Live 95 Diary
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The tens of thousands of people who visited "Live 95", the consumer electronics show at Earls Court in London - which finished yesterday - found an industry in a state of flux. In gadgets, simplicity is no longer good enough. But complexity is too, well, complex. To succeed, modern consumer gizmos must balance these conflicting needs. The answer? Computers.
Everywhere you turned there was a computer, or at least a microprocessor. Are you thinking of buying a car hi-fi? It cannot be any good unless it has something programmable. Have you got lost in the vast hall? (Not an impossibity.) Buy a global positioning system to find your way around. Would you be looking for a television? These come with computers too, now. But they all look like unassuming black boxes.
The show had its high points: the Gladiators, the funfair, the free Russian fur hats (all too small for adults), the cars with built-in hi-fis that could deafen and, who knows, injure.
It also had lows: the serried ranks of people sitting obediently, as though at school, being tutored by a loud woman with a microphone about how to use Windows 95 (isn't this the operating system that is meant to be so simple to use that you do not need lessons?); and the Live 95 TV station, which tried to turn the whole event into a television spectacle for the attendees to watch.
How bad was it? Well, it made GMTV look very, very good.
Meanwhile, those eager to create their own entertainment flocked to the Internet providers such as Pipex and Demon, which were knee-deep in eager punters. BT had a hugely popular Internet cafe ("maximum 20 minutes per person per screen") and half a dozen other organisations offered free surfing on the Internet. As usual, the line capacity was not equal to the task, making the displays slow and frustrating.
Sanyo showed off its 3-D TV, which does not need special glasses; people queued up to have a closer look. Grundig and Nokia showed off their digital TV decoders; people walked past. Olivetti showed off its Envision, a PC made to look like a VCR, which can connect straight into a VCR or a TV - a truly groundbreaking product. People stopped briefly on their way past. ICL showed off its PCTV, a PC that can get TV. People looked at it as they walked by.
On this showing, only the Internet and car hi-fi can succeed in holding people's attention for any length of time. Will Live 96 be able to offer the Internet, with music, in your car?
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments