Electronic Office - Easy to Use? (1984) (Episode 6)
5Electronic Office was part of the BBC's computer literacy project and aimed to look in depth at the ways computers and telecommunications were reshaping the office environment.
It was presented by Ian McNaught-Davis and was broadcast between the end of Making the Most of the Micro and the start of Micro Live, in April and May 1984.
From a modern standpoint it's obviously fascinating to compare the relative crudity of the office IT systems of 1984 (revolutionary though they were at the time) to those of today, and to reflect that at the time of production, the Macintosh hadn't been launched (although it was available by the time of broadcast) and the earliest iteration of Microsoft Windows was still over a year away.
The only GUI-based computer on the market was the phenomenally expensive Apple Lisa, which is briefly demonstrated in programme 2 as an example of how computers will become easier to use with remarkable new ideas like "icons" and the "mouse".
The episodes were captured from off-air VHS and are not great but perfectly watchable. Many thanks to the original capper.