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Found Footage: Knowledge Navigator concept from 1987

by Mike Schramm Jan 2nd 2010 at 2:30PM


Remember back when Apple made concept videos of their future hardware instead of people making concepts for them? I actually don't, but that's just because I'm a young punk -- the last major official concept video I remember seeing was the old (and somewhat prescient) "You Will" commercials. But on the eve of what already seems like the year of the tablet, here's a retro look at a 1987 video made by Apple featuring the "Knowledge Navigator," a tablet-style computer with web access (sorry, "university network access" -- the web didn't exist yet) and personified software agents to search, field calls, and even run apps and simulations.

Good stuff -- I doubt we'll see video clips of bowtied male secretaries answering calls from the iPhone if the tablet should appear later this month, but here in this future time of 2010, it's fun to look back and see what we thought we'd be doing now: asking favors from Jill Gilbert, taking Kathy to the airport by 2, and ignoring calls from Mom.

[Via DF]

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Remember back when Apple made concept videos of their future hardware instead of people making concepts for them? I actually don't, but...
 

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JC

2010!

January 31 2010 at 10:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Llib Setag

Notice in the video the "predictions" for deforestation in the year 2010?!!!

Hmmmmm....

January 26 2010 at 5:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BG

Didn't Apple produce a similar concept video with a gentleman in the park using a similar device that was assisting him to learn to read? As I recall, after he finished his reading session, the device asked him what he would like to read next, and scanned a newspaper he placed against the display...

January 26 2010 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
beacantor@gmail.com

Pretty neat! But...When did Brazil take over all of South America?

January 03 2010 at 9:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mickey Sattler

OMFG! Ha! I worked at GO/EO on the "You Will" device!

That was a fabulous time. What with that and the Newton in my pocket,

Imaginethe iPhone without any outside infrastructure. Fail, but not for lack of trying.

Thanks for the blast from the past.

January 03 2010 at 5:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Soup

If they could take those features and throw them into the next gen iphone, give it a bigger screen, faster processor, multitasking, and make it the first wimax phone in america it'd be the biggest thing to hit the US since the revolution.

January 02 2010 at 8:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cameron

Little known fact, Jim Shasky (a truly talented man that I'm honored to have had the privilege to have studied under) and his (now defunct) production company, Creative License/SkyBird Productions, created this video as well as many others for Apple. As interesting as the ideas portrayed in the video are, the technical hurdles that the production team overcame in creating this are just as remarkable for their time.

January 02 2010 at 8:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Howard Price

HP built off Apple's Knowledge Navigator vision with a concept of their own simply entitled "1995". If you watch the two back to back you see the very obvious influence that Apple had on HP's "vision".. HP's concept is built around their failed New Wave operating environment which Apple sued them over around the time that this video was produced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjfBLcx1GTU

January 02 2010 at 3:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Howard Price's comment
Rego

If Apple introduces a tablet that is capable of doing what was depicted in the video, plus every iPhone capability, it looks like a winner!

January 02 2010 at 3:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
AGS

seems like every year a new post about this thing
yet every year it looks more dated, although more possible

January 02 2010 at 3:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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