

AT&T's 1993 "You Will" Ads (excellent foresight) [vid] - nickb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZb0avfQme8

======
ShabbyDoo
A couple of themes emerge:

1\. The stuff they predicted using dedicated technologies (video pay phones,
etc.) ended up being built on top of general purpose platforms (laptops). The
fax-from-the-beach thing is another example, although one would just send an
email today.

2\. AT&T tended to predict evolutionary change when more profound change
actually happened. Payphones, faxes, etc. Perhaps marketers realized that they
had to attach the wow factor to something concrete that everybody already
understood.

What they didn't predict (or at least tell us about) was that voice would
become just another service on a general network (Skype). I guess this has
only partially happened, but it's clearly the endgame.

