188 Pages
32 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
186 Pages
32 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
186 Pages
32 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This book documents and examines the history of technology used by consumers to serve oneself. The telephone’s development as a self-service technology functions as the narrative spine, beginning with the advent of rotary dialing eliminating most operator services and transforming every local connection into an instance of self-service. Today, nearly a century later, consumers manipulate 0-9... Read more
Introduction: Phoning It In, or Consumer Labor and the Telephone
1. Please Help Yourself: Self-Service Shopping and the "Revolution in Distribution"
2. Phantom of the Operator: Rotary Dialing and the Automation of Everyday Life
3. Then Press #: Touch-Tone Phones and Digital Interface
4. What’s in a PIN? ATMs and Keypads beyond the Telephone
Conclusion: Smart Phones and the Costs of Payment
Biography
Michael Palm is Assistant Professor of Media and Technology Studies in the Department of Communication Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
