[ih] The Xerox Networking "Information Outlet" wall plug

[the keyboard of geoff goodfellow]

well, whaddya know: Allen Kay uploaded a copy of the AWESOME Xerox
Information Outlet TV commercial to youtube -- would you happen to remember
what year this was done and airer?

Back Story:

We did the drawing on the wall with a pale blue pencil so the actor would
see it but the camera wouldn’t. All he had to do was trace the lines.

Take 1. His delivery was perfect in but his drawing looked like a giant
smashed spider.

Take 2. Again, a flawless reading. This time his work of art was about
11”x17”.  You had to squint to see it. The director yelled, cut! Then he
said to the actor, “Come here for a second.” He came forward. “Turn
around,” said the director. The actor did an about face. They both stared
at the wall. Like talking to a 4 year old, the director said,
“Look...what... you... did.” “Whoops!” said the talent.

Take3. The drawing was great but he flubbed the last. Shit!

Take 4. Started out fine. We held our breath. Good...good...good.
“...and...Cut!!  Perfect!” The director shouted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2WgFpyL2Pk

On Thu, Jul 9, 2020 at 5:00 PM *the keyboard of geoff goodfellow
<geoff at iconia.com <geoff at iconia.com>> wrote:*

> john, vis-a-vis "bringing back memories.":
>
> yours truly recalls that during "that era" Xerox had a TV commercial
> running on [XNS?] networking that featured "An Information Outlet" of an
> [coax BNC connector?  RJ-45? 10 Mbit/s?] Ethernet connection as a "wall
> plug type thing."
>
> yours truly once heard that you had managed to obtain/"rip the outlet" of
> said "Information Outlet" from the set for which said TV commercial was
> filmed?
>
> the question for you is:
> 1. is this true?
> 2. whatever happened to the said "Information Outlet"?
>
> [am hoping it is on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain
> View,or perhaps "in use" at the Living Computers: Museum + Labs in
> Seattle? :D]
>
> vis-a-vis Louie's Hsi Nan potstickers: yours truly would like to call
> y'alls summary attention to the best modern day equivalent:
>
> *Annie Chung's*
> ORGANIC
> {Chicken & Vegetable, Pork & Vegetable, Shiitake & Vegetable} Potstickers
> most likely available at a local health food store near you:
> https://anniechun.com/products/
>
> indeed those were Very Good Times,
>
> geoff
>
> On Thu, Jul 9, 2020 at 3:48 PM *John Shoch via Internet-history
> <internet-history at elists.isoc.org <internet-history at elists.isoc.org>>
> wrote:*
>
>> Vint C. and Dave C.,
>> Thanks for your nice mention of our networking work at PARC.
>>
>> Jack H., et al.,
>> In the early internetworking days there was a reasonable amount of
>> interaction between PARC and Stanford:
>> --At various times, both Bob M. and I sat in on Vint's classes or meetings
>> at Stanford.
>> --I spent the summer of 1976 (the bicentennial) working in Washington DC,
>> and got to visit Vint C. and Bob K. at ARPA, in Va.
>> --PARC had a nominal ARPA contract, which allowed us to have an IMP.  The
>> ARPA connections led to us participating in the TCP meetings -- Vint was
>> very gracious and welcoming.
>> --Some of it is documented in various TCP and Internet Experiment Notes
>> (IENs) -- meetings we attended, use of the PRNET, etc., etc.
>> --It is correct that we had some constraints on what we could say about
>> the
>> specific PUP design and implementation.  But we were able to take part in
>> discussions about broader internetworking issues.
>> --For example, in our contribution of IEN 20 on internetwork
>> fragmentation,
>> we wrote about alternate strategies, and then about picking one: "...our
>> current attitude is based on instinct, some experience....."  We sure
>> hoped
>> everyone would get the hint.....
>>  https://www.rfc-editor.org/ien/ien20.pdf
>> --Ron Crane and Yogen Dalal, who had worked with Vint at Stanford, later
>> came to Xerox (actually SDD, not PARC).
>>
>> Vint, those were good times.
>>
>> John Shoch
>>
>> PS:  It's almost dinner time here, and the discussion of Louis Kao's pot
>> stickers is really bringing back memories.
>> --After Hsi Nan, in Town and Country, Louis (Louie) ran a restaurant in
>> Menlo Park, one on Univ. Ave. in Palo Alto, a Foster's Freeze on El
>> Camino,
>> and later a restaurant in San Mateo.  I followed him to all of these, if
>> only for the pot stickers (and kung pao chicken).
>> --Some of you may recall Louis and Sandra's son, who was often in the
>> restaurant.  I'm told he has opened restaurants in the E. Bay, but I have
>> not yet been able to visit.....pork dumplings are on the menu.
>> http://www.noodletheory.com/
>>
>>
>
-- 
Geoff.Goodfellow at iconia.com
living as The Truth is True