🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <vt102.1871$gx1.1576048@HME2.newscontent-01.sprint.ca>,
Rob Slade, doting grandpa of Ryan and Trevor <rslade@sprint.ca> wrote:
>BKINVCMP.RVW   980926

I'd say the person who wrote this didn't research things carefully.
I'm only commenting on one paragraph.

>"The Invisible Computer", Donald A. Norman, 1998, 0-262-14065-9,
>U$25.00
>%A   Donald A. Norman www.jnd.org norman@nngroup.com don@jnd.org
>%C   55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA   02142-1399
>%D   1998
>%G   0-262-14065-9
>%I   MIT Press
>%O   U$25.00 +1-800-356-0343 fax: +1-617-625-6660 www-mitpress.mit.edu
>%P   302 p.
>%T   "The Invisible Computer"

>The subtitle for this book is just a little too long to include in the
>publication data.  It runs "Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal
>Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution." 
>As to the first part, Norman tends to imply products that fail aren't
>all that good. ...

>It is ironic that Norman is so insistent upon the fact that Edison was
>such a disaster as a businessman that the term "phonograph" is hardly
>ever used today.  Ironic, because when chapter one finally does get
>around to explaining the mistakes made (and, when it finally does, it
>does a good job) the company used as a comparison is the Victor
>Talking Machine Company, and Norman notes that "victrola" became the
>generic term for a music playback machine for quite some time.  True,
>there are no more Edison machines on the market (outside of antique
>stores) while the Victor successor RCA does have a place on the
>shelves at Joe's Stereo Barn, but while everyone reading this column
>knows what a phonograph is, it is only the erudite few who are
>congratulating themselves on remembering what a victrola is.  ...

"Victrola" was the popular name in the '20s and '30s, and gave way
to the generic 'phonograph' later.

However RCA did NOT become the successor to Victor - they bought
Victor after it had been established.  Many record companies "bit
the dust" during the recession of the 1930's in America.

Edison's cylinder phonograph was originally cylinder.  Then he
converted to 'flat disks'.   Emile Berliner - who gave us the flat
record, the electric microphone, and others, sued Edison's company
for patent(?) infrigement.

Berliner won.  To celebrate that victory of Edison - he named is
company Victor.   It was only sold to Radio Coroporation of America
when they went into the business.

As time goes on there are fewer people who know the name
phonopraph, as things such as the LP and 45 have been relegated to
niche markets for the past 10 years.

-- 
Bill Vermillion   bv @ wjv.com