That damn commercial

[Thomas Dowling]

Well, the importance, self-importance, and importuning of our chosen
profession aside, I'm disappointed (having seen the Packard Bell commercial
as an AVI file from their web site) that no one has considered its referent
in the history of computer advertising.  In January of 1984, when Orwellian
dystopias were good copy, computers were primarily thought of as part of a
rigid, IS-controlled corporate workplace, and the Raiders and Redskins were
teeing it up in Tampa Stadium, Apple aired a commercial that introduced the
Macintosh to the general public and successfully shunted part of the flow
of computing technology down a different channel.  To me the PB commercial
looks like a deliberate attempt to clone the Apple Big Brother commercial,
rerouting the image of the computer from any institutional focus to an
image of individual empowerment.  PB's use of the term "library" is really
just shorthand for the IRS, the county courthouse, an encylopedia
publisher, whoever has the data you want and put it in a *place* instead of
on the net.

'Course, other companies have already blazed this trail, if I can mix my
metaphors, and Packard Bell doesn't have Apple's innovation to back up
their implied claim.  But in lieu of a top-notch product to sell, I can't
really blame them for trying.

BTW, the Raiders stomped the Redskins.  This year they're 4-4 and Apple
would love to be doing that well.

Thomas Dowling
tdowling at ohiolink.edu