iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Back to Australia, where payphones are free for domestic calls and well maintained. Ricky-Lee and Tim, it seems, are radio show hosts in Sydney. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

A payphone kiosk in a plaza with a tram in the backgorund. The tram is wrapped with photos of a man and woman and says Ricki-Lee and Tim, New for Breakfast, From 6 am.

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Supercat64 @supercatn64.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Uploaded one of my many recordings from my #5ESS phone line. I figured I want to get this stuff recorded and preserved as my line card has already changed after recording this a few weeks ago. www.youtube.com/watch?v=95pi... #5ESS, #1ESS, #1AESS, #5XB, #3XB, #1XB, #SxS

youtube.com

#5ESS Dial Tone Timeout and Jane Barbe 5 digit code

YouTube video by Supercat Telephone

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Supercat64 @supercatn64.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

reject modernity of ai data centers and packet switches, embrace tradition of crossbar switching tandems. #5xb #1xb #4axb #xbt #1ess #5ess #phone #phreaking

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The National Museum of Computing @tnmoc.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Last call for 'Phone Phreaks'. Phil Lapsley join us tomorrow for a talk on how a group of hackers found the Achilles heel in AT&T's massive network and changed technology forever ow.ly/oaLq50ZCnoS

ow.ly

Phone Phreaks: What Can We Learn from the First Network Hackers?

Dive into the wild world of early phone hackers and discover the tricks that shaped today’s networks.

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The National Museum of Computing @tnmoc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The original hackers didn't use computers, they used phones. On Sat Aug 22nd, Phil Lapsley is at TNMOC to share how the Phone Phreaks changed technology forever. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/phone-phreak…

eventbrite.co.uk

Phone Phreaks: What Can We Learn from the First Network Hackers?

Dive into the wild world of early phone hackers and discover the tricks that shaped today’s networks.

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—>realhackhistory.org @bsky.realhackhistory.org · 14/08/2026

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has located approximately 43,671 pages of records subject to the FOIPA that are potentially responsive to the subject of your request.” If anyone is interested, the FBI response to my #FOIA request on Junaid Hussain aka TRicK from Team Poison.

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Riccardo S. @sacco.ciarpa.me · 09/08/2026

Had so much fun at @connections.museum Took quite a few photos, let's see how many of them come out good I used an AT&T Picturephone, tried a blue box, saw the mechanical switches working while I was dialing a phone, and much more Also gave the lovely tour guide a few Italian payphone tokens

Close up of a standard boring grey analog phone switching equipment rack, on the right a few rows of lights are visible, in the middle of the frame a sticker with the drawing of a bear wearing a fireman's hat and the text "Hug-A-Bear says... Remember to test your smoke detector every month."

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Botty.bot @infosecbot.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Phreaking village. This really made me smile, hanging out at a phonebooth to go blue boxing... #defcon34 🔁 RT @hackerfantastic | reposted by @gleeda x.com/hackerfantastic/status/208622…

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lycamania ☉∇ ☣ 🏜️ @wolf.moda · 01/08/2026

good morning from Klamath valley payphone booth + elk prairie payphone walk up. this walk up is beautiful

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

A battery of phones sits at the ready down a hallway in Toronto's Metro Hall. It was not obvious why a key lock box is attached to the phone on the left. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak Tri-X)

Four pay phones are mounted into separate niches under intense focused light. The carpeting is very patterned and a door is that the right.

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Lucky225 @lucky225.2600.blue · 23/07/2026

In honor of the Joybubbles documentary finally being screened, we ( @swhite-photos.com) have restored his old 206-FEELING (2063335464) number that he recorded Stories and Stuff on. When called you will get a random recording from the archive. Enjoy. 🎉 Cc @explodingthephone.bsky.social

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Tao Neuendorffer @taonf.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

The phone to me was the closest thing to God on earth —Joe Engressia Jr, aka Joybubbles If you’re noticing a similarity between Engressia and the character Whistler in Sneakers, that’s not a coincidence #Joybubbles was curiosity given human form decipher.sc/2026/02/02/p...

Joybubbles is a documentary directed by Los Angeles filmmaker Rachael Morrison that tells the story of Joe “Joybubbles” Engressia Jr., a legendary and whimsical blind hacker who helped pioneer the art of “phone phreaking.”

Gifted with perfect pitch, he realized that if he whistled the exact tone of 2600Hz into the telephone receiver, he could make free phone calls and explore the inner workings of the telephone network. His incredible skill for hacking the network eventually awarded him the nickname “The Whistler,” and he became famous among a group of underground telephone hackers who called themselves phone phreaks.

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Tao Neuendorffer @taonf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

How did artists working for newspapers in the 1970s view computer crime? How did they depict it? This blog goes year by year with a selection of images from newspaper archives

This illustration was attached to an article that detailed more concerns about potential for fraud when computers are used in voting. I don’t fully understand what it is portraying though, maybe a computer in a voting booth that has been prised open?

Newsday (Nassau Edition), Monday, Nov 6th, 1972

And this illustration which I think relates to stories about phone phreaks prank calling people around the world.

"Do you really want to listen to Chairman Mao's heavy breathing on the line?”

Western Daily Press, Sat, September 9th, 1972

This is an excellent cartoon of an FBI agent made out of phones, with the handsets as pistols. There were two types of phone phreak stories in the 1970s, one tended to be whimsical stories about the adventures phreaks got up to and the other was about technical or legal moves against phone phreaking.

'Phone phreak' pays a heavy toll for bugging Ma Bell, FBI

Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, May 10th, 1977

My favorite illustration of this entire blog, it accompanied an article that came about because of more statements by Donn B. Parker, in this case that universities and colleges were becoming hotbeds of computer crime. The cartoon has real Mad Magazine energy combined with something you might see in a college textbook on computer security. I think it is meant to show a university computer department as a fraternity house complete with hijinx and mayhem. I’m assuming the old man tied up at the bottom of the image is the crusty Dean or the ageing professor who was meant to have been preventing the chaos taking place.

Computer U.
The Columbus Ledger, Sunday, November 19th, 1978

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

This one was shot some time ago but someone missed going through the scanner until now. The Byward Market Parking Garage, Ottawa. (Leica M2, 35mm f2 Summicron, Kodak Tri-X)

A payphone kiosk mounted on a brick wall. To its left is a Canada Post mailbox and to the left of that is a light colored utility box. To the right of the phone is a curved, mulitpaned window which is very dirty and has some sort of sealing problem. A cartoonish tulip is painted on it. Part of a one way sign is visible.

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Exploding The Phone @explodingthephone.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Rachael Morrison's wonderful Joybubbles documentary, a heartfelt story about a blind whistling phone phreak, will be showing in San Francisco, San Rafael, Boston, Ann Arbor, and having an international premiere in Warsaw, Poland in the next few weeks. Details in thread!

Joybubbles screenings: Ann Arbor, MI May 17; Warsaw, Poland TBD; NYC, May 2; San Rafael, CA May 1; Mississippi Film Society April 28; IFF Boston April 27; San Francisco April 25; Ashland, OR April 24-26.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

OK, back to phones. This one across from Hyde Park in London was painted black perhaps to indicate its claim that it offers WiFi. That may be true. I didn't test it. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M)

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Charming Stranger Films @charmingstranger.com · 17/04/2026

Bay Area friends! JOYBUBBLES is coming for SFFILM's San Francisco International Film Festival! Screening on April 25 at 3:30 PM. Director Rachael J Morrison, producers Sarah Winshall, Will Butler, and Annie Marr will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. ☎️ Get tickets NOW — loom.ly/pz47E20

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Tokyo, Chiyoda City. Note the small, sort-of stool in anticipation of protracted conversations. (Eboy GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji Acros 100II)

A black phone booth next to an expressway. An office building is to its left. The phone and a leafless tree cast long shadows. More leafless trees are in the background.

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aka_pugs @akapugs.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Before transistors, relays were widely used in telephony switches. They were much slower, but much more reliable than vacuum tubes. This 1951 booklet, "NO. 5 CROSSBAR" from Bell Labs describes the bad-ass mainframe of relays. Lots of photos and diagrams. drive.google.com/dri...

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Funranium (AKA Phil Broughton) @funranium.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

New treasure get!

A faux brass sign that reads “No job is so important and no service is so urgent that cannot take time to perform our work safely. Bell System”

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70s Sci-Fi Art @70sscifiart.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

RIP Robert Tinney (November 22, 1947 – February 1, 2026), the artist famous for his playful covers for Byte magazine, a hobbist magazine that ushered in the microcomputing age from the mid-70s through the 90s. I'm honored to have included his work in my own art collection.

Byte magazine cover featuring a desktop with a screen showing a green landscape, next to a window showing the real-life version, which is ugly, industrialized, and smoky.

The original Star Trek crew are at a holographic museum of "ancient technology," watching a guy scratch his head while reading a retro computer manual.

A painting, a window, and a desktop computer are all lined up to complete the same view, a scene of a blue mountain range.

A white-bearded Robert Tinney stands near an easel with a famous Tinney illustration of a smartwatch that runs on a micro-floppy disk.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

The new-ish Montreal intercity bus terminal is fully equipped with pay phones. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak TriX)

A high ceilinged room with windows high up. There are two sets of sliding doors with signs reading "1" and "2" above them. They are flanked by three cylindrical Bell phone booths. A "claw" machine is next to one of the phones A sign above a window looking into where the buses park is largely obscured and read "Bon Appé".

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I had little hope of finding payphones in Switzerland this week. It put its last phone booth in a museum in 2019. This sign in Zurich's Rheinfelder Bierhaus got my hopes up. But the phone has been replaced by a mop, a bucket and some cleaning supplies. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M, v3)

A plain wooden door with a narrow, vertical window at the top of the window is a sign reading Telefon. To the left is some sort of electrical box above a stairway.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Rue Sherbrooke, Montreal. Perhaps inevitably for an urban booth, a fast food wrapped has been dumped on top of the phone. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri X)

A Bell phone booth in front of a brick, low rise apartment with stone trim and an awning above its entrance the view of which is blocked by a shrub. One door is broken off of the booth. The other is covered in graffiti. Some of the trim on the phone has been torn off. A black and white checked paper wrapper is sitting on top of the phone.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

A dépanneur in Rigaud, Quebec. One of the few phone booths I've encountered that is the primary lighting source of its surrounding area. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri X)

A night view of a Bell phone booth in front of a convenience store. Its sign is turned off. To the left of the booth is a Canada Post mail box.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I'm very indebted to @panamstyle.bsky.social for alerting me to this sad couple in Rochester, N.Y. While I'm not about to add color to the phone project, these kiosks are blood red and the first line on the pavement behind them is more or less matching. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri X)

Two battered up payphone kiosks separated by a brcik column. A plate is broken open under one of them. Their signs only read: PHONE. There is a sticker inside one for "$10 Cab". Behind is a mall parking lot at night.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

The grocery store on the main street of Mitchell, Ontario, a town that I don't think I've previously passed through. The phone appeared to be in good order. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri X)

A textured concrete brick wall with a Bell phone kiosk mounted on it. To its left is a bench. Two posters of Second World War vets are mounted in a window to the left. Another window to the right opens into an entrance way.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

The Pronto Market in Russell, Ontario. The phone has not survived what appears to be several pointless attempts to light it on fire. There's neither a dial tone nor a scroll on the LED display. (Chamonix 45N2, Schneider 135mm f5.6 Symmar S, Kodak TriX 320)

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—>realhackhistory.org @bsky.realhackhistory.org · 29/11/2025

Joseph Popp, the godfather of #ransomware, is such a hard to pin down character in documents and references to the point that the #FBI refer to him as "Joseph Lewis Popp" and "Joseph Louis Popp" in the SAME document. There are multiple versions of every basic detail about his life out there.

FBI FOIA doc about Joseph Popp showing two version of his middle name and detailing an attempt to get a warrant for his arrest and extradition to the UK.

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Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 29/10/2025

very happy and relieved to confirm: the second printing of #othernetworks will be available on the Anthology Editions website November 21st and also available to order from your favorite independent bookstore shortly after shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898...

shop.mexicansummer.com

Lori Emerson - Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. Mexican Summer & Anthology.

Buy Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook by Lori Emerson on Mexican Summer & Anthology.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Now some Mexico City phone action. This one earns its keep by propping up a bicycle cafe. (Leica R8, 21mm f4 Super Angulon R, Kodak TriX)

A cargo bicycle, with a loose rear fender, carrying coffee for sale, leans against a phone kiosk in hard morning sun on a very wide sidewalk next to a busy street. A double decker bus and many trees are in the background.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Bayview O Train Station, westbound platform, Ottawa. (Leica M Monochrom, the M9 based original, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

A cylinderical payphone booth on a concrete platform in frton of a window. A suicide prevention help notice is to its left. A cabinet to the right has fire hose connections and an extinguisher. A phone pictograph is above a push button emergency call station. A illuminated sign further ride is overexposed. Trash and recycling receptacles are underneath it.

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Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 13/09/2025

in 1954 telephone employees at Mountain Bell came to Boulder, Colorado for "Dial Day" to teach residents how to dial a telephone. reportedly, employees explained "how busy signals were different than siren-like tones that indicated that a caller had mis-dialed." #othernetworks

photograph of a full page newspaper story. the top half of the page features a black and white photograph of a woman smiling with a telephone handset up to her mouth. she is standing on the left of a large replica of a telephone dial possibly with a switchboard. a man in a suit stands on the right. text for the article is below.

In 1954, Mountain Bell employees taught Boulder residents how to dial a telephone.
1954 Dial Day' in Boulder
In the early months
the finger stop, the dial pany employee, was unique to
Area codes, at the time, were
of 1954, Mountain Bell
must be allowed to re-
party-line subscribers. Most only used by operators who
Telephone employ-
turn freely to its start-
party lines were spread across
ees visited clubs and
ing position."
were contacted by dialing
four households. Residents
the number "0") for long-dis-
schools in Boulder to
Boulder, in 1954, had could (and often did) listen in tance calls, even from Boulder
teach members of the
a population of approxi-
to conversations of the other
to Denver. The operators also
mately 25,000 residents.
subscribers -- often, annoyed gave directory information and
a telephone. Before
"Dial Day," residents wanting to make a call only had to pick up their receivers and wait for an operator to ask, "Number please?" Finally, on March 6, 1954, phone users could make local calls themselves, but they had a lot to learn.
"Midnight tonight will be a historic moment for Boulder,". stated a writer in the Camera's
24-page special "Dial Day" sup-plement. Subscribers had to be told to wait for the dial tone ("a steady hum") before placing their calls. Then, they were taught how to physically dial their new rotary phones.
"Don't force the dial to try to speed it up," stated a Mountain Bell employee. "After each number is pulled around to
According to the Cam-
when the shared phone was in
assisted in emergency calls.
era, there were 40 tele-
use. In return, they got reduced
Individuals took a while
phones for every 100
ra…

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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Terrible news: American Science & Surplus is closing. The stores in Geneva and Milwaukee may have a future if they can work out terms of a proposal for current workers to buy the business, but Park Ridge (which moved there from Jefferson Park) is permanently shuttering. sciplus.com/important-in...

A screenshot of an announcement from American Science & Surplus reads:

It's with a heavy heart that we share some difficult news. For almost 90 years, our company has been so much more than a business; it's been a family. A community of inventors, creators, and curious minds, built on a shared passion for discovery. After working hard to stay open, and thanks to your incredible support, we were able to hang on a little longer. But despite our team's best efforts and your unwavering love, we're not able to continue. We will be closing our mail-order warehouse and discontinuing our catalogs. The last day to order from us online or by phone will be September 7th, at which point our website will also be shut down.
While we were unable to find a buyer for the Park Ridge store and will be closing later in September (if interested email patrick@sciplus.com), we do have some good news. Geneva and Milwaukee could remain open as employee-owned and operated locations. We are so excited for them to continue the legacy of American Science & Surplus. We will keep you posted if and
when we can make this happen!
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for 88 wonderful years. We'll miss you all more than words can say. Happy trails and please continue to support small businesses everywhere-they need you!
incerely, Patrick Meyer & The Entire AS&S Team

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

This pair, with an aging transit map for handyl reference, are in the Jean Talon station of Montreal's Métro (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

Two wall mounted payphone kiosks and a tiled wall with a very large transit map in between them. An expandable stainless steel door is to the right.

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Tao Neuendorffer @taonf.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

“I thought it would be fun to get a lot of mathematicians to try and re-enact” That’s Mathematics by Tom Lehrer #TomLehrer youtu.be/U9norkmRXDY

youtu.be

That's Mathematics (Tom Lehrer)

YouTube video by Ed Southall

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Whitney Merrill @wbm312.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Ok I’ve not been making as much progress as I would have liked on the tarot project. But here’s the next card I’ve been working on. The Phreak.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

This decorative phone kiosk arrangement can be found in Quebec City's bus terminal. Note now it is conveniently near an always disappointing claw machine. (Leica M5, 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH, Kodak TriX)

Three cylindrical Bell pay phone kiosks near a large window. Each is a slightly different height. A very long room is behind them, as is a claw machine.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

London, Ontario. One of those wide, suburban streets lined by car dealerships. The phone had a dial tone. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak TriX)

A Bell payphone kiosk near the corner of a store. Instead of a right angle, the corner is a 45 degree wall. There is also two trash bins and a Canada Post mail box. A sign in the shop window gives the estimated prizes for two lotteries: $20 millon and $12 million. A sign on the shop reads: Market with another word that is cut off except for a C.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Kamloops, British Columbia. No payphone in the vicinity. (Mamiya 7ii, 50mm f4.5, Kodak TriX)

Chopped up shrubs and bushes are piled up. Looming above is a sign that reads: Cold Beer, Jimmy's Liquor Store, Open 7 days a week, Yellowhead Cannabis, Open 7 days a week.

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

One of the last low phone kiosks on Quebec Autoroute 20 between Quebec City & Montreal. They allow drivers to chat from the comfort of their cars. Something changed. It is now so low that only a child in a pedal car or an F1 driver could use it. (Shen Hao FCL810AC, 180mmf8 Super Angulon, TXP320)

A phone kiosk which is just barely off the ground. Two bent pipes flank it as protection. A tree is immediately behind and an extra tall kiosk for truckers is in the distance.

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Exploding The Phone @explodingthephone.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

So excited to get my copy of Other Networks today -- fascinating and beautiful! @loriemerson.net, great work!

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Ian Austen @ianausten.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

René Lévesque and St. Laurent, Montreal. The phone has a dial tone. (Crown Graphic, Schneider 135mm f4.5 Xenar, Kodak TXP 320)

A payphone kiosk with an extraordinary amount of graffiti and stickers covering it in front of a stucco wall covered with graffiti. The trunk of tree is in front.

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