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From: kevinlch...@cs.com (KevinLChang)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe
Date: 16 Jan 2001 07:10:03 GMT
References: <B68923BC.26270%johanna@comicsworthreading.com>
Organization: CompuServe (http://www.compuserve.com/)
Subject: Re: Intelligence
Message-ID: <20010116021003.15575.00000589@ng-fy1.news.cs.com>


While the disasterous evolution of MODOC from conception to marketing may seem
an aberration, such failures were actually quite common in the history of AIM's
consumer products division. For every Cosmic Ice Cube Tray or
Supermarket-Adaptoid, literally scores of disappointments never made it to your
local Williams Sonoma.

The entire MODOC product line was fairly exemplary of this "trial and error and
error" methodology for which AIM designers became notorious industry-wide.
After the original MODOC fiasco, AIM became obsessed with salvaging something
from the years and dollars spent in R & D on the project. 

The first of the post-MODOC line was MODOEM, the Mobile Organism Designed Only
for Eating Mayonnaise. This was soon followed by MODOLU (Mobile Organism
Designed Only for Laminating Uncles) and MODOMLINAR (Mobile Organism Designed
Only for Moaning Loudly and Inappropriately for No Apparent Reason.) Needless
to say, none of these products was particularly successful in finding a
consumer niche. (1)

 The last straw was probably MODOASS, the Mobile Organism Designed Only for
Annoying the Supreme Scientist. While records conflict as to whether MODOASS
was actually meant to be some kind of intra-office joke, heads did roll and the
entire division was subsequently shut down. Ironically, it was perhaps the very
skill and expertise of the MODOC design crew and the undeniable efficacy of
their product that led to their eventual dismissal and, well, horrible torture
and death.

(1) AIM's inexplicable adherence to the basic "disgustingly-enormous head"
design of the original MODOC likely did not help matters. As one can imagine,
this was particularly evident in the case of MODOEM.


K.