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

[Miles Fidelman]

Ah yes.  Kind of like the days when folks thought about the notion of 
"computing dial tone."

Miles Fidelman

On 7/9/20 11:00 PM, the keyboard of geoff goodfellow via 
Internet-history 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/
>>
>>
-- 
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.  .... Yogi Berra

Theory is when you know everything but nothing works.
Practice is when everything works but no one knows why.
In our lab, theory and practice are combined:
nothing works and no one knows why.  ... unknown