DaveInTN 3,247 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 My 14 year old gave me a Disney mouse pad that she found on eBay. It was an old but never used one, unopened in the original packaging. It just so happens that inside the packaging was a catalog of Disney software available in 1995. It's like a time machine, and shows how much the world has changed in the past 19 years. One of the first things that jumps out at you is the lack of an online purchasing option. That was just beginning to become an option in 1995, and not surprisingly, Disney wasn't exactly at the forefront of that technology. But you could call, fax or mail your order in. But wait! If you read the fine print of the various ways to contact Disney. According to the catalog, "if you own a modem and communication software, call the Disney Software BBS at ......" Remember doing that? And it gets even better. It lists the various online services where Disney maintained Email and Support services. They included AOL, Compuserve, FIDOnet, and......wait, what is that? Near the bottom of the list is "Internet - [email protected]". So what is today the typical communication method, and what we consider a "normal" email address, was at the bottom of the list at that time, under services like Compuserve and FIDOnet that have been tossed into the dustbin of history. This catalog was likely produced in 1994, the same year of this classic exchange on the Today Show. http://youtu.be/JUs7iG1mNjI Another thing that takes you back and gives you a chuckle are the system requirements of the software. It's amazing how much technology has changed. Our phones have better processing capabilities today than our PC's did in 1995. Here are some of the other pages, showing the various offerings in 1995. Some of you may own a few of these! It was a pretty fun read for me, so thought I'd share. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Live4FW 30 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 LOVE IT!!!! I still have some of that software in a box somewhere. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Do you think bob's Conmodore 64 or Lou's TRS-80 are compatible with that software? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santa ... Shannon 160 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 In 1995 I was using Compuserve, having been a long time AOL user, but switched because they provided an internet "portal". There was not a lot on the web, though. The big draw was Usenet groups, which were like BBSs with an unlimited number of connected users. I used to run a BBS myself, even had a dedicated phone line for it, and I knew others who had as many as eight lines (to support 8 users at once!). And of course, internet allowed CS users to send email to AOL users! Gasp! And just a year earlier I met my wife in an AOL chat room. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Millermouseketeers MaryAnn 150 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 What a nice gift! Very considerate daughter! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 What a nice gift! Very considerate daughter! I should post a picture of the mousepad. But it's in my office back in Nashville. I'll try to remember. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Very interesting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Who remembers Gopher?That was at the cutting edge in the early 90s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Thanks for the trip down memory lane. It truly is amazing how much things have changed. I had never seen that Today show clip. They literally had no idea what the internet was. I probably didn't either in 1994. As for the Disney software, we had several of the items in that brochure, which we used to run on our state of the art Gateway 2000 computer. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Great post, Dave! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fortpartyof4 108 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I still don't know what the Internet is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fortpartyof4 108 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Oh - and great minds think alike! This is my mouse pad: See what I did there? BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 We had the phone and the Coaster Software. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.