Remembering G4 / the most awesome REC phone system.. ever!
Recently, Franny (remember her?) put up a Facebook group for the callers of K-Fone, another voice system that has ran until recently. The interesting thing about K-Fone and many of the REC systems was that it was developed on the same platform. First a quick tutorial on the generations of REC systems:
Generation 1 - Chatsworth 1987-1988 - Called the "REC Conference, Voice Mail and Information Access Service". Featured a live conference bridge, private voice mail and IAS boxes (one way recordings that callers can operate). Operated on an IBM XT.
Generation 2 - Chatsworth 1988-1989 - Called the "REC Voice Bridging Service". Pretty much an upgraded version of G1 operating on a 286.
Generation 3 - Chatsworth 1990-1991 - Called the "REC Public Side". Operating on a 286 with 40 MB of storage over 2 hard drives. This was the first system to feature a public message board.
MegaCity - Chatsworth 1992 - A concept where there were multiple public message rooms on the system and you navigated the system using your phone as a compass. It was laid out like the West San Fernando Valley.
Generation 4 - Van Nuys 1994 - Operated on a 386 - Many interesting features. Did not have a conference bridge. Instead, had something called CB mode.
Generation 5 - Arizona 1996 - Multiple public message boards, CB mode and private voice mail. Operated on a different platform than G1-G4 and MegaCity.
I just found the source code files for G4 and it's amazing all of the things this system did (and a few things that were in the works)..
If I remember correctly, G4 was a 8 line system with 7 lines available to callers and an admin/business line.
The universal commands on the G4 system which were valid on most menus were:
9 - to log off the system (for us admins, 9 would drop us to the administration of the system)
0 - and then two additional digits to listen to an IAS box.
* - Read back your time remaining
# - Read back who else is on the system
Off the main menu, the commands were:
1 - System Services Menu (customer service functions)
2 - It's listed as a "bridge menu" (of course, there was no bridge on this system) but the source shows other functionality. (I will talk about this menu in just a bit)
3 - Matchmaking functions
4 - Accesses a user's IAS box if they have purchased one
5 - Page (instant private message) to other users (a paid option allowed you to page all users)
6 - Voice Mail Menu
7 - Public Message Boards
8 - For a paid user, it went to the extended services menu. For an unpaid user it gave info on how to pay.
Technically, G4 was the first system that featured a "message queue" system where different types of "messages" can be placed in a queue and then played back to callers. Messages that went into the queue included:
announcements of people calling in,
pages (private instant messages),
voice mail notification,
CB mode adds and actual CB mode usage,
the little drop-ins that came on every few minutes (such as Homer Simpson saying "mmmmm donuts!",
the top of the hour messages that were hour specific (and we had different people taking different shifts) and
other system messages and alerts.
Features in G4 included:
CB MODE - Instead of a bridge, G4 had CB mode. Using the message queueing functionality, callers can sit on a particular channel. If a user wants to talk, they hit a key to "transmit" and then record a message. Their message is then played to other callers who are on the same CB channel. Paid users could "squelch" another user to prevent hearing from them on channel.
IAS BOXES - allowed users to put up a one way 3 minute announcement that can be changed at any time.
LISTENER RESPONSE BOXES (also called "flag 5") - A separate voice mail account that is used in connection with the IAS box. Callers can access the voice mail off the IAS menu.
HORSE RACING - In the afternoons starting at 1:05 and going every 30 minutes, we would featuring a horse racing event where you can wager your time against the horses to see who would win.
FOOTBALL POOL - We had an online football pool where you can pick the winners and the users with the most winners would divide up the pool of time wagered.
WAKE UP CALLS - G4 was the first system with call-out functionality. Paid users could have the system call them back at a certain time. When they answer the phone, it was Kristi saying "IT'S TIME TO WA-A-A-A-A-KE UP! WITH REC!".
POUNDPAGE - Paid users could page another user on the system by pushing pound and then the line number from virtually any menu. Unpaid users had to do this from the main menu.
TIC-TAC-TOE - Play the computer in a friendly game of tic-tac-toe.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY - A user could record a short message that would be heard by anyone who called in ("our thought of the day comes from....")
USER PRE-VALDATION - System compared the caller's telephone prefix with their zip code to determine if the request was valid. (Remember, this was before local number portability and before cellphones were that popular)
MATCHMAKING - The system had a basic questionnaire and matched users based on sex, sexual orientation and common answers.
900 PAYMENT PLAN - The REC system used PIN codes that were distributed by the TABS 900 service. Users could call a $10 or a $25 number. Each would assign a 7-digit pin code that they can enter on the REC system to redeem credit. Users could purchase 1 month of extended access for $10, 3 months for $25 or 255 minute time bumps for $1 each.
NUMBER CHANGES - A user can request a customized mailbox number. This was an automated process. User numbers 101-199 were called the "100 club" for the original callers to the system (they had higher privileges).. A user could not change their mailbox to a 100 series box number.
JOKE LINE - Just a random jokeline recording that would play on demand.
TAG-ON MESSAGES - A user could respond to a public message by "tagging-on" their message to a current message. The tagged-on message will be heard first then the original message.
There was also a feature that we wrote but was never tested or deployed:
BATTLE FOR BIMBOS - An telephone interactive version of the then-popular on-line game "Pimp Wars".
So as you can see, G4 was a fun system. They just don't make them like this anymore. And even with a system like this, due to the nature of the internet, do you think people would still call into a phone line?
