[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Hairy Man-Thigh Computing
March 10th, 2008 by Benj Edwards
In this ad for the Tandy 1000 SX, Radio Shack shamelessly depicts the 1980s version of the “work in your underwear” marketing tagline: work in your shorts. Oh, the indecency. If this guy shows any more leg, it’s going to cause a scandal.
Discussion topic of the week: What if everyone wore shorts while using computers? Would global economic productivity grind to a halt?
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March 10th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
THIS was my first computer….much like Ferris Bueller, I got a Computer for Graduation and my sister got a car (Fiero).
/Miss 1989…..
March 10th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
well… i am usually wear shorts while working on my computer.
it sure beats the heat!
March 11th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I think he’s writing the lyrics to Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go on that thing. 🙂 And I’m sure his friends are glad web-cams hadn’t really been invented yet.
Layne
March 11th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Oh, and apparently these things using to come with phone based guided missle systems…..
“Even lock into information systems over the phone.”
Probably some marketing person with no clue about computers back in the day.
Layne
March 11th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Haha, Layne. Your first comment was classic. 🙂 If this were a caption contest, you probably would have won.
P.S. Does anybody else notice the large number of sports trophies in this guy’s room?
March 12th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Layne, we all know you go to pervy sites but most webcams aren’t aimed at the crotch. ¬_¬
I, for one, love how it looks like they didn’t even bother to align the software screen on the monitor properly for the shot.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:10 am
I wonder what he’s going to use that pencil for…..the only papers on his desk are in a folder (that’s closed) and it’s on the right side, not the left.
As someone who writes left handed, I recognize that the desk is set up completely wrong (even if you were to add a mouse). Granted, he might have to share the computer with some righties, but even then, centering the computer (which will actually give better ergonomics, but we didn’t know that then) and putting the printer on the left would give space on the right and the left for people to write.
Layne
March 12th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I noticed the crooked monitor image too, Kitsune. Lazy marketing people.
And Layne, perhaps he’s just temporarily holding the pencil in his left hand so he can type (hunt and peck) with his right hand. Over-analyzing old ads is fun. 🙂
March 12th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
The guy initially struck me as MacGyver on a flat mullet day.
March 12th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I think he’s calculating how much time he’s spent in the tanning bed over the past five months.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Who wears short shorts?
March 13th, 2008 at 9:20 am
“Jenkins, I’ve got a job for you. We need an ad that speaks to the young urban professional.
Show that he is a hard worker but knows how to relax. I was thinking short-shorts with a long-sleeve shirt.
He needs to look successful but not over-blown. How about 43 trophies and a $10,000 rug, but put crappy carpet on the wall.
We need him to look like a true Radio Shack user, you know, a little retarded. Put a pencil in his left hand, a watch on his right, and tilt the screen image.
That is perfect Jenkins, you’re a GENIUS!”
March 16th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Yeah, I went to high school with jocks like this. They fell asleep in Chemistry class, didn’t take Calculus, and were only concerned with athletic trophies.
Today, these guys work for me, and if they aren’t smart enough to finish their work at the office, then I make them use Microsoft products to finish their work at home. Slows ’em down even more.