On Tue, Dec 29, 2015 at 3:56 PM, Jay West <jwest at classiccmp.org> wrote:
There's just gotta be some way to tie this thread
back to on-topicness.
But it is intriguing to see the computer as pop-culture artifact within a
broader grouping of like artifacts. (You're welcome, Jay.) In my academic
work, I use the term 'consumer computer' rather than 'personal computer'
because the latter term is so overloaded and controversial. The Commodore
was one of the earliest consumer computers, sold in department stores to
families rather than in computer stores to cognoscenti.
I do have to say, though, that in the '80s many if not most phones had
transitioned to touch-tone 'dialing' (what a delightfully archaic term!).
Nit picked. -- Ian
--
Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate
The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu>
Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical
Narrative Through a Design Lens
Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org>
Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org>
University of Washington
There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could go to China."