Retro Tech Tuesday: CompuServe Strikes Back!

In last week's Retro Tech, we featured an ad for Prodigy. In an effort to rekindle the ISP war of the 90's, we bring you this CompuServe ad this week. It's funny how certain things are embedded in your brain, taking up space, and you didn't even know they were up there. I didn't think I would have any recollection of this ad at all, but within the first few seconds, I remembered, disturbingly clearly, the series of images that come rushing out of the computer screen. It's a shame I haven't been using that brain space for something more useful, like say The Breeder's "Cannonball" video.

Retro Tech Tuesday: CompuServe

We previously featured Prodigy here, so it was only a matter of time before its arch-enemy CompuServe would make an appearance. The great thing about this ad for CompuServe is that it also gives us a quick glimpse at another Retro tech: DAT recordings! Enjoy:

Retro Tech Tuesday: Prodigy Service

"And it even had an encyclopedia!"

That's really the message that's driven home in today's retro find. It's a 30-second commercial for the Prodigy service. For those who weren't around, there was a time when the internet was actually called CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy. (Ok, that's an exxageration, but for most people going "online" referred to one of those three services.)

It's hard to believe in this age of Wikipedia, we were supposed to be blown away by the fact that Prodigy's encyclopedia was updated quarterly, "so it's never out of date!"

Ah, how young and naive we were: