Talk:Rolodex

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Inventor[edit]

Who invented the Rolodex? This page says Arnold Neustadter, but Irving Fisher states that Fisher invented the Rolodex.

Arnold Neustadter did not invent the Rolodex; he marketed it. See

 http://www.princeton.edu/~tenner/id_feature_unsung%5B1%5D.pdf
 http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D258669.html
 http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/Rolodex.htm

etymology[edit]

Language changes over time, but I believe I've heard more and more often people reffering to it in films and popular culture using the word "rolle(r)dex". Have anyone else heard this? Nunamiut (talk) 06:39, 24 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Advantage over card box?[edit]

Other than style, what exactly is the advantage of a Rolodex compared to a file card box? -- megA (talk) 13:41, 10 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I used a Rolodex like those in the images that literally role as you turn the knob extensively in the 1970's and 1980's until my work functions changed. The Rolodexs I used contained anywhere from several dozen cards to several hundreds. I can tell you that, providing you know the name of what or who you are looking up — assuming the cards are properly typed or written up in a mostly consistent fashion — they are extremely, screamingly fast! My work was in emergency services 24/7/365. These cards were FASTER THAN EVEN MODERN COMPUTERS for fast access to needed information.

I also used the file box card files version and those were quite slow in comparison, especially if there was any volume to the number of cards. Today's computers beat the old card boxes, but not the rotary Rolodexs.

Unfortunately, they can take a fair amount of desk space depending on the size, and moving data from the card to a third party user, say an agent in the field, is not nearly as efficient nor accurate as modern computer systems. That holds for both the rotary and 'box' styles of course. Sharing is the bastion of the computers. 67.182.72.2 (talk) 17:31, 11 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Memex[edit]

Looking at the Memex article, it's unreasonable to imply that Memex borrowed the 'ex' suffix, as the term was coined well before the Rolodex was invented. If anything, Rolex might have been inspired by the Memex name. If the original assertion is true, it should be cited. --Topperfalkon (talk) 12:54, 2 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

More etymology[edit]

How is Rolodex a portmanteau of rolling, index, and desk, when it does not contain anything related to desk? Perhaps that last term should be dropped? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.37.58.22 (talk) 03:50, 8 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]