By Flora Haslam
Having recently been having a bit of a clear out, I came across a copy of The Times from 1973. This was somewhat before my time I hasten to add, but it made me think about media stories that just come round again and again.
It was the day of Princess Anne’s wedding to Mark Philips and there was an obvious correlation to the impending nuptials of William and Kate. The day was declared a public holiday, the reports focused on a member of the British Royal family marrying a ‘commoner’ and there was talk of how this landmark event could help lift the spirits of Britain in a time of recession.
Other stories in the same paper included problems in Egypt (and the country’s attitudes to America), a crisis in universities, as well as a host of pending strike action.
Of course, we’re not now in the midst of a three day week, but so far, so many parallels. You start to wonder whether we could just type a topic into the newspaper archives, change the date and reprint.
Until it comes to tech. This week I had a pleasure of a bit of time in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress – an event which has secured many column inches, and highlights the massive changes in the industry year on year.
Back in 1973 NCR (or National Cash Register as it was at the time) was starting to manufacture ATMs, and the concept of the hole in the wall was a novel one. The Ethernet went into operation linking desktop computers into office networks and the Alto computer was introduced by Xerox, pioneering the personal computer for general use. Sadly, it found few buyers and was ultimately withdrawn. Mobile, meanwhile, simply wasn't on the agenda.
This year's MWC announcements – the Nokia Microsoft deal, a stack of new tablet stories, a mobile with a button to connect you directly to Facebook – may not seem that radical, but they do show how dynamic the industry is.
Comments