{"id":693,"date":"2012-12-16T18:33:57","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T02:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billzarchy.com\/blog\/blog\/?p=693"},"modified":"2024-04-07T19:32:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T02:32:54","slug":"knowledge-navigator-in-1987-foreshadowed-our-current-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billzarchy.com\/blog\/knowledge-navigator-in-1987-foreshadowed-our-current-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple’s Knowledge Navigator (in 1987) Foreshadowed Our Current Tech Toys"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The professor enters his wood-paneled office to the sound of a harpsichord concerto.<\/p>\n

He walks to his desk and opens a strange-looking, hinged device, which bongs like a Macintosh. It’s about the size of a laptop, but it opens like a book, revealing two screens.<\/p>\n

“You have three messages,” says a face on the device. “Your graduate team in Guatemala, a second-semester junior, and your mother reminding you about your father’s …”<\/p>\n

“… Surprise birthday party tomorrow,” says the professor, cutting off his digital butler with the touch of a finger on the screen. Clearly he’s been reminded before.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This little scenario takes place in 2011, in a film called “The Knowledge Navigator,” produced by The Kenwood Group for Apple in 1987. I was the director of photography. Randy Field directed, and Jane Hernandez produced. This fall is its 25th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The device used for our shoot was a wooden prop. But the Knowledge Navigator video foresaw technologies that were only dreamt of when it was produced: touchscreen interfaces, digital agents, instant video communication, and … oh yes, the Internet. It spawned many imitators, “vision videos” for Silicon Valley companies that continue to this day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The professor enters his wood-paneled office to the sound of a harpsichord concerto.<\/p>\n

He walks to his desk and opens a strange-looking, hinged device, which bongs like a Macintosh. It’s about the size of a laptop, but it opens like a book, revealing two screens.<\/p>\n

“You have three messages,” says a face on the device. “Your graduate team in Guatemala, a second-semester junior, and your mother reminding you about your father’s …”<\/p>\n

“… Surprise birthday party tomorrow,” says the professor, cutting off his digital butler with the touch of a finger on the screen. Clearly he’s been reminded before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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