Qube Intro

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 felt fortunate to have been a part of the creative team there. 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 trials, testing new products on "Average Americans". The long-term plan for QUBE however was more far-reaching. The original plan was to network the Columbus base station to the 10-15 new receiver cities by 1982. Upon success of this phase, the network could then spread nationwide by 1984-85 and hopefully overseas by the late 80s. The basic Concept behind QUBE was actually very simple, even an ancient, kind of idea. It was simply: To create a faster method for groups to communicate and interact, across distance. If this initial goal was achieved, this would also create, 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. However, I don't view it as a failure at all, since so much was learned by the entire experience. Despite all that has been written, I believe QUBE was closed down, not simply from the enormous technical expenses involved, but mainly from fear from the public - that QUBE was a true Orwellian "1984" futuristic machine come-to-life. The small networked computer, black cable box placed in the home, was seen by some as suspicious, a tracking device, a modern day version of "Big Brother". At the time, many people feared what the QUBE machine would do with this information, and where all this network technology could eventually lead us as a society... Whew- 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, and continues onward, with the arrival of newest telecommunications invention: The World Wide Web.
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Copyright Katherine Rupp © Electrablue.com 1999

Also online: Please see the Wikipedia page for other research links and websites about QUBE.

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