b l u e s k y
Warner Amex QUBE Cable-Communications
In 1982, I started my career at the Warner Amex cable television
station - which at the time, was proudly hailed as "The
first interactive television station in the world."
The owners and creators did have good reason to be proud of QUBE,
for it was truly, a fascinating place to work. The computer technology
was cutting edge at the time, and the engineers involved on site
were extremely innovative in its use. Working in the shadow of
those huge satellite dishes, chasing "The Big Dream"
--I feel fortunate, to have been a part of all the creativity
and fun.
QUBE was originally initiated in the mid-1970s in a joint project financed by Warner and American Express. It was a test prototype, with the main station based in Columbus, Ohio, a city favorite for Marketing trails, testing new products on "Middle America". The long-term plan for QUBE, was to network the Columbus base station to the 10-15 receiver cities, by 1982. Upon success of the second phase, the network could then spread nationwide across the USA, by 1984-85 and hopefully overseas, by the late 80s.
The basic Concept behind QUBE was actually
a very simple, even ancient, kind of idea. It was, "To create
a faster method for groups to communicate and interact, across
distance". (In essence, just a faster smoke signal between
two mountains.) If this initial goal was achieved, The Dream,
would also create, a by-product, in a close knit, "networked
community of people". The visionaries believed that by breaking
down the 2-way communication barriers of time and distance, to
within 10 seconds transfer, that "A whole new world could
be created".
After QUBE closed in 1985, there has been much written about
it, not only as a failed technical experiment, but also as a
social one. I don't view it as a failure at all, since so much
was learned by the experience. Despite all that has been written,
I believe, QUBE closed not simply from the enormous technical
expenses involved, but mainly from the fears that QUBE was a
true Orwellian "1984"
machine, come to life. The small networked computer, black cable
box placed in the home, was seen by some, as a suspious, tracking
device, a modern day version of "Big Brother". At the
time, many people feared what QUBE would do with this information,
and where all this network technology could eventually lead us
as a society...
My, How times have changed!
... Or have they?
To follow are a few articles about the visionaries, the concept,
and the technology at QUBE, and the effects of the experiment
upon the industry and society. Even though it has been fifteen
years since QUBE went off air, the research, and debate ripples
on, even more so upon the arrival of newest media invention:
The World Wide Web.
