LGR Tech Tales - General Magic: Creating the Cloud

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This episode covers the origin and demise of Apple spin-off company General Magic, and its impact on modern tech. Join me in LGR Tech Tales, looking at stories of technological inspiration, failure, and everything in-between!
● Consider supporting LGR on Patreon:
/ lazygamereviews
● Social links:
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
● Main sources for info:
"Magic Cap Cellphone Demo August 1995" by Andy Hertzfeld
• Magic Cap Cellphone De...
"Bill Atkinson and General Magic" by TWiT Network
• Bill Atkinson and Gene...
"The Video That Launched The Smart Phone Revolution" by David Hoffman
• 1993 - The Smart Phon...
"What Is The Cloud - By AT&T" by David Hoffman
• What Is The Cloud - By...
"Classic PC/TV - Sony Magic Link PIC-1000" by PC/TV
• Classic PC/TV - Sony M...
"Why Smart Executives Fail", book by Sydney Finkelstein
www.amazon.com/Why-Smart-Exec...
"The Most Important Dead Company in Silicon Valley?" by Michael Kanellos
www.forbes.com/sites/michaelka...
"A History of Silicon Valley" by Piero Scaruffi
www.scaruffi.com/svhistory/sil...
"Communicating in the Magic Kingdom" by Lorri Grube
chiefexecutive.net/communicati...
"The DaveNet Letter" by Dave Winer
scripting.com/davenet/1995/02/...
"Bill and Andy’s Excellent Adventure II" by Steven Levy
www.wired.com/1994/04/general-...
● Background music credits:
"Nautical 2" by Loscil
• Loscil - Nautical2
"Milinda," "Swampwalk" by Diode Milliampere
diodemilliampere.bandcamp.com/
"S1gns Of L1fe - Stratosphere"
• S1gns Of L1fe - Strato...

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Опубликовано:

14 авг 2016

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Комментарии : 300

@Henchman1977 8 лет назад

These are my favourite LGR segments, but they must take you weeks to put together.

@RetroComputers 8 лет назад

same here

@Ybalrid 8 лет назад

same here

@towermoss 8 лет назад

i concur. i love these things.

@eIucidate 7 лет назад

Tech Tales was the first LGR video I ever watched. I always get excited when I get a new Tech Tales video notification on my phone.

@pearofsalamanca 8 лет назад

I hope whoever designed General Magic's logo is still doing graphic design work. Because I like it very much.

@azerithboxxed4339 3 года назад

@Inje Kim yeah, I love it

@Tadesan 3 года назад

Ok Kenny...

@Leatherargento Год назад

Happy bunny in hat!

@TheCgOrion 7 лет назад

Your channel is absolutely top notch. Thank you for bringing your viewers such great information and perspective on the past. It's people like you that help bring us back from taking things for granted, and possibly educating the younger generations on where all these modern devices came from.

@LGR 7 лет назад

I appreciate the kind words :)

@risseer23 7 лет назад

Yup awesome work as always!

@prfo5554 7 лет назад

Can you please make a Tech Tales video about PACIFIC DATA IMAGES (PDI)? They existed between 1980-2015. I know they weren't an electronic or major software company, they were the computer graphics arts studio that brought us many famous ads in the 80's and 90's apparently including some video games tech ads such as the 3D Dreamcast Ads and apparently some Msn ads. They also made floating logos for various TV Networks including NBC, CBS, and ABC. Also, some of their founders went on to do other jobs in the tech industry. MOST IMPORTANTLY, they went on to create Shrek and a lot of famous Dreamworks IPs due to being acquired by them in 2000. Unfortunately, due to Dreamworks recent string of failures they had to be shut down in 2015 laying off over 500 employees. Do to this sad ending I think you should make this video, plus maybe it will help you get views from people interested in other areas of computing than you already mainly make videos on.

@JoelRiter 6 лет назад

TheCgOrion 9th

@Hannie_Bananie 7 лет назад

I just wanted to say that back during my senior year of high school ( just graduated in May, actually) my generalized anxiety disorder was in full swing. So I'd pull up a video of yours during work and whether due to your calming voice or the extremely descriptive content it would make all my unbearable anxiety and panic just vanish! Just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for making my high school experience so much easier, you're awesome man!

@evanbarlow5534 5 лет назад

No offense, real life must be rough, homie

@blackneos940 5 лет назад

@@likethesunshine I'm not trying to knock you, but meditation is like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound. If someone has anxiety, there's nothing they can do to cure it. And yes, I'm spiritual, but I am a realist too. I know this, and I've listened to Eckhart Tolle, read spiritual books, tried meditation, tried "letting go", tried letting it be as it is. And guess what? Nothing worked in the long run. For some of us, especially those of us with mental disorders, suffering is life-long. And that's all there is to that.

@blackneos940 5 лет назад

@@likethesunshine I did. It doesn't work for me. Suffering is my life. I was born with Autism, and developed Bipolar, and now am on meds that could cause God-knows-what down the line. So I live hedonistically, and am kind to others. But for true joy... Well, I'll be turning 28 on the 19th, so I've only got about a few decades, and then I'll be happy. For now though, suffering is my bedfellow. Do not take pity on me. I've learned to live with it, and just drown in Programming.

@blackneos940 4 года назад

@@likethesunshine Like I said, I've tried all that. I don't drink. You don't need to make that assumption of me. This will go on until I reach the Afterlife. This is my life. I'm getting used to it, and nothing you say, no matter how clever, can ever change that.

@blackneos940 4 года назад

@Clorox Bleach Evidently. we do. Shut your mouth.

@stewartfullerton1965 7 лет назад

I think the next Tech Tales should be Compuserve. It was everywhere back in the 90's.

@natejennings5884 4 года назад

I didn't own my first PC until Fall of 2000, but I remember hearing about Compuserve quite a bit in the 1990s.

@seanephram 2 года назад

yes!!

@Dan-TechAndMusic 8 лет назад

Companies need to learn abput fair use, and government should do more to enforce it. This video is educational, so it falls fully under fair use. This is very frustrating to see!

@nicholassvitak8653 7 лет назад

Not to mention the commercials are over 20 years old

@isawadelapradera6490 7 лет назад

adventureoflinkmk2 No, what youtube needs to do is stop sucking main media's dick. RU-vid built a system entirely oriented to help classical media keep YT under their hawk-like scrutiny... while classical media would very happily have new media like YT destroyed with absolutely no remorse if they could. After all, innovation is the only thing that really threatens their monolithic lobby.

@zorkk2000 6 лет назад

Isawa De La Pradera dude they cant its not posible they need to the media will always force them

@JoelRiter 5 лет назад

This is why more people need to become cablecutters, not use adblock (atleast for content creators they like/do not support in otherways), and/or use patreon.

@S.O.N.E 2 года назад

@@isawadelapradera6490 bro youtube has become the main media

@Kellmachine 8 лет назад

Tech Tales is an absolutely amazing series of videos and I'm so glad you keep making more!

@TheJulebrusHorror 8 лет назад

Could not agree more

@EposVox 8 лет назад

I forgot I said on the original, but good stuff!

@NineteenEightyFive 7 лет назад

"the general magic alliance" sounds like a cult.

@U014B 7 лет назад

Dade Murphy Or the bureaucratic arm of the Occult.

@jamesb8305 5 лет назад

Well, it WAS owned by the Cult of Apple.....

@whette_fahrtz 5 лет назад

Straight up Harry Potter shit

@apoletestry3766 4 года назад

not as much as Star gate

@prismstudios001 4 года назад

Dade Murphy Or a group in the Harry Potter universe,

@daserfomalhaut9809 8 лет назад

I really love the presentation of these because you don't try to force any cringeworthy humor or shoehorn "witty" nerd references. I don't like propping people up by vaguely tearing others down, but that REALLY gets annoying and I love that you typically don't do that. Just a seamless, informative, naturally entertaining video that doesn't waste any time.

@Nemu64 7 лет назад

I would love it if you made a video about Netscape Navigator's and Internet Explorer's legendary battle.

@OsirisLord 5 лет назад

I think a series focusing on important technology showdowns would be fun to do. Netscape versus IE, Betamax versus VHS, Commadore versus Amiga versus the PC.

@silicongraphics 8 лет назад

Honestly, I'm just going to watch this agian just because it was uploaded agian. And i love tech tales.

@eldoradomanchuria 7 лет назад

I love these. I understand they may not get as many views as some of your others, but they are just so well done! The information is presented in an interesting, yet concise fashion. This really pulls in the attention of the viewer. I really hope you keep doing them. Thank you for the great content

@pwnt39 8 лет назад

From a tweet: Just a heads-up: the most recent LGR Tech Tales episode on General Magic has been taken down due to copyright issues with a few video clips. now stop asking :p

@dw9219 7 лет назад

These tech tales are some of the best videos you create! Keep up the good work!

@CorneliusSneedley 8 лет назад

I really enjoy these sorts of videos on your channel. They are educational, well researched, and nostalgic at the same time. :)

@needmorebrain 7 лет назад

This is just such a good series. Thank you very much for your awesome work here and every other episode of Tech Tales!

@doctorhino8736 6 лет назад

Love these look backs, you do a great job highlighting the lessons learned for those of us in the Tech industry to learn by

@witol96 8 лет назад

I love your vids LGR. Especially ones telling stories about old IT companies. Keep going mate. :D

@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial 8 лет назад

Tech Tales is one of the best things on RU-vid, another great one

@grant2053 8 лет назад

Keep the Tech Tales coming! Fave feature of your channel!!

@cagriaksu 4 года назад

Man you are such a great tech story teller, and I love listening to rise and fall of great companies! You do a great job man, honestly.

@darkroom0716 8 лет назад

Love the Tech Tales series LGR, keep'em comin'. Reminds me of the glory days of G4

@ryant2389 4 года назад

I love these vids. I found LGR through a tech tale about AOL and have been working through the LGR backlog ever since.

@Bezlonirslair 7 лет назад

This was a trip. It's crazy, these ones where a company had a great idea but it was out of it's time. This one sounds like a supergroup of tech geniuses. But it shows how much timing matters in the tech industry.

@garylcroxford 8 лет назад

I really love this series mate - keep it up! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

@tonyhong20 8 лет назад

As an educational channel, use of those ads would fall under fair use

@LGR 8 лет назад

Arguably, but I'd rather just swap the footage and not deal with the aggravation.

@EllRiver 8 лет назад

Sadly Fair use is only a defense in court. If they don't want you to use it they can legally. Though they would never go to court because they know you would win. But you would need to be willing to go to court and have a serious front for a bluff.

@HitmonleeDeluxe 8 лет назад

Why would a company go out of their way to copyright claim an advertisement? That's rather silly!

@EposVox 8 лет назад

It absolutely would have served as fair use, but I understand just not wanting to deal with the hassle

@tonyhong20 8 лет назад

Lazy Game Reviews Yeah I get where you're coming from. Saves a buttload of money for other more important things like somehow finding a mechanical keyboard for $5 and hot wheels PCs

@mcprtk1 7 лет назад

Wow, thanks for "Tech Tales"..... They are one of my personal favorite videos on RU-vid

@NineteenEightyFive 6 лет назад

This was one of my favorite tech tales eps. Very informative!

@NickShvelidze 6 лет назад

Thank you for making the tech tales, it's the best RU-vid series alongside Ahoy

@KenDecker 2 года назад

Very good Clint! Love Tech Tales

@Aaronlcyrus 8 лет назад

I missed the first upload. Glad i caught it this time. Love these tales

@dacypher22 7 лет назад

Another company that might make a good Tech Tales is Juno Online Services. When I think of General Magic, Eagle computers and others who were giants who have fallen, they come to mind. In the early days of the Internet, Juno became a giant by offering first free email with ads through its client and then free Internet service. There were a couple of years there in the 90's where basically everyone I knew had a Juno email address, mostly lured-in by those "Free Email!" CDs they gave away in book stores. While it is difficult to find hard numbers, I would have to imagine their reach was gigantic for a while. And then they just sort of faded away, which is hard to understand why considering how difficult it is to compete with free, even if there are ads on it. They were already pretty obscure before broadband was really available. What happened?

@goten259 7 лет назад

These Tech Tales videos are awesome! couldn't help but subscribe.

@nathanallan1 7 лет назад

Excellent video! I remember when the word "data cloud" was first introduced, and I had been doing tech a little by then, and knew what it meant and really wasn't that excited by it. I remember hearing about the devices from magazines, never could get one or have access to them, though. Thanks again!

@GrabShiny 7 лет назад

I've never seen Tech Tales before. I really need to go back and watch more of your videos.

@dangiulvezan 3 года назад

Great video! I still remember interviewing there when I moved to California in ‘96.

@pcaviator687 8 лет назад

I love your Tech Tales videos! Could you consider doing one on Gateway Computers?? I miss the cow boxes!

@wolventhrone1631 7 лет назад

I absolutely LOVE this series

@FinalBaton 7 лет назад

wow, talk about a hype-train crashing HARD

@DurradonXylles 8 лет назад

Hindsight is always more clear than how events occur; but it seems like if General Magic had simply left their proprietary Magic Cap and Telescript technologies to be more open to begin with, and allowing AT&T to only be one of multiple possible backends for entering their Cloud, then they could've had more early adopters of their standard early on. Since the internet was a natural evolution of the groundwork laid out by server computing, and was also being developed at the same time as General Magic's tech, it seems like the advent of the internet was going to be inevitable. The question wasn't _if_ the internet was going to take off and be massively adopted, but _when._ With that said, Telescript seemed very capable of allowing for encryption and secure cloud access, so it seems like if they could've banked on secure cloud access via any device and gotten some success from that. If General Magic could've done a few choice things different they probably would've lasted a lot longer with a significantly higher amount of success. I have to wonder how different things would've been if they did stay around and saw some lasting success from their cloud computing coexisting with, and even thriving within/through, the internet back in the mid to late 90's.

@musaran2 6 лет назад

With so many aces in the hand, how could they fail so bad ? My take : •Reading the discussions on Wipikedia, it seems they botched it REAL hard. •It looks way too proprietary to ever gain traction from enough parties. •The "room metaphor" reeks of misguided bells-and-whistles design.

@JohnSmith-wx9wj 5 лет назад

@@musaran2 They learned to be super proprietary from Apple.

@Retro80sMan1 8 лет назад

Congratulations on 400,00 subscribers!

@hobbycollectibles3518 8 лет назад

great way to start my morning with LGR tech tales

@CDNSpartan 8 лет назад

Congrats on 400 thousand subs

@dutchdykefinger 8 лет назад

great episode again love your tech tales, surely they must be the ones involving the most research work of all your stuff, together with your vintage computer reviews? i wonder, does all that info still stick in your after doing so many? ;) oddware series are cool too

@thepopdestruction 8 лет назад

I just like playing your videos in the background while I work on something. You kinda help me concentrate.

@yngv1 8 лет назад

I love listening to Tech Tales while I drift off to sleep, Clint's voice is so calming!

@FIetch2002 8 лет назад

+yngv1 Samoyeds Rule!

@user-bk7to8gn5l 8 лет назад

Darn I thought this was a part 2 or something, I really enjoyed this one

@Code1D10T 8 лет назад

Wow, Clint. This is highly insightful. Still in disbelief that this was the group responsible for modern day smartphone technology and had a share in the advent of cloud computing.

@CrystalDragonLD6 6 лет назад

I love your Tech tales !

@BilisNegra 6 лет назад

Guess most of us viewers can agree how much in awe we find ourselves to see by how much the idea of what we know as the cloud today predates the term "(data) cloud" itself. But if that was not enough, to think that it even predates the internet turns what we thought we knew about computer science upside down (at least for a layman like me). Great work Clint!

@johnsweeney2030 7 лет назад

wow this is a blast from the past I used to do email tech support for the magic link version of AOL. still have one of these

@_awesometoast 15 дней назад

I love this channel and its Tech Tales, Tales of Tech

@bigstupidgrin 4 года назад

All LGR videos: A tier. Tech Tales: S tier

@DataJager 7 лет назад

Great series. More please.

@prfo5554 7 лет назад

Can you please make a Tech Tales video about PACIFIC DATA IMAGES (PDI)? They existed between 1980-2015. Although they weren't an electronic or major software company, they were the computer graphics arts studio that brought us many famous ads in the 80's and 90's apparently including some video games tech ads such as the 3D Dreamcast Ads and apparently some Msn ads. They also made floating logos for various TV Networks including NBC, CBS, and ABC. Also, some of their founders went on to do other jobs in the tech industry. MOST IMPORTANTLY, they went on to create Shrek and a lot of famous Dreamworks IPs due to being acquired by them in 2000. Unfortunately, due to Dreamworks recent string of failures they had to be shut down in 2015 laying off over 500 employees. Do to this sad ending I think you should make this video, plus maybe it will help you get views from people interested in other areas of computing than you already mainly make videos on.

@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc 6 лет назад

I second that. I knew of PDI as one of the early CGI companies, but I had no idea they continued to exist as late as 2015, and became part of DreamWorks.

@madkernell 5 лет назад

Need more of this!

@NickyJamesTV 5 лет назад

I love getting a small whiskey buzz and BINGING LGR. my friend

@EssenceofPureFlavor 6 лет назад

That picture of "engineers" had me cracking up. How you know they're engineers is that they're senselessly wearing hardhats indoors.

@llloyd4 7 лет назад

This looks to be the birth of The Cloud. Interesting.

@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc 6 лет назад

Yeah, I was familiar with General Magic, but I wasn't aware they (or their partner AT&T) had coined this usage of "cloud". Use of a cloud symbol to represent nonspecific networks of computing equipment apparently was used as early as 1977 in ARPANET documents, though. LGR, thanks for this great video and for the link to the "What Is The Cloud - By AT&T" animation - I just cited that video when updating Wikipedia to say that references to the Cloud as a distributed computing platform go back as far as 1993.

@pasca15qc 8 лет назад

Love these!

@satansblargh 7 лет назад

tech tales are the best! MOAR!

@quoabell 8 лет назад

never heard of general magic before :OO so, thanks!

@BlueMSX. 8 лет назад

Can you do a tech tales episode on Microsoft Bob?

@gameslion11 8 лет назад

That seems more like oddware, but seems like a good suggestion.

@BlueMSX. 8 лет назад

Thx

@JessycaLunawoona 8 лет назад

Yeah, seems more like oddware especially since Microsoft is still around and is a tech giant pretty much.

@Matt71490 6 лет назад

Yamatoman 64 m

@76mmM4A1HVSS 7 лет назад

These history vids are so good

@noahphense 7 лет назад

Watching this video on my Magic Phone.

@benharyo8705 7 лет назад

LGR deserves his own TV show

@one4allall4one91 4 года назад

You capture the right words. Too ahead of its time. I came into the internet scene at the end of 1992. It was still at a growing stage for the masses and it was at a painful speed. These guys were doing a prototype of the smartphone.

@irides46 7 лет назад

I picked up one of the Datarover units off of Ebay some time ago, it was a real pleasure to use and amazingly interesting. I would've loved to get a peak at it during the company's (and the hardware's) peak.

@dijoxx 10 месяцев назад

This story is even deeper and more interesting than what is told in this video. There is an actual documentary movie about General Magic and the people working there to revolutionize technology.

@novafawks 8 лет назад

Good idea for Tech Tales or something similar would be an episode about Panasonic, with their attempts at the 3DO and all that

@Engel990 8 лет назад

have my like again, you probably have a good reason to re-upload it.

@gegdim9307 8 лет назад

He had to switch out stuff due to copyright :/

@kingchirpa 7 лет назад

I wonder what a on alternate reality would look like with this thing taking off.

@JoelRiter 5 лет назад

An earlier release with only a year or two of real use before technology progressed as normal.

@6581punk 4 года назад

Well, an alternate reality where Apple didn't release the Newton might have helped.

@MisterRON 3 года назад

I really like the General Magic logo so much.

@muhwyndham 7 лет назад

Real unsung hero of tech :')

@movieclipz5034 8 лет назад

Congrats on 400k subs

@williamclark3671 4 года назад

Hi dude nice video!

@Canleaf08 7 лет назад

Volkswagen licensed OnStar for the 1997 VW Golf/Rabbit and other, later models as "Volkswagen Telematikdienste". It was marketed on a CD at this time with promising features at this time. Unfortunately, the system was analogue and support was ceased so in 2006(?)...

@cratecruncher6687 5 лет назад

Interesting tale about a company I never heard of until now.

@Stewbob112 5 лет назад

Don’t feel bad, but I use the Tech Tales series to fall asleep a lot. The content is super interesting, but you make the videos so damn relaxing. So, I enjoy the knowledge and entertainment until I get tried, close my eyes and continue to listen, and then pass out lol.

@mystica-subs Год назад

Oh wow. I remember watching computery stuff on ME/U back in the day!

@reviewralphusa7255 8 лет назад

congrats on 400k subs!

@LGR 8 лет назад

Thank you!

@mglmouser 4 года назад

Atkinson wasn't just the creator of HyperCard. He did QuickDraw and coded regions masking before square masking was cool. He was the heart of everything graphic that made both Lisa and Mac ROM, giving  an edge for so long.

@lindajudd7647 3 года назад

One of the General Magic software creations that probably will not make any of these videos is the banking software commissioned by Visa International. I worked on the software team that created Magic Banking that ran on the Magic Link. Actually paid bills and transacted with real checking accounts. But--Visa went with software written elsewhere for this same purpose to run on the PC.

@JoshBrinson 6 лет назад

I love Tech Tales.

@fratercontenduntocculta8161 5 лет назад

I swear that i once saw a device with the magic link logo on it being sold. It was either circuit city or radio shack, but whatever it was cost over 500

@InstantSonic 7 лет назад

Wow, pretty amazing.

@croquette_fr 4 года назад

Hi Clint. As a French guy, I have a request for a Tech Tale. It is about the French Minitel. That was dead on in the 90's.

@ProjectblackstudiosTX 6 лет назад

Consider taking a look at 1-800-Music-Now... a telephone-based service that let you "Discover" and "Sample" new music with the option to buy instantly and get a CD/Cassette mailed to you. They were active (briefly) around 1995... I used to call them after bed time and press random numbers to discover / sample music DECADES before Pandora and the like were a thing... It's how I got my first taste of Metallica, Slayer, and the like... I'd see what shirts the other kids were wearing at school and check them out on the phone while I tried to fall asleep.

@WINTERMUTE_AI 5 лет назад

Nice, had one of those.

@SeverityOne 7 лет назад

A roomy of mine while I lived in Eindhoven worked on this thing at Philips. She referred to it as "the rabbit". I've actually had one of these in mine hands, via a different route: a company that I worked with, that dealt with Philips.

@porovaara 4 года назад

I was a heavy use of portico. Two key features: giving you an 800 number anyone could call you on and find you ringing which would ring numbers either together or in series.

@TheBlindingwhite 6 лет назад

I had a magic link for a couple years. I remember I had just purchased a sony camcorder rechargable battery (instead of the battery adapter) Then my magic link was stolen. I never did use that battery... It was a limited (looking back) but pretty cool device. I still have the berlitz translator software pcmcia card somewhere around here.

@Jim361tx 8 лет назад

Great video... I watched it twice

@dave1135 5 лет назад

At 7:21 in the middle of the screen it says plane crash in Quincy Illinois. Me and my wife were in Quincy having dinner when it happened. We saw the fire trucks and emergency services racing out of town and we saw the huge plume of black smoke. This was just after my daughter was born in 1996