Video: Remember 2001? Neither do I. But as best I can tell, it was a raucous time for people to get on the ‘net (that’s what people called the internet in olden times). And if you were confused about where to start, there were plenty of VHS tapes available to help navigate this brave new world — like Computer For Grannies, a bizarre artifact that I recently stumbled across at my local library.
The Los Angeles Public Library is a treasure trove of VHS tapes. While most public library systems in the US have been purging their VHS collections, LA still has an amazing assortment of videos. Especially old technology tapes. And I’ve been digitising them as quickly as I can before LA tosses them in the dumpster.
They have got titles like the 1997 tape Internet For Baby Boomers and Beyond. And the 1994 tape Market Yourself With a Video Resume. And investigative reports like Caught in the Net, which is precisely as retro-techsploitation as it sounds. We’ll be taking a look at all of these and more in the coming weeks.
Today, we present choice excerpts from a little tape titled Computer For Grannies, which was released in 2001. It was edited by Gawker Media’s own Julian Muller. We hope you enjoy.
