Video summary
In 1992, the narrator recounts the groundbreaking experience of sending their first mobile email using a specialized kit provided by Aris, the company responsible for building the data network used by FedEx. This early setup consisted of two distinct pieces of hardware: a Motorola data modem and a Packard Bell Model 100 LX, which was essentially a pocket-sized DOS computer with depleted batteries. To make the system work, the narrator would power both devices, connect them via a small cable, and launch an application called Radio Mail, which served as the sole software installed on the device to facilitate sending and receiving emails through the private network.
The memory of this technological milestone is anchored in a specific moment when the narrator disembarked from a plane at O'Hare airport and traveled by shuttle bus to their hotel, a time long before the existence of modern services like Airbnb. Upon arriving at the hotel, they unpacked the kit, raised the small antenna on the modem, and successfully transmitted an email. The immediate reaction was one of sheer astonishment and excitement, as the ability to communicate wirelessly from such a portable device felt like a magical trick that seemed impossible just a few years prior.
Looking back from the present day, the narrator reflects on how rapidly innovation accelerates, transforming what once seemed extraordinary into something completely normalized and mundane. What was once a source of wonder has become antiquated in the span of a single lifetime, replaced by modern smartphones that not only handle email effortlessly but also serve as high-definition movie cameras and perform countless other complex tasks without blinking. This evolution highlights how quickly society adapts to new technologies until they no longer feel special or revolutionary.
Ultimately, the story serves as a testament to the incredible speed of technological progress and the journey from impossibility to ubiquity. While today's devices make the 1992 kit look primitive by comparison, the narrator cherishes the memory of that initial discovery, acknowledging that at the time, this "little magic trick" was truly wonderful and represented a profound leap in human connectivity.
Read the full video transcript
Uh, I'd like to tell you the story of
the first time I sent a mobile email.
Uh, in 1992,
I had been given
this hefty little kit. Uh, in
comparison, this is the size of a modern
smartphone that does a lot more than
this does. But this kit was from
artists, the people who built
the people who built the data network
for FedEx called Cosmos that ran on a
private network that had data modems
like this one from Motorola. And uh the
second item in this little kit is a Hula
Packard model 100 LX. This is a pocket
DOSs computer. So it's a little baby
DOSS computer. Its batteries has have
long run out. Uh, but it comes with a
little cable. I would power both devices
up, plug the little cable one into the
other, and run an app called Radio Mail
on this little computer. It's the only
app I had installed on it. And with
Radio Mail, I could send and receive
email through this data modem. And I
remember one day getting off a plane at
O'Hare and taking a shuttle bus to the
hotel I was staying at at the time. This
is way before Airbnb or things like it.
and opening this little package up,
connecting the two devices, opening
this, raising the little antenna, and
sending an email and going, "Oh my god,
that was just astonishing. That was just
so freaking cool."
Not realizing that within my lifetime,
this would look completely antiquated.
Email would be antiquated and we would
all be walking around with little
devices that not only do that without
blinking but our highdefinition movie
cameras, one of which is taking this
image right now and a whole mess of
other things.
This is a story of the speed of
innovation and the speed with which
things go from seeming impossible
to being hoham to being completely
normalized to the point where we don't
feel like anything special just
happened. But I'll tell you in 1992
this little magic trick was wonderful. I
loved it.