Todd Rundgren Was At The Forefront Of The Apple Revolution!
Recently, MTV celebrated their 35th anniversary, which led me to point out how Todd actually planned to launch a satellite-music video channel before that!
That’s right, you all know that Todd created MTV! I posted this fascinating story earlier! Read all about it by clicking here!
https://johnrieber.com/2013/08/02/todd-rundgren-inventor-of-mtv-a-hollywood-square/
The First iPad!
Let’s go back to 1979. Here is what a “portable” computer looked like:
Yep, in the good old days a small computer still filled a giant room! There was no portable computer, there were no portable phones – but that was about to change. Steve Jobs helped revolutionize our world. For example, take a look at apple’s FIRST iPad!
That’s right, here is an actual Apple tablet from 1979! Here’s how it was described in an article:
“Note the presence of a stylus as the mouse had not yet been brought to the mainstream with the Mac. The tablet worked by mapping designs on the tablet to an accompanying Apple II. Dimension and price wise, the tablet checked in at 15.5 inches x 15.5 inches and came with a $650 price tag.”
And thanks to Jane Steen who shared this great Apple ad with Todd!
Cool, right? Well guess what? Todd was part of this apple revolution!
Todd’s IPad Graphics Magic!
I was fascinated by this story highlighting the early versions of iPhones and iPads – “iTablet” in those days. The most interesting piece of Apple trivia is that the graphics tablet below ran one of the first computer paint programs, titled “Utopia Graphics System.” Also interesting is that the program itself was designed by Todd Rundgren!
First of all, a BIG “THANK YOU!” to Todd fan James Quinlivan – who posted this original story to Todd’s fan site on facebook: RundgrenRadio.com. I had been aware of many of Todd’s technology, but never knew this!
I love that fans continue to seek out and share great Todd music and other inside stories like this!
Here is a link to the entire story, with more amazing pics of early apple products – click on to see more classic early apple products:
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/05/28/an-apple-flip-phone-from-1984-and-a-tablet-from-1979/
Apple’s First Portable Flip Phone!
And imagine carrying around one of these twenty years ago!
It’s amazing to realize that this was less than 25 years ago, and how technology has come so far so fast! I know Todd was always part of this revolution, especially with his “flowfazer” graphics technology from the 80’s…
That led to him taking part in this Apple computer ad from 1993:
So Todd’s been an Inventor, Innovator and Musician extraordinaire for his entire career…but he’s also got a mesmerizing “flowfazer!”
Yes, Todd’s “Flowfazer” was one of technology’s earliest graphics programs, and someone posted a story online about how their cat became entranced by Todd’s “flowfazer” app, part of Utopia’s Grokware…soon to be available, but read about it here now:
You can read all about the zoned out cat by clicking on the story here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/04/12/caturday-mesmer-kitty-zones-out-to-todd-rundgren/
It was also around this time that Todd and Utopia were perfecting their “power pop” sound on albums like this one:
See some of their music videos from the time here:
Now he just needs to create an iPhone cover using his imaginative designs!
IPhone Madness!
Yes, this Utopia cover would make a terrific iPhone cover…so there you have it, a perfect mix of iPhone covers and Todd’s innovative imagination, like his Utopia Graphics System!
Categories: Art, Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, documentary films, Memoirs, Music, Obscure Music, Talent/Celebrities, Technology, Todd Rundgren, Uncategorized
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