Bob Stein and Voyager (2021)
2 days ago
- #multimedia
- #technology
- #history
- Voyager Company was overlooked in surveys due to not fitting into any specific industry category.
- Bob Stein, founder of Voyager, had a background in radical politics before transitioning to multimedia publishing.
- Voyager's early work with laser discs led to the creation of the Criterion Collection, revolutionizing home video with features like commentary tracks.
- The company pivoted to CD-ROMs, creating interactive multimedia experiences like the CD Companion to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
- Voyager's products were innovative but niche, limited by hardware availability and market share of Macintosh computers.
- Despite financial challenges, Voyager produced a diverse catalog of CD-ROMs, blending hypertext with rich multimedia content.
- The article highlights the brief but impactful era of CD-ROMs as a unique medium for electronic books before the dominance of the World Wide Web.