому +3

    Look up the AT&T Personal Terminal 510. Touchscreen, computer terminal integrated with phone. Similar idea but wildly different execution. Super rare and I'd love to see TechMoan or Fran Blanche do an exploration of one.

  • @pk-so1mj
    @pk-so1mj 5 років тому +9

    Weird thing is there was a business here in Australia still using one of these till only a few years ago. It was owned by Plymouth Brethrens, I wondered what it was until seeing this 😆?

    • @mcmurdostation7134
      @mcmurdostation7134 4 роки тому

      Lol These things are made to last forever and for weird old bosses

  • @da5idnz
    @da5idnz 5 років тому +10

    It looks like something you might have seen in _Space 1999_

    • @da5idnz
      @da5idnz 5 років тому

      @John Stroud With flared trousers :)

    • @dashcamandy2242
      @dashcamandy2242 5 років тому

      "Space: 1999" just randomly began showing up in my recommended videos about a week ago, and I've been on/off binge watching... Yes, it would fit the series nicely.

  • @houstonceng
    @houstonceng 5 років тому

    When I worked at STC, we called it the WUNPER. One per desk ! A prototype on an exhibition stand I manned had a simple answerphone that would annunciate simple sentences such as “I am in a meeting”. We tried typing in “I’m down the pub”, but it wouldn’t let us as some of the words were not in the simple vocabulary.

  • @chrishenderson07
    @chrishenderson07 4 роки тому

    Maybe on of the best Techmoan's ever. The mystery, and solving that mystery, give a personal touch that dissecting a DAT machine just doesn't have.

  • @francisfarmer6005
    @francisfarmer6005 5 років тому +4

    U r my fav geek/dork on the whole internet! Much Love

  • @aussie8114
    @aussie8114 5 років тому +34

    Coincidently I have an appointment set up for midday tomorrow at Kentucky Chicken 🍗

    • @trippmoore
      @trippmoore 5 років тому +7

      LAZY DOG pick me up a 12 piece bucket with extra mashed potatoes and gravy please.

    • @aussie8114
      @aussie8114 5 років тому +4

      Christopher Formulak Mmmmmm love their mash and gravy 😋

    • @mons.romerodurante8086
      @mons.romerodurante8086 5 років тому

      Since KFC stopped using _The Hound_ to promote their chicken products, I have mostly been using Subway.

    • @tynewlin
      @tynewlin 5 років тому

      @@mons.romerodurante8086 That seems a little odd. Did you also go on a Taco Bell strike when they stopped using the chihuahua with a Mexican accent because it was "racist".

    • @mons.romerodurante8086
      @mons.romerodurante8086 5 років тому

      No. There are no Taco Bells here, I have never seen the advert you refer to and I'm not overly encumbered by political correctness anyway.

  • @ThePiquedPigeon
    @ThePiquedPigeon 5 років тому +119

    > "Smart phone" instead of "smartphone"
    I see what you did there...

    • @dr.python
      @dr.python 5 років тому

      You're not a real doctor

  • @emanatingf
    @emanatingf 4 роки тому

    I'm happy that this was done. I usually wouldn't comment like now but I really got something out this Video. Very carefully & smoothly handled out.

  • @stevec00ps
    @stevec00ps 5 років тому

    My dad once worked for STC in Basildon, Essex. I remember him telling me it stood for "Sod The Customer" :)

  • @wavetrex
    @wavetrex 5 років тому +36

    AMD CPU. Still working fine 35 years later.

    • @Crazy_Borg
      @Crazy_Borg 5 років тому +5

      It's not a K5, which explains why it has not melted through the board. Yet.

    • @Phenom98
      @Phenom98 5 років тому +9

      ... is this a fanboy comment? Intel chips from that era are bulletproof, too. As long as the power supply is good.

    • @wavetrex
      @wavetrex 5 років тому +4

      @@Phenom98 Yeah. It is... or it's supposed to look like one ;-)
      I buy whatever CPU or GPU or hardware component is good at the time of purchase, doesn't matter who makes it.
      But it's fun from time to time to start some flame wars between actual fanboys ... ^.^

    • @Phenom98
      @Phenom98 5 років тому

      @@wavetrex I agree. Thats why I'm rocking a Ryzen 5. Bought it a month ago for $135 :) whatever is fast and cheap.

    • @sj65535
      @sj65535 5 років тому +2

      AMD's Intel-compatible CPUs, before the 386, were simply "second source". They got the masks from Intel under license and simply manufactured the chips. So basically the design and technology is all Intel, and AMD's role was to diversify the supply chain in case there was a issue at the Intel fab.

  • @Popk1ller
    @Popk1ller 5 років тому +5

    This Telephone will fit perfectly standing nearby an late 80's bang & olufsen stereo system

    • @Popk1ller
      @Popk1ller 4 роки тому

      @@NuGanjaTron they Made the beocom phones
      en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeoCom

  • @ALurkingGrue
    @ALurkingGrue 5 років тому +12

    You are now officially a telephone sanitizer.

  • @richardalderton1047
    @richardalderton1047 3 роки тому

    A salutary lesson in scrubbing your personal data from devices before getting rid of them!

  • @martinbrewer7629
    @martinbrewer7629 5 років тому

    Glad you mentioned the OPD/QL thing... I was itching to comment about it but thought I'd better wait. Oddly enough, Terry Stewart's review of the thing that wasn't called the OPD in New Zealand was chucked at me via youtube the other day. It reminded me of the one time I encountered two OPD's at the same time, and they were both on the same desk... It was in 1991, which added to the confusion...

  • @moochincrawdad
    @moochincrawdad 5 років тому +38

    Next generation technology from 1984, thwarted by the millennium bug! 😃

  • @ericwoytasek269
    @ericwoytasek269 5 років тому +8

    Misses-a Wiggens, you come in here right-a now. I can't figure out how to use this darn-a thing!

    • @sweethomeboston2720
      @sweethomeboston2720 5 років тому +2

      Beautiful! ROFL! Here's the original Tudball/Wiggins intercom sketch in case you didn't look it up ua-cam.com/video/KIZA7ghxWBQ/v-deo.html Loved the way she would always wind him up and bust his ______

    • @ericwoytasek269
      @ericwoytasek269 5 років тому

      @@sweethomeboston2720 Lol! Thanks!

    • @dadadaddyoo
      @dadadaddyoo 5 років тому

      Thanks for the Carol Burnett reference! Really takes me back, in a good way.

  • @TheChiefHobbit
    @TheChiefHobbit 5 років тому +9

    What a fantastic machine , kind of reminds me of a lot of my Bang & Olufsen stereos! with its “stainless steel” like finish and sleek design. Overall great video!

    • @masterluisYTV
      @masterluisYTV 5 років тому

      bang & olufsen has garbage equipment.so it makes sense

  • @johnmichaelrichards
    @johnmichaelrichards 5 років тому

    Heidrick & Struggles is an established 'headhunting' recruitment company, particularly for executives. In the late 80s I worked for a company called Thomas Engineering, specialists in psychometric analysis, and I was contracted out to companies such as H&S to undertake psychometric analysis of prospective recruits, which H&S had headhunted for their high-end clients. One of the appointments on your STC 3910 Executel is H&S was established in Chicago in the 50s but had an office in London and agencies around the world.
    One of the appointments on your STC 3910 Executel (24th February 1993 at 10:30) is a Psychometric Presentation. The psychometric reports for the presentation likely came from Thomas Engineering as we were leaders in the field at that time. Most of the executive jobs were advertised in the Times and Telegraph. High-end clients around the world presented both the need and the finances, for H&S to have such expensive, leading-edge IT equipment. The design is reminiscent of the B&O 2200 music centre I had at the time.

  • @Kochiha
    @Kochiha 4 роки тому +1

    This is one of the coolest-looking things I've ever seen. I want to build one now, a sort of modern hardware-based version.

  • @Strawberry92fs
    @Strawberry92fs 5 років тому +7

    It looks like a phone I'd see in a ridley scott movie. Lol you just said it as I was typing.

    • @thedaniespot
      @thedaniespot 5 років тому

      Caboose 92m great minds think alike