Speech recognition wasn’t a new prospect when Siri was revealed by Apple last year. But with the rapid proliferation of the iPhone 4S, it is easy to forget about all the past attempts to bring talking computers into our lives.
Take a look back at some of the devices put to market in this video, as well as some lovely moustachioed fellows from the ’80s and ’90s. The clips come from the PBS show Computer Chronicles, which aired from 1984-2002.