![\"CyberLYNX](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!y0f8!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F066787dd-c8cc-4886-b43e-3af40fc2d13b_1388x1800.jpeg\" "\\"CyberLYNX")
Creative Computing, November 1984 · PDF page 202. Source scan.
\nCyberLYNX promised lights, music and dinner waiting when you got home. Owen W. Linzmayer found Smarthome I dependable in his apartment, though the instructions were confusing. Once configured, the controller could run without the Apple. You still had to prepare the food. [1]
\n![\"CompuServe](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dx76!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbda2e5e2-6c69-4f79-a558-759c6660ff3d_1388x1800.jpeg\" "\\"CompuServe")
Creative Computing, November 1984 · PDF page 241. Source scan.
\nCompuServe offered a party across nine states with one glass to wash afterward. In a separate 1984 account, Steven K. Roberts chatted from a hotel while someone in Washington arranged for beer to be delivered to his room. [2] The modem could bring you company and, with help, a drink.
\n![\"Filevision](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fv0z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F74cfe04e-7a3e-4a9d-9b3e-22eeb657575c_1267x1626.jpeg\" "\\"Filevision")
Macworld, November 1984 · PDF page 67. Source scan.
\nFilevision promised to find the right wine for dinner by linking database records to drawings; somebody still had to supply the wine knowledge. A review abstract describes searches using up to four criteria. [3] Practical Computing liked it, but making a working copy on a single-drive 128K Mac took 17 disk swaps. [4]
\n![\"ReadySoft](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Cpr6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46208e4a-ec6d-4d6c-9067-1a9dcd7a3f2b_1348x1800.jpeg\" "\\"ReadySoft")
COMPUTE!, January 1994 · PDF page 171. Source scan.
\nPositronic Bridge promised an opponent that improved alongside you. David E. Lindeman found decent hand play and rigid bidding, but could not tell whether it had learned anything about him. The ad also promised duplicate bridge; his version offered rubber scoring only. [5]
\n![\"A](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fjAE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43548eca-da9c-4d52-9aef-5b08b9d4ac51_1388x1800.jpeg\" "\\"A")
Creative Computing, November 1984 · PDF page 257. Source scan.
\nMind Prober turned questionnaire answers into personality reports, with accuracy still unproven. [6] Beside it, Peter McWilliams described using an eye switch to select letters and words by blinking. He reported 5–10 words per minute from his own trial. [7]
\n![\"First](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TbT!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F254b79a5-d8d4-4bc3-a26c-5647765353fa_1353x1800.jpeg\" "\\"First")
COMPUTE!, January 1984 · PDF page 104. Source scan.
\n![\"Second](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ptlf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf88672-4b02-4a05-ad12-8a10dbf1569c_1348x1800.jpeg\" "\\"Second")
COMPUTE!, January 1984 · PDF page 106. Source scan.
\nTwo continuation pages, PDF 104 and 106.
\nCOMPUTE! wanted a robot pet: lovable, teachable, durable, portable and educational. One family in the discussion was already giving robots personalities and dressing one up. [8] Sony’s $2,500 AIBO arrived in the US in 1999, with behavior shaped by interaction, though that hardly ticks every box on the wish list. [9]
\n![\"U.S.](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pq8l!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9c4b1207-7089-42e4-89d8-6b9b8a9a1f95_1343x1800.jpeg\" "\\"U.S.")
PC Magazine, May 29, 1984 · PDF page 56. Source scan.
\nU.S. Robotics imagined Benjamin Franklin publishing electronically with its Password modem and Telpac software. The manual admitted setup could be difficult; a later Atari user-group report records a Password owner using it with a 520ST and different software. [10] [11] The modem was real; Franklin’s evening edition was the sales pitch.
\n![\"In](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4ZRi!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe0afb66-65a1-40ee-b7c6-ae778ee05611_1305x1800.jpeg\" "\\"In")
COMPUTE!, June 1984 · PDF page 49. Source scan.
\nIn the Chips gave you a software company, fickle customers and competitors cutting prices. Tony Roberts’s VIC-20 review starts the player with $100,000 to spend on development, production, advertising and marketing. [12] Finally, a management career you could switch off.
\n![\"Batteries](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3CzE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa238e123-2fd9-4171-be3a-dc7c8a594bc9_1301x1800.jpeg\" "\\"Batteries")
COMPUTE!, June 1984 · PDF page 93. Source scan.
\nBatteries Included recruited an Einstein caricature to guilt Commodore 64 owners into doing some work. Its Work Force range included writing, database and spelling tools. Ian Wright’s PaperClip review found useful formatting and printer support, early bugs, and an 80-column preview that needed a sharp monitor. [13]
\n![\"Left](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0xFY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8890fd3-9ca2-4b31-b1aa-3f735df8dd91_1800x1274.jpeg\" "\\"Left")
BYTE, January 1984 · PDF pages 154, 155. Source scan.
\nMitel packed six office tools into Kontact and promised CP/M software access later. Ingenium preserves a unit used at home and work by a Mitel product manager. [14] A 1985 report put distributor Lanpar’s installations at about 300, with disappointing sales and limited software compatibility. Whether the promised CP/M access shipped remains unclear. [15]
\n![\"Votrax](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wTzA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F955044c2-e565-4eeb-bddb-86be68867f12_1386x1800.jpeg\" "\\"Votrax")
Creative Computing, June 1984 · PDF page 124. Source scan.
\nType ’N Talk turned computer text into speech. Its manual offered spelling tricks and phonetic instructions for fixing pronunciation, so the computer sometimes needed help saying what you meant. [16] The Henry Ford keeps a unit and its documentation. [17]
\n![\"Star](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HFeW!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c5ae558-15f2-435b-97b0-2a8c1e43d703_1299x1800.jpeg\" "\\"Star")
Computer Gaming World, January 2004 · PDF page 6. Source scan.
\nStar Wars Galaxies offered a life in the cantina, not just another firefight. Raph Koster discussed advancing as a musician in March 2004. [19] The surviving 2007 manual describes music, dancing and group performances that helped players recover from battle fatigue, though it cannot settle every detail of the 2004 game. [18]
\n![\"PC](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pAjO!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F52a45d43-6bb9-41c4-86dc-01f8b0ad9097_1341x1800.jpeg\" "\\"PC"){kind=spacer}
PC Magazine, April 12, 1994 · PDF page 439 · printed 441. Source scan.
\n![\"The](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!u6q0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17cddf78-7f28-4d7f-a3f1-54db2734e750_1337x1800.jpeg\" "\\"The")
PC Magazine, April 12, 1994 · PDF page 440 · printed 442. Source scan.
\nTwo consecutive pages: printed 441–442, PDF 439–440. The gaming coverage continues beyond this selection.
\nAngela Gunn’s 1994 tour of AOL, CompuServe and The ImagiNation Network found chat rooms, cartoon identities, unwanted messages and people who weren’t quite who they claimed. AOL and INN plans included five hours; after that, friendship was billed hourly. [20]
\n![\"Colorful](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Ixr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06692ae3-82f1-41cc-90ba-554531147275_1155x1624.jpeg\" "\\"Colorful")
PC World, January 1994 · PDF page 165. Source scan.
\nJoe Abernathy followed PCs into Wal-Mart and Target, where buyers needed demonstrations, advice and support. [21] Daniel Pinkwater bought a Compaq Presario 425 despite struggling with its tutorial. A friend then set it up to skip Windows and launch his familiar word processor. [21]
\nThese fourteen selections come from a browsing collection of 21 magazine issues in 1984, 1994 and 2004. They were chosen for their images and specific claims, not as a representative sample or a scorecard of predictions. Their order reflects visual impact, the specificity of the promise and the available follow-up. Many advertise products already on sale. Dates refer to the magazine issues; PDF page numbers identify the scans and can differ from the printed labels. Linked reviews, manuals and contemporary accounts support the notes. The source notes identify material consulted only as abstracts or indexed passages. No products were personally operated for this article.
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