I made this video in early 1994 to launch AT&T Personalink Services, an early example of a wireless data service. Personalink was a two-way wireless messaging and information service based on startup General Magic technology. General Magic was a technology company founded by a group of Apple Computer alumni, including Bill Atkinson, Andy Hertzfeld, and Marc Porat.
Personalink aimed to provide users with the ability to send and receive emails, faxes and pages through a wireless network. The service was compatible with newly made devices like the Motorola Envoy and the Sony Magic Link, which were some of the first personal digital assistants (PDAs) that incorporated wireless communication capabilities.
Some key features of AT&T's PersonalLink Network included:
Email: Users could send and receive emails through PersonalLink allowing them to stay connected with their contacts.
Information services: PersonalLink provided access to various information services, such as news, weather, sports scores, and stock market updates.
Electronic commerce: The service enabled users to make purchases and conduct business transactions online.
Personal organizer: PersonalLink allowed users to manage their personal information, including contacts, calendar, and to-do lists.
Despite the innovative nature of PersonalLink and its advanced features, the service did not gain adoption and was eventually discontinued. The reasons for its lack of success included the limited availability of compatible devices, high costs associated with the service and the rapid evolution of the Internet which quickly surpassed PersonalLink in terms of functionality and reach. Subsequent advancements in mobile technology and the Internet led to the more advanced and successful wireless data services we have today.
The origin of the term "cloud" to describe cloud computing is not precisely known, as the concept evolved gradually over time. However many believe that the term "cloud" was popularized by AT&T. By late 1990s companies like Salesforce, Amazon and Google, were using the term and building their own cloud-based services.
The idea of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s with the concept of time-sharing of mainframe computers and was further developed through grid computing and utility computing models in the 1990s. The visual metaphor of a cloud was used in network diagrams to represent the Internet, and it is possible that this led to the adoption of the term "cloud computing."
AT&T used the term in my video. They drew a metaphor of a cloud to symbolize the abstract nature of the Internet as a network of networks. I made this video to run at the first public presentation showing what start up General Magic's handheld devices connected to AT&T service could do. In the end, these things all became real. General Magic somehow didn't notice the coming of the World Wide Web just a few years later. I created the animation style, versions of which are now so frequently used. I prefer this slower animation style to the contemporary ones.
Many companies are advertising on this video and I wanted to thank them. They include Akamai linode. Hybrid cloud monitoring. Hybrid cloud networking. Data storage platform. Hybrid cloud systems. Hybrid cloud technology. Cloud data storage companies. Cloud infrastructure monitoring. Cloud server security. Cloud-based data storage. Hybrid cloud hosting. AWS cloud platform.
David Hoffman filmmaker
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I would like to go to my Holy Lands. One is Cambridge, England where the greatest human prophet, Mr. Charles Darwin, first published the actual bible of the human race, "On the Origin of Species". Then I would go to Stratford-On-Avon, England to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare, who plumbed the depths of human intellect and emotion regarding war, power, ambition, tragedy, comedy, history and romance from every human perspective from the lowliest clown to the most powerful king.
I would suggest that you fill your life with science and the natural world. The only power religion has is its promise of an afterlife. The only way to combat the fatigue religion and myth creates is to fill your life with the rich diversity of nature and with facts instead.
Snapshots:
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archive.ph (click to archive)
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