Conference 7.286::digital

    Field service used to have the logos, but it was discontinued.  I heard
    many explainations.
    
    1. Security.  If a thief actually knew what he was doing and who
    Digital is, he would be more likely to break into a Digital vehicle.
    
    2.  Many competitors were putting a "bounty" on our customers.  If an
    employee saw a Digital vehicle, he could follow it and determine some
    of our customers.
    

    However, free "I Love Digital" bumper stickers would probably be put on
    thousands of employees personal cars, and guarantee mondo visibility
    for the low cost of the bumper stickers...
    
    q
    

    They were removed I am told due to the liability suits that insued once
    someone clearly saw that a DECmobile was involved in an accident and
    saw the deep pockets of DEC they went after it and DEC does not like to
    fight in court and would simply pay off rather than fight a phony or
    inflated claim against a DECmobile involved in a accident. Plus the
    amount of filed service cars being broken into and cleaned out.

    
    re: .3 - I agree totally. Seeing our name on a building would instill
    more confidence in potential customers than bumper stickers!
    
    /ljj
    

    On the other hand, this does bring up one of my pet peeves.
    
    It has been ten years (minus a couple weeks) since the notorious "May
    Announcement".  Yet the relics of that announcement -- rolling
    billboards with an LK201/VR201 (Pro-family desktop) displayed with the
    line, "Personal Computers" / "Office Solutions", are still on the road.
    
    Why are our trucks still advertising machines that were an embarassment
    nine years ago and discontinued over five?  It's embarassing.  GM
    doesn't still have Vega billboards, and Ford doesn't show the
    Pinto in its ads.

   Re:         <<< Note 1871.6 by CARAFE::GOLDSTEIN "Global Village Idiot" >>>

I know your question was rhetorical, but the answer is
illuminating.  The trucks are the responsibility of one set of
people, the messages are the responsbility of another.  Writing
is fun, erasing isn't.  People in the distribution business
aren't required to know anything about the products, they just
move boxes.  All this adds up to neglect of anything that isn't
clearly on just one organization's turf.

fwiw,

Dick

    
    >I've seen IBM, XEROX, Intel, Data General, WANG, UNISYS logo on top of
    >building,  but never DIGITAL.  It seems to me DEC like low rise office
    >building.
    
    Our building (LAO - Culver City, CA) has the DIGITAL logo on the top.  
    It's only three stories high, which may not exactly qualify as "high-rise",
    but it's plainly visible to the high-volume traffic on the San Diego
    Freeway.  Of course, the building maintenance crew cleaned the sign one
    day and put it back together wrong, then didn't want to go out in the
    rain to fit it.  For a few days we proudly displayed ourselves as
    "DITIGAL"
    
    - David
    

re .4:

I can't buy the liability argument.  Other parties in the accident are bound
to find out that it's a DEC company car whether or not it's got a DEC logo.

re .7:

Maybe we should have a picture of a packing box.  Or a picture of Ken.

    The Dallas SCA/ACT location has the digital logo on the top of the
    building, and it's a fairly large one at a major freeway interchange.
    
    I'm not sure that this type of name recognition buys us a whole lot.
    Where Digital has suffered for years has been in the trade press,
    and, to an extent, in our name itself.  Our name is so generic both
    in the long ("Digital") and short ("DEC") forms that it would be hard
    to *ever* generate name-brand recognition like IBM (synonomous for
    "computer" for 40 years) and Apple (the ultimate non-sequitur).
    
    How many jokes have you heard about "IBM Watches"?  Probably not as
    many as you've heard about "Digital Watches" ...
    
    It's not ever going to be an easy problem to fix.  Today, our name
    is known more by it's notoriety in financial circles than by potential
    customers ...
    
    Geoff

    
    The word DIGITAL is as synonymous and readily identifiable with watches 
    and consumer electronics as the word XEROX is to copyiers.  In large
    metropolitan areas a car or van with that logo is a magnet for those
    elements looking to turn what they believe to be fast-moving
    merchandise into quick cash.  Actually, they're probably disappointed.
    But I imagine it doesn't stop them from trashing the stuff anyway.
    The insurance cost must be staggering.  That alone could change the
    vehicle logo policy.
    
    /Mike
    

    I worked in the Chicago Loop back when we had logos on the cars, and we
    did have a rash of break-ins.  Some, I believe, were as stated (-.1),
    but some where also people looking for a parts supply.  Third party
    maintainers were always looking for parts, especially part for our
    newer products, and there were always people willing to go out and look
    for those parts were they could find them (not to say that the TPMs
    were behind the break-ins).

RE: Logo's on cars.

When I joined DEC Denmark in 1984 we had a campaign slogan - used
on rear window stickers - which translates into English as: 

               ----------------------------
	       | DIGITAL - WE'RE IN FRONT |
               ----------------------------

Since all our salesmen drove like maniacs in fast cars (BMW's, 
etc.) rumor has it that the campaign was dropped as we didn't 
want customers identifying us with our cars. I could see this also
being a valid problem in Mass. given the horrible reputation for
Mass. drivers...


Cheers,

Geoff

In the centre of my rear window on my DEC lease there is a digital logo.

/Dave.

  
  .10> How many jokes have you heard about "IBM Watches"?  Probably not as
  .10> many as you've heard about "Digital Watches" ...
  
  .11> The word DIGITAL is as synonymous and readily identifiable with watches
  .11> and consumer electronics as the word XEROX is to copyiers.
  
  Funny how this line keeps getting trotted out _within_ the company but the
  only time I've ever heard it *outside* was from a FS guy (while I was still
  a customer) trying to make it sound like a joke ... I just thought he was
  mentally deficient as a result ...
  
  Xerox, Hoover, Biro, etc., were/are specific [leading] examples of their
  class, not descriptions of the product : the term changed from "Xerox copier"
  to "Xerox" [copier] in the same way as our legal guys are trying to prevent
  "VAX computer" changing to "VAX" [computer].  When have you ever described
  your "digital watch" as your "digital" ????
  
  Whilst I agree that "DEC" invokes more company recognition than "Digital",
  (noun rather than adjective) the 'watch' argument is tending to be just
  another inside joke of little value to the real world.
  
  Frank

    Major rathole alert!!!
    
    On the Three Stoogers this weekend...
    Joe is given a math problem by Moe.  Joe taps his chest
    a few times like he is using a calculator.  He pulls a 
    roll of paper out of his mouth, tears it off, and reads
    the answer (wrong, of course).  Moe pats Joe on the head,
    very happy that he solved the problem and says;
    
    "The 'ol IBM is still working".
    
    I think this was a '50's short.
    Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.
    
    Gary (Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk)
    

    Just think if he said the old digital is still working..
    Someone give Moe a job in sales.....
    Sorry you guys in sales.Moe is out for your job as manager in charge 
    of sales..Higgins started this one.
    

   Re: .15
   
   I don't know what you mean by "digital watch" being an inside joke. 
   When Digital opened one of its stores on a prominent corner in
   downtown Cincinnati (sold our WPS systems) they had a steady stream
   of "customers" wondering where the watches were.
   
   This seems to be a symptom with many corporations in America.  They
   think that everyone who's a businessperson knows who they are and what
   their product set is.  I would venture to say that over 99% of the
   people passing that corner had no idea who Digital was and had never
   seen our logo before.

    Perhaps they should be putting the company logo on the sides of
    milk cartons.....
    
    Lynn

re .19:

Maybe they should put certain VPs' pictures on milk cartons.

I wouldn't say that the watches are an inside joke, either.

Shortly after I joined the company and moved to New England almost 15 years
ago, I was introducing myself to my nextdoor neighbor one day. He was a
native New Englander who worked at a shoe factory over by the coast. When
I said that I worked for Digital, his response was "Oh, the watches ..."
and he wasn't joking.

re: q, the "I love DIGITAL" bumper stickers

Bet you couldn't get anywhere near as many people to put 'em on their
personal cars today as you could have 5 or ten years ago. Sad, but true.

-Jack

    .8:
    
    Back around '77 or so, I heard it claimed that people came in to work
    at PK on the first of November, and discovered that someone had opened
    up the big sign on the lawn, and re-arranged the letters to spell
    
    
                              g i t l a i d
    
    
    I can't vouch for the truth of this rumor (at the time, I was a student
    working on the weekends, and this happened during the week);  I did
    stroll over to the sign, though, and note the metal bar and padlock
    which looked like it could have been a recent ECO.
    
    Dick

    I was in Italy on business recently, and the hotel cook asked me if
    Digital made watches.  Now, his English was about as fluent as mine. 
    On the other hand, many Digital employees stay at that hotel, I've
    learned, and maybe he was just winding my stem.  But on the whole,
    Digital's name is so generic a term, and it's general association with
    computers is so low, that I'm getting tired of it.
    
    Someone out there who is graphically inclined should sit down and
    design a new Digital logo, retaining the boxed lowercase letters, but
    putting in images of computers, workstations, screens, windows,
    networks, PCs, or whatever can be gracefully incorporated -- maybe
    peeking out from the holes in the d and g.  It might be fun, and it
    might be valuable!

    .re Digital watch & tangent
    
    Forget the Digital watch... we should move into stereo components!
    We have great name recognition!  
    
    This is the truth... I was talking to some people in Florida while on 
    vacation and they asked me where I worked.  I proudly stated... Digital.  
    They said, "that's great... I just bought one of your products."  I, of 
    course, asked what they purchased and they quickly replied "a compact 
    disk player!".
    
    Don

    I've had several people ask me about the "watches", mostly kids when
    they found out that I worked at "Digital" . . .
    
    I have seen a number of electronic products with the word "Digital" on
    them, set apart from the name of the product.  Things like stereo
    components, and electronic musical products.  The "digital" word is
    supposed to imply that the component isn't "analog" like the old
    musical gear, but that it has "digital" circuitry instead. . .
    
    Yeah, "digital" is quite a generic word . . .
    
    	Jim

    RE: Digital to watches 
    
                as
    
       XEROX it to copiers
    
    
    At least XEROX is in the copier business.

    We could:
    
    	Sue Sony, which features the word "digital" (all lowercase) 
    	prominently on many of its products.  (Other companies may
    	as well, but I know Sony does.)
    
    	Go into the watch and stereo business.  We already have fabulous
    	name recongnition.

    
    
    How about this one:            
    
    I was in the shopping floor of Sears the other day, a innocent
    salesman asked me: 
    
    "Where you worked ?"
    
    "Digital"
    
    "What's name of their product ?"
    
    "VAX"
    
    "Oh, really ? How much horse power it perform ? How much cost ?"
    
    "It's pretty fast speed/performance wide, and cost 5,000 -  few millons"
    
    "Ah-Huh, we have better and cheap product than "Digital""
    and point me to the little machine sitting on the floor.
    
    It's VAX vacume cleaner.
    
    
    Remember this one from old days ??
    
    
    Michael...  :-)

    	I am in the field and now have to fork out more $$ for my wagon
    without the logo. It is worth it when I had the logo people would 
    push me around cutting me off and more. I guess they saw that I was in
    a company car and I wold not risk a lawsuit. And they were right.
    	Now without the logo the problem is gone and I blend in with all
    the other crazy drivers.

    DO YOU THINK IF WE CHANGED ARE NAME TO COMPUTERS PEOPLE WOULD GET IT.??
    

    re:  the Stooges episode, "the ol' IBM..."
    
    I can recall a time in the early 60's when the average person
    in the street would use the term "IBM machine" to refer to a
    computer, any computer, in much the same way that many now refer
    to a "Xerox machine".  Fortunately, the usage didn't stick!
    
    By the way, my sympathies for sitting through an entire "Joe"
    episode!  :-)
    
    Chris

    In the "powerboats" notes conference we once received a request
    from a DEC employee, asking where he could buy one of our fish
    finders.  The company he was looking for is "Digital Data Marine".
    
    Rick

   For what its worth, I think the logo with the little letters in the boxes
   looks pretty lame nowadays. It seems consistent with the "old technology", 
   "dinosaur" thing people bring up from time to time. It reminds me of those
   old character cell terminals the size of microwave ovens, where the cursor 
   never got off the bottom line of the screen. Who needs nostalgia like that.

   I personally do think we need a new logo. 

   Dave

Something like the AT&T Deathstar logo - now there's a logo   :-)

    
    Re .30:
    
    You mean like Digital Computer Corporation?
    
    No.
    
    Our big mistake was letting go of DEC.
    
    Standing alone, DEC means nothing. (But at least it's not confused with
    watches, stereo equipment, or my gas stove [which proudly proclaims
    itself to be "digital" because of a litle digital clock built into the
    top; the punch line is, it's an analog clock -- with number wheels!])
    
    Standing alone, IBM meant nothing. But when they see enough IBM ads and
    commercials touting computers, most people with IQs higher than soap
    scum will get the idea that IBM means computers.
    
    Why does Apple mean PCs rather than a natural laxative? Advertising!
    
    Why does Honeywell mean computers rather than thermostats. ADVERTISING!!
    
    Now, say after me:  How can we get DEC to mean computers????
    
    
                                                     ADVERTISING!!!
                                                     --------------
    
    Get our name on TV, godamit, and not just during a few silly basketball
    games. Who had that idea for a DEC commercial in this confence? You
    know, where we pan from person to office to building to city to
    country to a thousand points of light across the globe to a brain back
    to the person? Fire our ad agency, find one that's not too proud to use
    ideas of that caliber, and give the originator an extra weeks'
    vacation!
    
    With decent advertising, we could call our company Shirley and get
    people to think computers when they hear the name. This isn't rocket
    science, people --- it just takes someone who's willing to get off
    their well-paid duff and   D O   S O M E T H I N G !!
                               --------------------------
    
    
                     
                        AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
    
    
    
                        (Thanks... I feel better now.)
    

    I`M HERE IN CALIFORNIA AND WATCH A LOT OF THE TUBE AT NIGHT..
    
    I very little see adds for digital as do Apple and Tandon...
    If people would state as you did ( Digital Computor Corporation )
    this would help..Now tell me what you get from digital equipment corp.
    What type equipment do we build.?? Street cleaning equipment..
                                       Bathroom fixtures...Etc
    In a few weeks I`ll not be working for DEC anymore so,Why do I get
    into this type of rathole.???
    

re .35:

>    Why does Honeywell mean computers rather than thermostats. ADVERTISING!!

Remember those Honeywell ads where the adman wanted to use dancing thermostats?
Maybe we should do one with dancing watches and CD players!

    When I was at Honeywell, I knew darn well Honeywell meant thermostats.
    Now, it does again 8^(

    other Digitals, some already mentioned....
    
    Digital Data Marine is in Maynard on Powder Mill Road.
    
    DCC, some want instead of DEC, already refers to Digital Communications
    Corporation.
    
    sorry,
    Matt

    Great, we create a committee staffed by about 100 people to devise a
    new logo. They spend hundreds and thousands of $$$ on studies and
    surveys. They present their new logo 18 months later at a cost of
    $1.5M. It's accepted. We now have obsolete logos on our equipment world
    wide. In addition, we have obsolete stationary, obsolete business
    cards, obsolete building signs, check stubs, pencils, belt buckles....
    
    For us to change our logo would cost $Millions and I just don't think
    it's worth it.
    
    However, becoming more aggresive in advertising is another thing;
    especially with our thrust into PC's.
    
    Rich
    

    .40
    
    I dunno, IBM and AT&T seemed to think a logo change made sense.  A new
    logo (based off of the old one) and an aggressive marketing strategy
    just might convince people we have changed (for the better).
    
    --- Gavin_who_never_liked_the_digital_logo

    Could I return my buckle and clock for the logo.?
    

    RE: .20
    
    >Maybe they should put certain VPs' pictures on milk cartons.
    
    Hey, I saw one of 'em at DECworld the other day.  Is there a reward?
    

re: .35,

>    Our big mistake was letting go of DEC.

	What do you mean by "letting go"?  I wonder what the trademark status
    is exactly on the word "DEC"?  Any legal folks out there?
    
>    Now, say after me:  How can we get DEC to mean computers????

    	I think we can play some mindgames by blending the word "DEC"
    with the word "desktop" (see my personal name above).  Think about
    this one for awhile...after all, the desktop is where the market is!

    				   -davo

    RE: .35
    
    >With decent advertising, we could call our company Shirley and get
    >people to think computers when they hear the name. ...
    
    Surely, you jest?
    

    
    How about the new Alpha logo, as a company logo?
    
    We have suggested it is what we are betting our business on, looks more
    modern than the current D i g i t a l .
    
    We don't have to change the company name ( but we really should chose
    Digital or DEC!). The Logo would simply be a graphic identifier for
    the company, not replacing DEC/Digital.
    
    btw. 1 vote for DEC
    
    Jim
    
    

    Re: .40

	It needn't cost that much to *design* the logo. Just offer a 
	$1000 reward to the employee that comes up with the best idea.

        Obviously *just* changing the logo isn't going to make any 
	difference to sales. And sure it would mean all our new 
        equipment/documentation would have to start using the new logo.

        But computer corporations continually have to change strategies to 
        meet the global changes in market forces, and if changing the logo 
        aids the customer's perception (in any small way) that DEC is 
        keeping up with the leading edge of technology then in my view 
        its worthwhile doing it.

        Dave (only a humble engineer)

    As long as we don't do something stupid like rename the company to
    BULL as one did.
    
    There's a sign on RT128 on the Waltham/Lexington line. Someone with
    a sense of humour keeps writing a little something next to the BULL
    so that it looks like this.
    
    		BULL SH*T
    
    The building where the sign appears is empty as well.
    
    Jim C.
    

    I think what we are all forgetting is why the name is digital equipment
    corp.  A name can sometimes make or break a company.  this is
    naming conventions for businesses 101.  Back when this company was
    started it was chartered to make small circuit boards, DIGITAL circuit
    boards, not computers.  Things evolved into what they are today because
    of people and ideas.
    
    The name of the company definitely causes problems when stated as only
    digital because I have heard it at least a 1000 times in 10 years.  But
    the way out of it is effective advertising.  There is nothing wrong
    with the name only the perception.  For example, what does Compaq mean? 
    What does gateway2000 mean?  what does Hewlett-Packard mean?  I'm sure
    it is two peoples names that started the company in their garage.  But
    the world sure knows that they sell computers.  
    
    
    Just my opinion.
    Rick
    

    Who owns the logo anyway? (I mean who has the authority to change it)

    
    That would be the Vice President in charge of the Corporate Logo.
    
    (office is right next to the Minister of Silly Walks)
    

	Whether we like it or not, it's the word "Digital" which is
    being used to describe our corporation by the press, trade journals,
    and people on the street, and this is what's driving the confusion.
    There are three basic problems in using the word "Digital" alone
    to refer to what is actually "Digital Equipment Corporation":

    1.	The most obvious problem (mentioned 5 million times in this
	conference alone) is that fact that everybody thinks of watches
	when they hear the word "Digital".

    2.	The word "Digital" is not unique.  There are too many other
	companies around who also include the word "Digital" in their
	names (i.e. "Western Digital", etc., etc.).

    3.	Every product under the sun contains digital components these days,
	so the adjective "digital" itself has lost most of its high tech
	buzz as a buzzword.

	Because the word "Digital" is not unique, it's sometimes even
    a bit counterproductive to try and advertise using this name.  For
    example, would IBM refer to itself as simply "International"?  Of
    course not!  People might think you were talking about International
    Harvester, or International Telephone and Telegraph, or who knows
    what else (International Communism?).  How about GM?  Would they
    refer to themselves as simply "General"?  No way!  People might think
    you're talking about General Nutrition or Data General, etc.

    	I say we should make a habit referring to our company as "DEC"
    when speaking in the familiar.  Not only is the three-letter word
    "DEC" unique, but it's also alot more versatile than the word "Digital".

	As for the kiddie-block "d i g i t a l" logo, as logo's go, it's
    ok I guess.  I've grown to like it as a kind of cute, modest looking
    company logo perhaps symbolizing the non-obtrusive anti-big-brother
    image of this company (as opposed to the ominous "IBM" corporate logo
    which almost seems to scream at people).   However, for consitency's
    sake, we might also want to consider switching to a new "DEC" logo as
    well.  This may or may not even be possible - depending upon whether
    or not someone else hasn't already beat us to trademarking the word
    "DEC" (like they did with the word "VAX").

	At least with "DEC", people will know what you are talking about.

    				   -davo

p.s.	I've refined my new DEC slogan a bit (see new personal name above).

Re .several

You know a company is in a really sorry state when people suggest
that changing the logo would make a whole heap of difference
to anything.    It's only the "creative" (bleeaaaahhhhh) 
design agencies that profit from such stupidity.   As an
aside, anyone know why recently denationalized UK industries
ineveitably succumb to this sort of stupidity?

A logo means nothing much at all.

On "Digital" versus "DEC" -- well, when I joined, I joined DEC.
I'm not quite an old-timer (only been here for 14 years) but I
seem to remember that the idea of referring to this company
as "Digital" was something that was thrust upon us in the early
'80s by some image-conscious types who thought that "DEC" was
too tecchy, or something.  

It seems to me to be perfectly obvious that if all your products
are going to have "DEC" in the name (DECthis, DECthat, DECtheother-1000)
then you're better off calling the company "DEC".   At least
that way there's some tie-in between what we make and what we're
called.

Anyone remember Stan Rabinowitz's goodbye letter?  One sentence
read "I joined DEC, but I'm leaving Digital".  You can read a
lot into that sentence.

Speaking of Digital vs. DEC ...

Sometime between 10 and 15 years ago, I received a call from a headhunter.  He
was talking IBM, CICS, stuff like that.  I said, "I work with DEC computers."
He said, "Is that spelled D-E-C-K?"

    RE: .45
    
    > Surely, you jest?
    
    Laverne, you joke?!
    

        Re: .51
        
>    Who owns the logo anyway? (I mean who has the authority to change it)
        
        There is a `Corporate Identity Group' and a `COMPANY IDENTITY
        COMMITTEE'.  The meeting notes from the committee, and other
        related information, are posted in LOOKUP::COMPANY_IDENTITY.
        
        					B.J.

re: .58,

>        There is a `Corporate Identity Group' and a `COMPANY IDENTITY
>        COMMITTEE'.  The meeting notes from the committee, and other
>        related information, are posted in LOOKUP::COMPANY_IDENTITY.

	Yeah, but that conference is write-locked for strictly one-way,
    ivory-tower, trickle-down communication.  Who has time to sift through
    minutes of meetings to try and figure out why we can't use "DEC"?

    				    -davo

p.s.	I don't even have time to note in here these days (much less
	some stuffy old readonly notesfile).  Thanks anyway however.

	In looking through the meeting minutes from the corporate
    identity notesfile mentioned previously (LOOKUP::COMPANY_IDENTITY),
    I noticed that "DEC" is indeed listed as being a "Proposed Key
    Trademark" (see the OBJECTIVES section of note #12.12 in there).
    Apparently it's ok to use "DEC" for product names then, but it's
    still a little unclear on whether we can refer to the company
    by that name or not.

	On the subject of logos, there was definitely a strong push
    to do away with any and all alternative corporate logos.  From
    more recent meeting (just the other day) in note $12.13 in there:

> The committee expressed concern that many new "logos" seem to be 
> appearing all over the company.  This type of activity only serves
> to fragment the Digital brand identity and in the long run hurt the
> corporation.

    	As a side note, I found the following news somewhat
    interesting (also from note #12.12 in there):

> Peter Phillips showed the committee the recently designed and 
> registered Tartan for Digital.  Digital Equipment Scotland Ltd. had
> commissioned a tartan to be designed for Digital.  The Tartan has
> been registered in Scotland with Digital being the owner of the
> registration.  Jim Manderson of Digital Scotland has been driving
> the process.  The tartan has already been used effectively as a
> customer gift in the UK and has aroused considerable interest in 
> other parts of the world.  Only a few corporations have been granted
> a registration for an exclusive tartan in the past.

> Bill Johnson suggested there might be an opportunity to capitalize
> on this tartan not only for customer gifts but also for employees.
> He asked Peter Phillips to contact Jim Manderson regarding developing
> a business plan for utilization of the Digital tartan.

				-davo

p.s.	Care to wager a guess at what colors were chosen for the tartan?

    re.
         <<< Note 1871.6 by CARAFE::GOLDSTEIN "Global Village Idiot" >>>
                    -< Our rolling billboards are horrible >-

    >On the other hand, this does bring up one of my pet peeves.
    >
    >It has been ten years (minus a couple weeks) since the notorious "May
    >Announcement".  Yet the relics of that announcement -- rolling
    >billboards with an LK201/VR201 (Pro-family desktop) displayed with the
    >line, "Personal Computers" / "Office Solutions", are still on the road.
    >
    >Why are our trucks still advertising machines that were an embarassment
    >nine years ago and discontinued over five?  It's embarassing.  GM
    >doesn't still have Vega billboards, and Ford doesn't show the
    >Pinto in its ads.

    Indeed, now's the time to change each and everyone of them to "Alpha"
    Livery. Gee, I am sure if they asked, they could find dozens of
    volunteers to help repaint the trailers. 
    
    q
    
    

re Note 1871.48 by DCC::HAGARTY:

>     I think  we do this trademark thing to death.  ... They WANT Walkman to
> mean "portable stereo", and they want that to then mean Sony.

        So true!

        The time has long passed, and it probably was never possible,
        that "VAX" could become a generic term for "computer."  At
        one time "IBM" was effectively a generic term for computer --
        do you really think that bothered IBM one bit????

        Bob

    
    >Because the word "Digital" is not unique, it's sometimes even
    >a bit counterproductive to try and advertise using this name.  For
    >example, would IBM refer to itself as simply "International"?
    
    It depends on the context.  If I walked up to you and just said "United",
    you probably wouldn't know what I was talking about.  If, however, I
    mentioned "Western", "American", and "United", you'd most likely know which
    companies I was talking about, even with no mention of the word
    "airlines".  "Digital" by itself doesn't mean much to a lot of people, but 
    mentioned in conjunction with the word "computer" or other 
    computer-related company names, it's easily recognized.
    
    - David
    

    Hey, if we don't want people to think "digital watches",
    why do we reproduce that clock tower image all over 
    the place?

So we should sell the Mill to Analog Devices, right?

re .66    The clock tower isn't a wrist-watch either.  So?

    NO I HAVE IT ON MY 5 YEAR BUCKEL AND MY 10 YEAR CLOCK..
    
    Is it a clock or a beltbuckel.???? 
    

    When I was flying up to Mass this past Friday, I was talking to the
    gentlemen sitting next to me.  I was also thumbing through INC.
    magazine.  There was a two page d i g i t a l ad in the magazine.  I
    showed him and said, "This is the company that I work for."  He glanced
    at the ad and replied, "What do you make, copiers?"  You can't even, by
    glancing at our ads, see that we are in the computer industry.  I
    almost laughed out loud when he said this.  
    
    Mike

   Re: <<< Note 1871.70 by GRANMA::MWANNEMACHER "Soapbox-The meek need not reply" >>>

As we type in messages that are repeated over the network to
others across the globe, possibly printed out on the same laser
printer that is used to print a fax ...

Is his comment really so far fetched?

What proportion of the time are we using our computers for
anything more original than copying between media and locations?

food for thought...

Dick

    
    
    	On the subject of identity...
    
    		I believe we have at least started working on it.
    	Just this morning I noticed driving up rt 101 north just
    	as you enter into Santa Clara a large NEW billboard advertising
    	the DECpc 320sx notebook, and the PC-BY-DEC number.
    
    	Rt 101 by the way is one of the busiest freeways in the Silicon
    	Valley, the billboard can be found just north of the San Jose
        Airport on the left hand side.
    
    		Bill

Anyine seen the new NYNEX comercials explaining how things work.

One is titled "What's a digital"

8-)

Bob

    I don`t know about busy on 101 but,it is full all the time..
    Most of the time I don`t have time to look at the billboards.