May 29, 2002

1:35 PM

"It was 1931 that we last reported on television, and our readers must be wondering how things are shaping up. Not any too good." The New Yorker reports on the state of television, 1936.
posted by tranquileye (8 comments total)

It's funny to see the failure to anticipate the improvements in technology, but the real story here, it seems to me, is the total lack of awareness of the way that commercial interests would take over and shape the medium.

Lessons for the internet?
posted by rushmc at 1:41 PM on May 29, 2002

"Lessons for the internet?" Yes, but any lesson that might be learned today is a lesson far too late.
posted by majick at 2:04 PM on May 29, 2002

I'm tellin ya, television's gonna catch on someday.
posted by billder at 2:42 PM on May 29, 2002

Thanks, this was a great link for me. Not five-minutes ago, I was complaining about how poor the video playback is over ISDN lines at 384 Kbps through a popular videoconferencing system. Strange to see the analogy between the telecommunication technology I am banging my head against today, and the technology limitations of yesteryear.
posted by piskycritter at 2:44 PM on May 29, 2002

I'm tellin ya, television's gonna catch on someday.

I said it to that radio salesman back in '25, and I'll say it again --
I don't cotton to no talkin' furniture.
posted by chuq at 2:51 PM on May 29, 2002

4 feet wide with a 10" screen?

::whistle::
posted by Modem Ovary at 3:37 PM on May 29, 2002

I'd give up television to have E. B. White back.
posted by timeistight at 4:33 PM on May 29, 2002

For a really short thread, there's some great stuff in here: the word "cotton" used as a verb (always a delightful surprise), Modem Ovary's incredulity about the spatial inefficiency of the first TVs, and a yearning for the return of the great E.B. White.

Nice stuff, and a great link.
posted by diddlegnome at 8:18 PM on May 29, 2002