Is Apple the Next IBM?

Maybe it’s a good thing that Apple is on a mission to destroy its Android-based competitors.  Once the competitors are gone, or reduced to a miniscule share of the mobile device market, maybe the US Government will bring an anti-trust suit against Apple similar to the one brought against IBM that, although unsuccessful, resulted in IBM unbundling their hardware and software products.  Or, alternatively, doing the same thing to Apple as they did to “Ma Bell” back in the 1980s.

The Outhouse

AT&T Outhouse, 1949 I was cleaning out a folder in the file cabinet a few days back when I came upon this bit of history.  It is the specification  for a standard AT&T Long Lines Outhouse and is dated November 17, 1949.  It got me to thinking about visits to my Grandparent’s house back in the day.  At the time, they had an outhouse in the back yard.  As I remember, they did have indoor plumbing and bathrooms, but for reasons now lost in history, they did not yet have any indoor toilet facilities.  They did eventually rectify this situation and the outhouse one day disappeared. 

Before you ask why I am in possession of this historical document, here’s a clue.  My wife worked for the old AT&T Long Lines for a number of years.