The Jetsons is a prime-time animated sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing from 1962–63... a half-hour family sitcom projecting contemporary American culture and lifestyle into another time period... a futuristic utopia in the year 2062...
I watched The Jetsons as a child. I remember George getting yelled at by his boss, Mr. Spacely, who was on a video screen. Amazing.
I also remember a video conference in Back to the Future 2, when a co-worker (portrayed by funk bassist Flea) dares an aging future version of Marty McFly into some digital mischief...
The Jetsons obviously came before Back to the Future 2.
But did The Jetsons really invent the idea of video conferencing? That doesn't sit well with me.
Minimal internet research has led me to this nugget:
The world's first public video telephone service was developed by Dr. Georg Schubert and opened by the German Reichspost in 1936... which quickly closed in 1940 due to the outbreak of WWII...
1936 beats 1962.
But, I don't like the word "public" in that quote. It bugs me. It tells me there was something first. Something Private.
I'm going to try to beat 1936. To dig deeper into the history of video conferencing.
Whose idea was it? I want to know about that guy. I like Skype.
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