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QuantumLink Serial
The QuantumLink Serial is a work of episodic online fiction by the American writer Tracy Reed. It is considered the first such project ever. The series ran from 1988 to 1989. It was also known as the ''PC-Link Serial'' and the ''AppleLink Serial'' before all three services were unified when Quantum changed its name to AOL. ''The QuantumLink Serial'' was included in the price of a monthly subscription to AOL. ''The QuantumLink Serial'' was played out in online chat rooms, emails and traditional narrative. After each week's chapter was published on each of the three AOL online services ( Commodore 64, IBM PC compatible, and Apple II/Mac (computer), Mac), users wrote to author Reed suggesting how they could be part of the story. Each week Reed chose one of a handful of users on each of the three services and wrote them into the narrative, depicting how they interacted with the story through chat rooms, emails etc. Reed altered story lines to reflect the readers' input to the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracy Reed (writer)
Tracy Reed is an American writer who created the first episodic online story, the '' QuantumLink Serial'' on AOL (then called Quantum Computer Services). The series debuted in 1988, and was played out in online chat rooms, emails and traditional narrative. The series also went by the name ''The AppleLink Serial'' and ''The PC-Link Serial'' on those services before they were all unified under the AOL brand when Quantum changed its name. After each week's chapter was published, users wrote to author Reed suggesting how they could be part of the story. Each week Reed chose one to a handful of users on each of the three services and wrote them into the story, depicting how they interacted with the fictional characters. The project was personally greenlighted by AOL Marketing VP (later President) Steve Case and produced by Kathi McHugh. Later titles, the most famous of which was ''The Spot'' added photos and video to the stories, and introduced the advertising-supported model tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Computer Services
AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), which went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client was launched in 1988, and eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users. AOL was at one point the most recognized brand on the Web in the United States. AOL once provided a dial-up Internet service to millions of Americans and pioneered instant messaging and chat rooms with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for US$4.2 billion. By 2000, AOL was providing internet service to over 20 million consumers, dominating the market ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprite (computer graphics), sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK, France and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM PC Compatible
An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central processing unit, sourced either from Intel or a second source like AMD, Cyrix or other vendors such as Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, OKI, Mitsubishi or NEC and is capable of using interchangeable commodity hardware such as expansion cards. Initially such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones, but the term "IBM PC compatible" is now a historical description only, as the vast majority of microcomputers produced since the 1990s are IBM compatible. IBM itself no longer sells personal computers, having sold its division to Lenovo in 2005. " Wintel" is a similar description that is more commonly used for modern computers. The designation "PC", as used in much of personal computer history, has not meant "pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple II
Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed by Steve Wozniak and was first sold on June 10, 1977. Its success led to it being followed by the Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Apple IIc Plus, with the 1983 IIe being the most popular. The name is trademarked with square brackets as Apple ][, then, beginning with the IIe, as Apple //. The Apple II was a major advancement over its predecessor, the Apple I, in terms of ease of use, features, and expandability. It became one of several recognizable and successful computers throughout the 1980s, although this was mainly limited to the US. It was aggressively marketed through volume discounts and manufacturing arrangements to educational institutions, which made it the first computer in widespread use in American secondary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mac (computer)
Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are currently sold with Apple's UNIX-based macOS operating system, which is Proprietary software, not licensed to other manufacturers and exclusively Pre-installed software, bundled with Mac computers. This operating system replaced Apple's original Macintosh operating system, which has variously been named System, Mac OS, and Classic Mac OS. Jef Raskin conceived the Macintosh project in 1979, which was usurped and redefined by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1981. The original Macintosh 128K, Macintosh was launched in January 1984, after Apple's 1984 (advertisement), "1984" advertisement during Super Bowl XVIII. A series of increment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer Services, as a marketing vice-president in 1985, became CEO of the company (renamed AOL) in 1991, and, at the height of the dot-com bubble in 2000, orchestrated with Gerald M. Levin the merger that created AOL Time Warner, described as "the biggest train wreck in the history of corporate America." Since resigning as chairman of the company in 2003, he has launched a venture-capital firm, Revolution LLC, based in Washington, D.C., and authored ''The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future'', which in 2016 became a ''New York Times'' bestselling book. In 2022 he published his second book, ''The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places Are Building the New American Dream''. Life and career Steve Case was b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spot
The Spot, or thespot.com, was the first episodic online story (1995–1997), and covered Bandwidth (computing), bandwidth and production costs by offering paid advertising banners on the web pages and product placement within the journal entries. The site earned one of the original Webby Awards. Overview ''The Spot'' was likened to "''Melrose Place''-on-the-Web" and featured a rotating cast of actors playing trendy and hip twenty somethings who rented rooms in a fabled southern California beach house called “The Spot”, in Santa Monica, California. Some of the actors depicted online were also writers and behind-the-scenes production staffers on the site, while some later appeared in independent films or in broadcast television series as on-screen performers. The characters, called "Spotmates", would keep near-daily online diaries (similar to what later came to be called blogs), respond to emails, and post images of their current activities. In addition the site boasted short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Zakarin
Scott Zakarin (born September 2, 1963) is an American film producer. He is known as the creator of the Web series medium due to his introduction of the first internet episodic website The Spot. Early life Born in Long Island, New York, Zakarin began making full length video movies at the age of 15. He wrote and directed his first feature film: ''The Gifted'' in 1989, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He also made '' Creating Rem Lezar'', a straight-to-video children's musical fantasy. Shortly after, Zakarin packed up his van and moved to Los Angeles to begin his Hollywood career at the age of 26. Career In 1995, while directing commercials and early interactive television tests for Fattal & Collins advertising agency, Zakarin became fascinated by the Internet. He spent time in chat rooms and quickly recognized an untapped entertainment platform. In response, he joined with Troy Bolotnick, Rich Tackenberg, and Laurie Plaksin, (who also starred as the shows main character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
