1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 4 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: tech are you? So obviously I love talking about technology. 5 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: It's a good thing, considering more than two thousand episodes 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: of tech stuff to my name at this point, and 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: as the episode on Libra and dem indicates, I also 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,599 Speaker 1: love talking about tech products that never actually made it 9 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: to market. With Libra slash dm that was a cryptocurrency 10 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: initially spearheaded by Facebook, but a skeptical regulatory environment sealed 11 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: that project's fate within a couple of years of it 12 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: having been announced. So I thought we could look into 13 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: other technologies that died before consumers could actually decide if, 14 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: you know, they were good products or not. You know, 15 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: the market didn't even get a chance to make a 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: decision in these cases. So let's start with a product 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: concept that I thought was a really cool idea in 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: the first decade of the two thousands, as that was 19 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: coming to an end, I remember seeing the news on 20 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: this and thinking it was pretty cool. I don't even 21 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: remember if Chris and I talked about that on tech 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: stuff we might have because it's in that era, the 23 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: early tech stuff days. So I'm talking about the Microsoft Courier. 24 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: So this was at least the concept was a double 25 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: screened tablet device, so it opened up like a book 26 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: or a journal. And you already know this device never 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: came out. I mean, that's the title of the episode. 28 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: But Microsoft had abandoned the project before mid twenty ten. 29 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: So sometime in spring of twenty ten, that's when Microsoft 30 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: at least acknowledged that it wasn't working on the project 31 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: any more. They never really announced it. This was not 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: something that was announced to the public. It was an 33 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: internal project. Now, considering that the iPad came out at 34 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: the beginning of twenty ten, you could say the Courier 35 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: was kind of Microsoft's attempt to make the tablet form 36 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: factor a compelling consumer item. Like this was a time 37 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: when different companies were trying to take another swing at 38 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: tablet computers. Now that's not to say that there were 39 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: not tablet computers before the iPad came out in January 40 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: twenty ten. There were. Apple is mostly known as a 41 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: company that innovates on existing form factors and often can 42 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: create a market where none existed before, right, because like 43 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: smartphones before the iPhone, they were pretty much the domain 44 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: of executives and maybe a few, like bleeding edge technology, 45 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: early adopter types, but otherwise we were all just coping 46 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: with cell phones. I didn't know anyone who had a smartphone. 47 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: I knew a couple of people who had PDAs personal 48 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,679 Speaker 1: Digital assistance, but that was it. But then the iPhone 49 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: came out and changed everything. People suddenly said, oh, that's 50 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: a really cool piece of technology. It combines a lot 51 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: of things that I find really intriguing. I'm going to 52 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: make that my next phone. And Apple has done that 53 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: over and over again. You know, I'm not the world's 54 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: biggest Apple fan, but I acknowledge that's a company that 55 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: has an amazing track record for convincing people to buy 56 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: into technologies that previously they had dismissed. But before the 57 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: iPad came out, there were tablet computers. They just weren't 58 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: really adopted by the mainstream. They were more commonly found 59 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: in specific occupations like someone who worked on construction sites, 60 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: or you know, land surveyors, or you know, a medical 61 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: staff in a hospital. These were people who were not 62 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: working from a set location. Each day right, Like, they 63 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: weren't sitting at a desk all day. They were moving 64 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: from place to place, and they might need some sort 65 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: of computational device, maybe not one as robust as a 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: full computer, but something would be handy, and laptops, even 67 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: by twenty ten, laptops were pretty hefty. They were not 68 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 1: slims things that you easily carried around. So having a 69 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: tablet made sense for specific kinds of tasks, but for 70 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: the rest of us, tablet computers just seemed like they 71 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: weren't a good fit. Right. They couldn't do everything that 72 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: a computer could do, They couldn't do enough unique things 73 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: for the form factor the limitations just seemed like that 74 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: was a non starter, and often they lacked a user 75 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: interface that was intuitive and easy to use, like a 76 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: lot of these tablet computers had interfaces that had been 77 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: intended for laptop or desktop computers. Converting that over to 78 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: something that's using like say a touchscreen interface that doesn't 79 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: always work out so well. But then came the iPad 80 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: and it really changed things, and I had doubts that 81 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: Apple would succeed where others had failed, but that was again, 82 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: was very shortsighted of me to the extreme really. After all, again, 83 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: Apple had proven with the UI for the iPhone that 84 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: it could create an operating environment that was so intuitive 85 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,799 Speaker 1: that a young child can master it in a matter 86 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: of minutes. It was a responsive user interface, It was attractive, 87 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: it worked, probably the most important part. So Apple saw 88 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: great success in a market that previously had only been 89 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: the very definition of niche. Now I should also mention 90 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: that the Courier reportedly never got so far along the 91 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: process that it was actually on the way to becoming 92 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: a consumer product. It didn't get that far in development. 93 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: It was kind of inn a nebulous phase in which 94 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: a company is exploring possibilities without fully committing to them. So, 95 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: as far as I can tell, there was never a 96 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: point in the Courier's development where Microsoft was actually seriously 97 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: considering putting it into production. So in some ways, the 98 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: Courier doesn't quite qualify for a canceled product because Microsoft 99 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: never actually called it a potential product to begin with, 100 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: at least not publicly. The world first heard about the 101 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: Courier not from a Microsoft representative, but rather from a 102 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: media outlet, specifically Gizmodo. They got their greedy little hands 103 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: on some information about this tablet that was in development, 104 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: including some images of what it might look like in 105 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: its final form factor, and they published this. They showed 106 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: off this concept, you know, this dual screened foldable tablet, 107 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: each of the screens measuring around seven inches on the diagonal. 108 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: It would obviously be a touch sensitive device where you 109 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: would interact with the screen itself. You would be able 110 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: to use a stylus with it to write and select things. 111 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: And it was clearly something that was really interesting. And 112 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: this article comes out before Apple had even announced the iPad, 113 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: But everyone in the world knew that Apple was developing 114 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: its own tablet. It was kind of like a worst 115 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: kept secret sort of thing. The Courier seemed to stand out, however, 116 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,679 Speaker 1: even knowing that Apple was coming out with this tablet device. 117 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: So in a world that was still skeptical that tablet 118 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: computers could become viable consumer products, the Courier actually looked 119 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: like it could stand a chance because it just it 120 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: seemed compelling. The design looked neat. A team in Microsoft 121 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: that ultimately included around one hundred and thirty people were 122 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: hoping to be the ones to succeed where other tablet 123 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: designers had fallen short but that team faced opposition within 124 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: the company itself. Jay Allard, the head of Entertainment and 125 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: Devices at Microsoft, was leading this project, and he had 126 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: also been the leader responsible for the original Xbox as 127 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: well as the Xbox three sixty, so he already had 128 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: success in launching non computer products at Microsoft. Not only 129 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: just success at that he was successful in pushing out 130 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: a product that was not directly linked to Windows, which 131 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: was kind of seen as like the lynchpin for Microsoft 132 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: right the crux of all of Microsoft's products. Xbox was 133 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: outside of that, and it was a huge success. His 134 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: team was building this dual screen tablet device while using 135 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: a modified version of Windows, so in this case he 136 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: wasn't creating an all new operating system. He was, however, 137 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: relying on a I don't know how heavily modified it was. 138 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: I imagined it had to be significantly modified because this 139 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: is before the era of Microsoft building in touch screen 140 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: capabilities within its operating systems. But then there was Steven Sinofsky, 141 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: president of the Windows Division in Microsoft. So Sinofsky's division 142 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: was hard at work on an upcoming version of Windows 143 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: that was meant to be more tablet and touch screen friendly. 144 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: It just wasn't ready. It was in the early stages 145 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: of development, so Snofsky had already shown his worth with 146 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: a launch of Windows seven a Windows seven helped improve 147 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: consumer opinions of the Windows operating system because the previous 148 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: version of Windows, which was Windows Vista, was not met 149 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: with very much approval, which is putting it lightly. Windows 150 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: Vista was heavily criticized for lots of reasons, and the 151 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: generation before that was Windows XP, which a lot of 152 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: people really liked, or at least they found to be 153 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,319 Speaker 1: very useful. I don't know how many people loved Windows XP, 154 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: but they found it to be understandable, like they could 155 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: navigate it. They felt that the changes that Windows Vista 156 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: introduced were confusing and counterproductive. So Sinofsky had helped repair 157 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: Microsoft's reputation with the launch of Windows seven, and he 158 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: had big plans for Windows eight. Those plans, however, were 159 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: for the future. They were a couple of years off, 160 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: so Snofsky had concerns that a touchscreen device running on 161 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: a modified version of an earlier Windows build would ultimately 162 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,080 Speaker 1: hurt Microsoft because if it didn't work, then that was 163 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: going to be a big hit to the reputation there 164 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: had been other tablet devices that had failed in the market, 165 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: and they had become something of a joke. In fact, 166 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: if you go back to the PDA days, the Apple 167 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: Newton is a notable example of this, as it would 168 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,839 Speaker 1: turn out Windows eight had enough flaws to disappoint people 169 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: all by itself. But that's a different story. The fact 170 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: that Windows eight was in development meant that the Courier 171 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 1: team didn't have access to a UI that was from 172 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: the get go designed to work on different kinds of devices. 173 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: The Courier team also saw the device as a compliment 174 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: to a PC, rather than a replacement for a PC, 175 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: so you wouldn't use a courier instead of a computer. 176 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: You would use a courier in addition to a computer. 177 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: The courier would let you do things like work with 178 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: electronic documents, and it would have handwriting recognitions so that 179 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: you could use a stylus and you could write down 180 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: notes on your screen, which the courier would then transcribe 181 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: into text. You could integrate pictures and sketches into your work. 182 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,480 Speaker 1: You could make sketches for your work, and it could 183 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,319 Speaker 1: be really useful for people like our artists and architects 184 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: and other folks who work closely with mixed media. It 185 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: was kind of envisioned as a creator tool in that regard, 186 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: but it would not be designed to integrate fully with 187 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: other Microsoft products, kind of like the Xbox. The Xbox 188 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: was a departure. The Courier was thought to be a 189 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: departure as well. So, for example, email, while the concept 190 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: of the Courier would allow you to check email through 191 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: like a web based application, the Courier wasn't intended to 192 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: provide full support for something like Microsoft Outlook, and this 193 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: lack of integration with core Microsoft products ended up being 194 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: another strike against the Courier. Not only would the Courier 195 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: need to cluge together a version of Windows that would 196 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: work on a touchscreen device, it would also not directly 197 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: provide a feedback loop into the other Microsoft ecosystem of software. 198 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: And Microsoft has always been about integration, sometimes to the 199 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: point that it has brought legal action against the company 200 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 1: because Microsoft has stood accused of anti competitive behavior on 201 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: more than one occasion for how the company has integrated 202 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: various applications very deeply into the operating system, thus making 203 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: it challenging for any competitor to actually create a working 204 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 1: tool on a platform that maintains a dominant market share 205 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: in the PC world. You got to remember that the 206 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: Windows operating system to this day remains an incredibly dominant 207 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 1: OS for desktop and laptop computers. Now, had these two 208 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: teams united with the idea that the Courier would remain 209 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: in development until the release of Windows eight, whereupon it 210 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: could be a flagship product featuring the new operating system, well, 211 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: Microsoft might be able to compete, but it would still 212 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 1: be well behind Apple because Windows eight launched in the 213 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: summer of twenty twelve, while by the summer of twenty twelve, 214 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: Apple was already on its third generation iPad. It had 215 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: already kind of established an anchor in that market. And 216 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: to this day, Apple remains dominant in the tablet market. 217 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: There are lots of other tablets out there, but Apple 218 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: has more than a third of the entire market share, 219 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: and the next closest competitor is Samsung, and it's down 220 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: closer to like twenty percent. That's according to Statista dot com. 221 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: By the way, if Microsoft had been able to launch 222 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: the Courier in twenty ten, you know, the same year 223 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: that the original iPad came out, maybe Apple wouldn't have 224 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: had such a huge headstart in the tablet space. Maybe 225 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: the dual screen format of the Courier would have been 226 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: enough to entice consumers to adopt the Windows based tablet, 227 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: or maybe they would be frustrated with that lack of integration. 228 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: Maybe they would think that this is a device that 229 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: almost does what they need, but not quite. I'm not 230 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,559 Speaker 1: sure about that last part. The original iPad was by 231 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: no means a replacement for computers, and it did just fine, 232 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: but that lack of integration may have been really what 233 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: sealed the fate of the Microsoft Courier. Because Microsoft's CEO 234 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: at the time Steve developers, developers, developers, bomber. If you 235 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 1: don't know what I mean when I'm saying developers over 236 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: and over, go to YouTube search Steve balmert developers and 237 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: get ready to be amazed. Anyway, he was unsure about 238 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,319 Speaker 1: which way to go with the Courier, so he called 239 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: in Bill Gates, co founder of Microsoft, former CEO and chairman, 240 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: to come in and advise him on the matter. And 241 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: Gates thought that the Courier's lack of integration with other 242 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: Microsoft products was a non starter. He didn't see the 243 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: value of a gadget that did not lean heavily on 244 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: Microsoft's existing suite of productivity software, and ultimately Microsoft pulled 245 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: the plug on the project. While the company never officially 246 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: announced the Courier, it did go so far as to 247 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: confirm that development on the product had ended. Considering some 248 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: of the other products that did come out around this time, 249 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: like the Windows Phone or Microsoft Zoom. Maybe it's all 250 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: for the best because those products ultimately got shut down 251 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: when they too failed to compete against Apple and other 252 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: competitors on the market. Maybe the Courier would have met 253 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: the same fate. We'll just never know for sure. Well, 254 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: we've got a lot more to talk about with products 255 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: that never made it to market, but first let's take 256 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: a quick break to think our sponsors welcome back. We 257 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: now turned to a couple of tech projects that were 258 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: canceled quite some time ago, and I'll start with one 259 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: that I wasn't familiar with. That's because it was a 260 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: project that was done by Sinclair Research, So the company 261 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: Sinclair didn't get much traction over here in the United States. However, 262 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: listeners from the UK might very well be familiar with Sinclair. 263 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: It was an electronics company that started in the nineteen seventies. 264 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: It was responsible for the production of personal computers for 265 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: the UK market in the nineteen eighties that didn't stick 266 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: around that long. Sinclair ended up selling its PC assets 267 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: to another company called Armstrad or Armstrad rather in nineteen 268 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: eighty six. Sadly, the founder of Sinclair, Clive Sinclair, passed 269 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: away a few years ago. But back in the mid 270 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, when Sinclair was still a thing, engineers at 271 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: the company were brainstorming about creating different types of PCs, 272 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: and there were a couple of different lines of development. 273 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't like this was all unified under one project. 274 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: It was more like a bunch of different people working 275 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: on kind of similar ideas all around the same time. 276 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: This particular one I wanted to talk about was meant 277 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: to be a PC that could go toe to toe 278 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: with a couple of other machines that were debuting around 279 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: this same time. Those machines include the Atari st computer 280 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: and more notably the Commodore Amiga, which would eventually just 281 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: become the Amiga. So the code name for Sinclair's project 282 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: was Loki. That would not have been the market name 283 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: for the product like once it hit the market. If 284 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: it had gone that far, it would not have been 285 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: called the Loki. I think that is missing a trick, 286 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: so to speak. I would actually love to have a 287 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: computer called a Loki. In fact, I might even rename 288 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: my personal machine because I just loved that idea, because 289 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: it does feel like I'm working on a trickster God 290 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: some days, particularly when I am getting ready to record 291 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 1: and then my computer tells me, Hey, don't worry, I'm 292 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 1: going to reload and update. It's only going to take 293 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: forty five minutes. Meanwhile, I'm just ready to start recording. 294 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: Good times. Anyway, the Sinclair low Key project didn't really 295 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: have enough time to coalesce into anything definitive. According to 296 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: Martin Brennan, an engineer who spoke with The Register about 297 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,199 Speaker 1: the low Key project, it never got so far where 298 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: someone even made conceptual drawings of what the computer would 299 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: look like. So low Ki was only in the earliest 300 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 1: stages of ideation before the whole rug got pulled out 301 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 1: from underneath the project. So it was more like a 302 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: collection of ideas that were intended to achieve a particular goal. 303 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: And this wasn't just for bragging rights. It wasn't just hey, 304 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,200 Speaker 1: let's make a computer that can go toe to toe 305 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: with the Amiga. It could really appeal to, say gamers, 306 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: because the Amiga was known as a machine that was 307 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: phenomenal when it came to graphics and sound. I mean 308 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,399 Speaker 1: when you compared the Amiga against other computers of that era, 309 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,920 Speaker 1: Amiga's performance for sound and graphics it was just a 310 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: head and shoulders above all the competition. So it wasn't 311 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: just to say, hey, we can make a computer that 312 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,560 Speaker 1: can do that too, And it wasn't really a market 313 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: demand issue in the UK necessarily. Rather it came down 314 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: to a matter of taxes, and then later on the 315 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: conclusion of the story is due to Amstrad's acquisition of Sinclair. 316 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: But the taxes thing is a little bit bonkers to me. 317 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: It's also it's outside my wheelhouse. But according to the Register, 318 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: in the mid nineteen eighties, like around nineteen eighty four, 319 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: the government in Spain created rules that would place taxes 320 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,360 Speaker 1: on computers sold in Spain if those computers sported up 321 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: to sixty four kilobytes of memory or less. If you 322 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: were to offer computers that had more than sixty four 323 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: kilobytes of memory, the taxes didn't apply. There was like 324 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: a loophole you could create. As long as you were 325 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: selling computers with more memory than sixty four kilobytes, you 326 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,159 Speaker 1: were not going to be hit by those taxes. So 327 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,360 Speaker 1: now all these computer companies have an incentive to develop 328 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: computers with more memory in order to be able to 329 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 1: sell them without having to deal with these higher tax rates. 330 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: I don't know if that was the intent of the 331 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: tax law, Like, was this something that Spain was passing 332 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: to push computer companies to put out more advanced machines, 333 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,160 Speaker 1: or was this a matter where Spanish legislators were looking 334 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: to tax businesses and didn't think enough ahead to allow 335 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: for higher amounts of memory to be considered under the 336 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: same tax law. I don't know the answer to that question, 337 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: but it did end up being a financial incentive to 338 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 1: create machines that had one hundred and twenty eight kilobytes 339 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: of memory or more. And LOKI was Sinclaire's approach to 340 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: fill that niche or one of their approaches, I should say, 341 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: because like I said, there were multiple projects that were 342 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 1: in development around this time. In addition, the idea was 343 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: to have a machine capable of generating superior graphics and 344 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: audio to other computers that were found in the Sinclair line. 345 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,360 Speaker 1: So the low Key was intended to have a MIDI 346 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: interface that would give the capabilities of a commercial synthesizer. 347 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: The graphics hardware would quote allow better animation effects than 348 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,360 Speaker 1: any existing home computer and will allow cartoon quality graphics 349 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,400 Speaker 1: end quote. That's from that piece in the register. And 350 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 1: it was intended to be compatible with CD systems from 351 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: one a read, which is kind of a novelty. In 352 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen eighties, CDs were not yet widely accepted, 353 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: and so that was kind of a really advanced concept. 354 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: It was also meant to facilitate stuff like home video production, 355 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 1: so that you could do things like create more advanced 356 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 1: home videos, including the ability to do stuff like insert 357 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: captions into video. That was something that you know, unless 358 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: you were working at a television broadcast editing station, you 359 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: typically didn't have access to that kind of thing. It 360 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: was also meant to be a pretty affordable computer, selling 361 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: for quote less than two hundred pounds end quote. All 362 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: of this, by the way, is according to a paper 363 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:18,120 Speaker 1: titled the Specification of this Super Spectrum Entertainment Engine. Now, 364 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 1: not everything about this computer was bleeding edge technology. For example, 365 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: the low Key design also integrated a cassette deck. This 366 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: was for saving and retrieving data, so rather than a 367 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 1: floppy disk drive, perhaps in addition to one, you would 368 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: have a cassette drive. And that wasn't unique to Sinclair 369 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: by any means, but it does seem a little strange 370 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: to talk about cassette drives once we're into the era 371 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 1: of the mid nineteen eighties. In my experience, most of 372 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:48,360 Speaker 1: the home computers, at least here in the States had 373 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: already moved on to floppy drives. At that point, you 374 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: didn't really see a lot of computers that used cassette drives. 375 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: Some of the ones in the nineteen seventies did, but 376 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: by the nineteen eighties, floppy drives were pretty much standard. Portunately, 377 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: Sinclair would never really get the chance to develop Loki. Further, 378 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: the sale of assets to Amstrad would kill not just Loki, 379 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: but other projects that were in development that various Sinclair 380 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: engineers had been working on, so Loki never emerged from 381 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: that ideation stage. The Register article about the abandoned Sinclair 382 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: projects mentions that it was at least a year out 383 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: from even hitting a prototype phase, so it was still 384 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: fairly early on in development. But hearing about it, I 385 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: really wish it had become a thing. One because I 386 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: think it would have been interesting to see another computer 387 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: kind of going head to head against Amiga in the 388 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: performance department in graphics and sound, and partly because I mean, 389 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,480 Speaker 1: I love the idea of a computer that, at least 390 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: at one point was called Loki. Our next abandoned tech 391 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: product was announced back in January twenty eleven at that 392 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: year's CEES aka the Consumer Electronics Showcase. I was actually 393 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: present at that CEES, but I have did this particular 394 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,360 Speaker 1: press announcement because I already knew a little bit about it. 395 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: I knew that the person who had been booked to 396 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: make this press announcement was Lady Gaga, and y'all, I 397 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 1: love me some Lady Gaga. I think she's an incredibly 398 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: talented performer. I think she's an amazing entertainer. But the 399 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: exhibit hall of CEES is already full of monsters, little 400 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: and otherwise, and I didn't want to subject myself to 401 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,919 Speaker 1: more of that, so I skipped this particular announcement. But 402 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,360 Speaker 1: it was with Polaroid. So Polaroid had named Lady Gaga 403 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: the creative director for the company. And a year earlier 404 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,879 Speaker 1: in twenty ten, the company was eager to forge a 405 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,920 Speaker 1: viable path forward in a world where digital cameras were 406 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: now everywhere. Right, digital cameras were already on the rise 407 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,400 Speaker 1: before smartphones started to incorporate digital cameras. But then once 408 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: smartphones did do that, it really meant that companies that 409 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: were more mired in film based cameras were getting left 410 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,199 Speaker 1: in the dust. They had moved too slowly. Some of 411 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: them didn't adopt digital camera technologies because there was a 412 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 1: fear that doing so would undercut their own business, like 413 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: this incredibly lucrative business they had created that was film based. 414 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: The problem is if the rest of the world moves 415 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: on from film, then yeah, you might be a definitive 416 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: name in the market, but no one's going to that 417 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:28,959 Speaker 1: market anymore. And companies like Kodak and Polaroid, I would argue, 418 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: were trying to catch back up. They had given ground 419 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: to the digital landscape, and now we're trying to figure 420 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: out a way to become relevant again. Not that I 421 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,160 Speaker 1: think that their products were bad, not that I thought 422 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,919 Speaker 1: film had no use. I still think film is amazing, 423 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: but that's not where the majority of the market was going, so, 424 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: how does a company known for film cameras survive in 425 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: this rapidly changing environment. Well, one way might be to 426 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: bring on someone who is known for being a risk 427 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: taking artist, someone who's associated with avant garde fashion, someone 428 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:07,919 Speaker 1: with a ridiculously huge fan base supporting them. So in 429 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 1: that regard, Lady Gaga was an obvious choice. Now, what 430 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: I would have seen if I had gone to this 431 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 1: press release was Lady Gaga going up on stage and 432 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: unveiling her first official collaborations with Polaroid as its creative director. 433 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: One of the items revealed was a pair of real 434 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: Chonky sunglasses and it was the centerpiece of a suite 435 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: of new products. The suite was called Gray Label, so 436 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: this was one of the Gray Label products. Another one 437 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,439 Speaker 1: was like a printer. So these sunglasses had a video 438 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: camera and it also had small LED displays incorporated into them, 439 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,919 Speaker 1: so essentially it was a head mounted camera and display system. Allegedly, 440 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: Lady Gaga was heavily involved in the design. That could 441 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: very well be true. Way back in twenty twelve, Steam 442 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: Meltzer of Cnet was pretty skeptical about that. He said, quote, 443 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,199 Speaker 1: the sunglasses themselves look like they were designed by a 444 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,919 Speaker 1: Polaroid accountant for his brother in law, the Invisible Man 445 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 1: end quote. Sick Burn Meltzer, Polaroid's own publicity reps said 446 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,199 Speaker 1: nothing could be further from the truth. A Fast Company 447 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: article quotes Robert Brunner, who said that Lady Gaga was 448 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 1: quote fairly involved with the process end quote, and also 449 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 1: that she quote has ideas coming from her ethos and perspective. 450 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: So how do we turn that into a strong, viable 451 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: product design end quote. Well, it seems like Polaroid never 452 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: actually found the answer to that last question. A year 453 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,719 Speaker 1: after the announcement and there still was no Polaroid camera 454 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 1: glasses to be found. Lady Gaga and Polaroid actually parted 455 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: ways at some point between her appearance at CEES twenty 456 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,920 Speaker 1: eleven and the year twenty fourteen. Exactly when the two 457 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: parted ways I don't think was publicly disclosed. Polaroid reps 458 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: did acknowledge that the two parties were no longer collaborating 459 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: officially by twenty fourteen, so we do know that. We 460 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: just don't know at what point did they decide, you 461 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: know what, this isn't working out anyway? The glasses would 462 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: let you take photos and videos, and then you could 463 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: plug one of the arm pieces into a USB port 464 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: on a computer in order to transfer files from the 465 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: glasses to the computer. You also, if you wanted to, 466 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 1: apparently could transfer pictures and video from your computer to 467 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: your glasses. So if you just want to take a 468 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,439 Speaker 1: real close look at some photographs or video, you could 469 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: use your glasses as a display. That way, I guess 470 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: you could take photos manually, or you could also have 471 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: the glasses set to take pictures at specific intervals of ten, thirty, 472 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: or sixty seconds each, which starts to get into some 473 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: potentially creepy territory when you think about it, Like if 474 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: you have your your glasses taking images every ten seconds 475 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,640 Speaker 1: without you having to manually do it yourself, people might 476 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: start thinking that you're a bit of a creep. So 477 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 1: why was this project abandoned? Well, it's not official, but 478 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: I think it's because Lady Gaga found the glasses to 479 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: be really uncomfortable to wear, Like every time she would 480 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 1: put them on, they would poke, poke Pope poke her face, poke, 481 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: Pope poke her face. Or you know, maybe Polaroid just 482 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,159 Speaker 1: couldn't reach a point where the product made any sense. 483 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: It could have been issues with the battery life, could 484 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,680 Speaker 1: have been issues with storage capacity, the weight of the glasses, 485 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 1: the heat it would generate while in operation. The cost 486 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: might have been a problem. It was probably a combination 487 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:37,439 Speaker 1: of some of these things. But whatever the reason, we 488 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 1: never actually got them. So if the sun seems too 489 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 1: bright in your life, it's probably because Polaroid never came 490 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: out with those Lady Gagaa glasses. Okay, we've got some 491 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: more to talk about before we get to some other 492 00:28:52,400 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: abandoned tech projects. Let's take another quick break. You know, 493 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: sometimes a product fails to emerge from development, not because 494 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: of technical issues or because of internal disagreements within a company, 495 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 1: but because there's a backlash from the public after the 496 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: company announces the product. That's largely the case around Mattel's 497 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: planned smart speaker for kids, which was called the Aristotle. 498 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,719 Speaker 1: So the idea was that parents would put this smart 499 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: speaker in their kids room and the smart speaker would 500 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: be the kid's companion from cradle to I don't know, 501 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: adolescens or thereabouts, and it was meant to be an 502 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: all in one voice controlled smart baby monitor. As James 503 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: Vincent of The Verge put it way back in twenty seventeen. 504 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: That's the same year that Mattel first announced this technology. 505 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: January twenty seventeen, that's when Mattel unveiled this product with 506 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: the plan of having it come out than the year. 507 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: The device was intended to serve as your typical baby monitor, 508 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: so you know, alerting parents if something is amiss in 509 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: the kids room, whether that's a fussy baby or I 510 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 1: don't know, a baba duke or something. I don't have 511 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 1: kids and it shows. But of course, this device could 512 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: do so much more than just monitor your bebe. Not 513 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: only could it listen in on your kids to make 514 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: sure all is well, or you know, to check to 515 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 1: see if your infant is committing state crimes if that's 516 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: your thing. Again, I don't have kids, I don't know 517 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,840 Speaker 1: how this works. But it could also do things like 518 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: recite bedtime stories to the children. It could play soothing 519 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: music if it detected, you know, a crying child late 520 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: at night. It could play games with the goal of 521 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: teaching kids their numbers or the alphabet. It was intended 522 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: to be almost like an infotainment device, with the added 523 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: benefit of being able to do things like e commerce 524 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: transactions like you could use this smart speaker in order 525 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,719 Speaker 1: to place an order for diapers just by talking to it. 526 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: So what could possibly go wrong? Well, if you're like 527 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: a lot of people who heard about this, your response 528 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: might immediately be, Hey, what about privacy? Because these are 529 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: kids we're talking about, right? The kids didn't consent to this. 530 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: They can't, they're not the age to grant consent for 531 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 1: this sort of thing. And a company potentially making use 532 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 1: of information to advertise to parents or to the kids directly, 533 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 1: that of course, seems wildly inappropriate. I mean, I'm sure 534 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: that there are a lot of parents out there who 535 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: would be really upset if one day they just got 536 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: an email from Mattel saying, Hey, your kid is crying 537 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: a lot every night at eight pm, Maybe try this 538 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: product to see if that helps. Like nosey printing, advice 539 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,040 Speaker 1: rarely goes down, well, it certainly wouldn't go down well 540 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 1: if it was from a corporation that knew when your 541 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: kids were unhappy. Right. Plus, then there's the added issue 542 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: of well, if it allows for e commerce, what stops 543 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: kids from being able to exploit that, either on purpose 544 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,640 Speaker 1: or by accident could be every day is when you 545 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,360 Speaker 1: ask Santa for your new Christmas wish list, right, So 546 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: there were lots of issues here. The reaction was swift, 547 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: it was considerable. One advocacy group launched an online petition 548 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: that was asking Mattel to not release this product that 549 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: reached more than seventeen thousand signatures. There were US legislators 550 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,160 Speaker 1: who were getting involved. They were expressing concerns not just 551 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: about the privacy and security issues, which were considerable, but 552 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: they were also worried about parents leaning too hard on 553 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:37,239 Speaker 1: technology in order to raise their kids. Were already in 554 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: an era where increased amounts of screen time is a 555 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 1: pretty big concern. I mean, I've had experiences with children 556 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: who were absolutely addicted to their screens and wouldn't even 557 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 1: bother lifting their head up or merging out of their 558 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: room if it meant that they had to put their 559 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 1: kindle down or whatever. So the idea of parents checking 560 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: out and letting a robot do all the parenting was 561 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: a sobering thought. Mattel paid attention and pulled the project 562 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,959 Speaker 1: before it could go to market. Now, the reason that 563 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: the company said it changed course was that the Aristotle 564 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,560 Speaker 1: speaker quote didn't fully align with Mattel's new technology strategy 565 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: end quote, which is a non committal kind of answer, right, like, oh, 566 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,719 Speaker 1: it doesn't fit with our strategy anymore. It was certainly 567 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: not admitting to the criticisms that had been leveled at 568 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: the speaker. It wasn't like Mattel was saying, you know, 569 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: consumers and critics brought up valid concerns and we have reconsidered. No, 570 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 1: Mattel's like, oh, this just doesn't fit with our strategy. 571 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 1: I think we can all read between the lines. I 572 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: guess it's that thing where companies can't really admit fault 573 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,719 Speaker 1: because I don't know, well, in this case, it wouldn't 574 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:47,440 Speaker 1: be opening themselves up to litigation. That's usually the reason 575 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: that companies do not admit fault because if they do 576 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: admit fault, then they're going to have to start compensating, 577 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 1: you know, hurt parties. But in this case, it wasn't 578 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: even a product, like it never went out, So I 579 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 1: guess you don't admit fault because that's a sign of weakness. 580 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 1: I don't know. Anyway, Aristotle went the way of Socrates, 581 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 1: as in it had to drink the hemlock and then 582 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,560 Speaker 1: go away. Now I'll wrap up with a product that 583 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: dates back to my childhood. That never came out. It 584 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:19,320 Speaker 1: was aiming to be a really kind of innovative gaming 585 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: technology and it was a quasi holographic portable tabletop game system, 586 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,239 Speaker 1: which is a lot of word salad. It was the 587 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 1: Atari Cosmos. So Atari, of course, had really made a 588 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: name in the video game space, both the arcade space 589 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:40,440 Speaker 1: and home video games. The company famously released the Atari 590 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,359 Speaker 1: twenty six hundred back in nineteen seventy seven, and that 591 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,319 Speaker 1: would steadily grow to be a huge hit for the 592 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: home video game market. So in nineteen seventy eight, a 593 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: group of engineers at Atari began to work on a 594 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 1: new game system concept called the Cosmos. So it was 595 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: intended to bring holography into the gaming space, a tabletop 596 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:06,720 Speaker 1: game system that used holograms. So it'd be a console 597 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 1: that would fit on a table, it would not attach 598 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: to a television or anything. It would be fully integrated. 599 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:13,839 Speaker 1: It would have its own screen, and it would have 600 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:20,840 Speaker 1: holograms integrated into the video games. How futuristic can you get? Well, 601 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,200 Speaker 1: pump the brakes, because when I say holograms, I don't 602 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 1: mean moving images or even the illusion of moving images. Instead, 603 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:35,359 Speaker 1: I'm talking about still images that are created through holography. 604 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,839 Speaker 1: So the images seem to have three dimensions to them, right, Like, 605 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:43,360 Speaker 1: you can change your point of view and view different 606 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 1: angles of this image. But it is a still image. 607 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: It's not video. It doesn't actually move. The moving element, 608 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,600 Speaker 1: if you can even call it a moving element, was 609 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 1: a grid of LEDs behind the holographic image, so they 610 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: would project light through the holographic images. And by grid, 611 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:03,800 Speaker 1: I'm talking about a seven by six grid of red LEDs. 612 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: A resolution of seven by six not high resolution at all, right, 613 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: you're talking about little blocks of light. That would be 614 00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:13,799 Speaker 1: all that would make up the games apart from these 615 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: holographic still photos. So the game, each game would involve 616 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:23,760 Speaker 1: these little red dots potentially making shapes together and appearing 617 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:27,320 Speaker 1: to move in a very primitive, animated way through a 618 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,799 Speaker 1: holographic environment created by this still image. At least that 619 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: was the thought. The controls in this device were on 620 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,920 Speaker 1: the face of the device itself, so again integrated, so 621 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,400 Speaker 1: that it's just in front of where the screen is. 622 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: The controls were pretty limited. You had four direction buttons, 623 00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: so up, down, left, and right, you had a fire button, 624 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:50,759 Speaker 1: and then your other controls were kind of like for 625 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 1: settings and stuff like. There was a start button, there 626 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: was a button to select either one or two players, 627 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 1: and another one I believe it was a skill button, 628 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 1: so that you can set the level of difficulty for 629 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 1: specific titles. And you would have to push down these 630 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,360 Speaker 1: buttons while looking at the screen. All on this tabletop. 631 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,799 Speaker 1: There was no separate controller or anything like that. It 632 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:16,080 Speaker 1: was all integrated into one form. More than that, the 633 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,480 Speaker 1: system was designed to have all the games pre installed 634 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:22,560 Speaker 1: on the system itself. By all the games, I mean 635 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,359 Speaker 1: nine different games. Now, you wouldn't be able to play 636 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 1: all nine of these games right out of the box 637 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,759 Speaker 1: because it was also a cartridge based system. And you 638 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:33,080 Speaker 1: might say, well, wait a minute, Jonathan, how can it 639 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:36,320 Speaker 1: be cartridge based if all the games are hardwired onto 640 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: the system itself. Well, that's because the cartridges did not 641 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 1: have the games programmed on them. The cartridges had the 642 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: holographic still image that you would slide as almost like 643 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:52,319 Speaker 1: an overlay for this grid of red LEDs. Plus this 644 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 1: image on the frame of it on the side would 645 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:00,480 Speaker 1: have a notch. That notch would indicate to the system 646 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 1: which game had been inserted into the cartridge slot, so 647 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 1: that you would be playing the appropriate game for whatever 648 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:11,160 Speaker 1: holographic card you had slid into the system. But technically, 649 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:15,080 Speaker 1: at least theoretically, you could play all nine games right 650 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,279 Speaker 1: out of the box if you were just able to 651 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: activate that notch. But if you didn't have the holographic background, 652 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,440 Speaker 1: I'm not sure that it would be that compelling. But honestly, 653 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 1: I'm not really sure it's that compelling even with the 654 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:30,320 Speaker 1: holographic image, because obviously the system never came out. Atari 655 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,239 Speaker 1: showed off the Cosmos at the New York Toy Fair 656 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy eight, so it had been in development 657 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: for like three years and they show it off, but 658 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,080 Speaker 1: it didn't exactly set everyone's imaginations on fire. A lot 659 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,720 Speaker 1: of people who had time to look at it said, 660 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:48,880 Speaker 1: it's an interesting idea, but this execution lacks a compelling 661 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: reason to get it so. Allegedly, However, even with this, 662 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,719 Speaker 1: the company had received thousands of pre orders. Now I 663 00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 1: imagine those pre orders were coming from retailers, not from 664 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,400 Speaker 1: end consumers. So when you're talking about thousands of pre orders, 665 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,959 Speaker 1: this isn't like the current era where people will pre 666 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,239 Speaker 1: order a video game without having a chance to play it. 667 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:12,240 Speaker 1: This was retailers putting in pre orders to potentially carry 668 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:15,160 Speaker 1: this game in their stores. So even with the lackluster 669 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 1: response of the toy Fair, Atari was getting a lot 670 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 1: of interest. However, from what I can tell, those units 671 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 1: were never made. Now, some units of the Atari Cosmos 672 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:30,120 Speaker 1: were undoubtedly manufactured, you know, maybe quite a few, like 673 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: fewer than two hundred and fifty, but maybe more than 674 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,640 Speaker 1: just like three or four. However, I think only three 675 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:40,040 Speaker 1: have ever been verified in existence, So yeah, a fraction 676 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:42,920 Speaker 1: of what was expected to be. To be sure, Atari 677 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:46,600 Speaker 1: dedicated its resources instead toward producing more Atari twenty six 678 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,880 Speaker 1: hundred units because those were selling really well and demand 679 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:54,799 Speaker 1: had outpaced the supply. So the general thought is that 680 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,960 Speaker 1: Atari saw the writing on the wall with the Cosmos, 681 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:03,000 Speaker 1: and instead of pushing out anyway, they decided to redirect 682 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:06,719 Speaker 1: all that effort toward producing more of what was already 683 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: selling well and would continue to sell well for a 684 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 1: couple more years until the video game crash in nineteen 685 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,320 Speaker 1: eighty three. Now a couple of Atari Cosmos game systems 686 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 1: have made it out of the vaults over the years. 687 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:22,200 Speaker 1: One is owned by a former Atari employee. One is 688 00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:25,799 Speaker 1: now owned by someone who operates like an Atari museum. 689 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:29,760 Speaker 1: One of them sold for around five hundred dollars on eBay. 690 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:33,240 Speaker 1: If you thought that the PlayStation five or Xbox Series 691 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:36,640 Speaker 1: X was expensive, it's not seven five hundred dollars expensive, 692 00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:39,680 Speaker 1: and you can play more than nine games on those Also, 693 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,160 Speaker 1: the one that sold on eBay was only in partial 694 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,280 Speaker 1: working condition. It was missing some buttons and stuff. Apparently 695 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:49,640 Speaker 1: the holographic cards that slot into the Atari Cosmos are 696 00:40:49,719 --> 00:40:52,719 Speaker 1: a little less rare like those that already kind of 697 00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:55,880 Speaker 1: started to be produced by the time Atari decided to 698 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,920 Speaker 1: switch gears. I have never actually seen an Atari Cosmo 699 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:05,359 Speaker 1: holographic card in person, but apparently they're not nearly as 700 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:10,040 Speaker 1: uncommon as the systems themselves. Honestly, it looks to me 701 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,960 Speaker 1: like Cosmos. Isn't that different from the very early handheld 702 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,320 Speaker 1: electronic games that were out, like the Tiger Ones or whatever, 703 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:20,879 Speaker 1: where you would push buttons to make different LEDs light 704 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 1: up on screen, supposedly as part of a game. I 705 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:25,960 Speaker 1: remember having a football game that was like that. It 706 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:29,160 Speaker 1: was American football, that is not soccer, and I can 707 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,080 Speaker 1: never tell if what I was doing was working or not, 708 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,359 Speaker 1: because I was just looking at little dots of light 709 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 1: on a screen, and when you can't tell the difference 710 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,480 Speaker 1: between what is a player and what's a ball, you 711 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:44,520 Speaker 1: got a problem. Anyway, while the idea of integrated holography 712 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:46,920 Speaker 1: into video games was really neat, I think this was 713 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:48,840 Speaker 1: an example of trying to build a product before the 714 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:52,880 Speaker 1: tech is actually mature enough to do that. So again, 715 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,520 Speaker 1: Atari Cosmos never meant to be. That's just a small 716 00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:59,640 Speaker 1: selection of some products that were in various stages of 717 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:01,920 Speaker 1: develop some of which had been announced to the public, 718 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 1: and others that just got leaked at some point, but 719 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,840 Speaker 1: they never actually became a real thing. There are plenty 720 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,400 Speaker 1: of other examples, and I'll probably do more episodes along 721 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:13,960 Speaker 1: this line in the future, but I thought this would 722 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,840 Speaker 1: be kind of just a fun way to talk about 723 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:19,320 Speaker 1: tech projects that could have been, but for one reason 724 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 1: or another, never actually made it. For every product that 725 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,320 Speaker 1: you do get your hands on, there are a countless 726 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,480 Speaker 1: number of products that at some stage just ended up 727 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:33,319 Speaker 1: being thrown into the garbage can. So a moment of 728 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:37,320 Speaker 1: silence for the tech that never was. Okay, that's long enough. 729 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:40,479 Speaker 1: I hope you are all well, and I will talk 730 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:51,360 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. Tech stuff is an iHeartRadio production. 731 00:42:51,719 --> 00:42:56,759 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 732 00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:00,239 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.