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Unless you were alive during that time, it's hard to relate to how technologically impressive this gadget was when it came out. It was not only beyond expectati
by adrianmonk 7y ago
Unless you were alive during that time, it's hard to relate to how technologically impressive this gadget was when it came out. It was not only beyond expectations of what a toy could do, it was beyond expectations of what any product could do.
As I recall, people had no experience with speech synthesis in their everyday lives. There were no automated phone systems with a computer voice you called into. This technology was something you might think could be done in a lab somewhere, but not everyone would have necessarily even thought that.
And suddenly there was this device -- a child's toy no less -- that was compact and portable and battery powered, and it was talking to you. Interactively, which also added to the novelty because most people didn't have home computers and many didn't use a computer at work at all either.
- noneeeed 7y agoI'm 41, I frequently have to remind myself of just how far tech has come in just the time I've been alive, especially when dealing with bewildered older people. My first computer, the ZX Spectrum, was simple enough that we assembled and programmed a roughly equivalent machine from scratch on breadboard in my first year at uni. I recently resurrected my old Big Track robot/tank toy from my dads loft for my son to play with. Its over 30 years old, and has less computing power than an electric window controller, but back then it was the most futuristic thing I could imagine. My boy absolutely loves it. Its just the right level of sophistication for a 5yo, although I need to stick a volume control on it :)