I'm an artist and I was invited to make an interactive installation. I decided that it would be cool to convert an old school rotary phone into a recorder and playback machine. Using a combination of hardware and software (Arduino and Processing), I built RotaryX.
In this code, I'm using the controlled phone to record and play back messages based on human participation (dialing, answering the phone, etc). But, the possibilities are pretty endless. Once you have control of the dial, the hook switch and the ringer, you can run away with it.
You can learn more about the hardware modifications in my instructible and you can learn more about the content and artistic applications of the project on my own website.
In future versions, I'm hoping to add a sensor, so it rings when someone approaches, and to connect to the internet, so that it can react to various API data (ring as you receive a tweet, etc.).
Enjoy the tool/toy, and thanks for any ideas, feedback, comments, whatever. I am a beginner coder, and this is my first contribution to GitHub. (Yay)