Found Footage: The Macintosh Software Dating Game (1983)
In 1983, Apple was trying to get software developers excited about the new Mac platform and a new way of working with computers. The YouTube video below shows highlights of an Apple event in which Steve Jobs plays the part of The Dating Game host Jim Lange, asking questions about software development to three bachelors software magnates -- Fred Gibbons of Software Publishing Company, Mitch Kapor of Lotus Development, and some guy named Bill Gates from Microsoft.
Of those three software giants, only Microsoft has really survived into the 21st Century. Software Publishing Company left the PC scene in 1994 and Lotus was assimilated into the corporate body of IBM.
The video has edited out most of the bits with Gibbons and Kapor, so you get to hear Bill Gates gush about how wonderful the Mac platform is and how Microsoft in 1983 honestly expected Macintosh software to account for one-half of their revenue.
It's a weird little video, and very indicative of the type of PR stunts that were popular in the early days of the digital revolution. Enjoy!
Tipped by a tweet from Dennis
