Carl Tyler's Blog

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What's your favorite R5 memory? am I only allowed one? As I actually have many of them. I had just moved from the eSuite Marketing Team (don't ask) to the R5 launch team, and was responsible for the International aspects of the launch (at least that's how I remember it and my business card from then says Worldwide Notes Marketing Manager so it must have been true) to handle the international liaison for the R5 launch. I also have some not so fond memories, so here is the shortened list, if you want more detail, you have to post the comment asking for more...

Fond Memories

• The R5 Launch Team - brought together for the launch, ignoring all of IBMs policies around spending money and figuring out how to avoid being fired or called up for "non compliance" afterwards (special credit to Donna for saving us there)<\li>
• Airmiles, airmiles, airmiles- How many countries one day?
• Day trip to Portugal, with my only carry on baggage being a Superman costume and computer
• Taking off my shirt and jacket in front of 500 Portuguese folks to reveal a superman costume
• Freebies, so many give aways, still finding them today. Be sure to see the gallery that will be updated as more pictures are taken
• Riding in a Singapore Airlines 747-400 cockpit as we came in to land at Kuala Lumpur airport (sadly those days are gone)
• First trip to Malaysia - Great place, fantastic market for bootleg goods, not that I would ever buy any.
• Sending 200,000 blue R5 T shirts around the world. The asians were very grateful that all the shirts were XL. Apparently the R5 shirts in Asia became very popular for sleeping in, so they ended up being used as nighties
• Sending out 200+ R5 hanging mobiles to regional IBM and Lotus offices.
• Rosie O'Donnell talking about the TV ads on her show. We shipped Rosie an R5 snowboard, and a leather jacket, if I remember rightly she auctioned it on eBay for charity
• Getting all the REM fans wound up over the I AM Superman song. Listen REM did a cover, so did we! Seeing it covered on MTV, priceless.
• Steve Martin - No matter the request, he'd get it done, Steve can be thanked for the R5 signage in Westford hanging from the lights in the parking lot (required town approval), the R5 banners in Cambridge and the huge Superman hanging off the wall in Cambridge for about a year (also require special approval from Town and lease holder).
• The R5 Ship party in the Bahamas - This was definitely a last hurrah for Lotus, chartered planes, Paradise Island with a few hundred geeks and their families, also days that are long gone
• Getting the emails from the teams around the world and the cool launch events they were doing

and the list goes on and on...but now to the less memorable moments...
Not So Fond Memories

• Wearing a Superman costume for 2 hours with insulated muscles under a suit in spotlights, in front of 500 Portuguese folks until I could take it off
• Dropping my R5 PC and losing everything! Those places that claim to recover lost data if your drive is at the bottom of the sea for 6 months? Well next time I'd be better of putting the drive at the bottom of the sea, no data recovered, nothing, nada, zip.
• Handling the hate mail from the regional offices that wasn't selected to receive an R5 hanging mobile, As I said then and I say now, if you had more than 10 people in the location, you got one, if less than 10 you didn't ok? Listen I've had enough of this, we have no more left...oops got carried away
• The Lotusphere launch party - the one part of the R5 launch not handled by the team, and boy were we disappointed, as I believe many of the folks sitting on the beach watching were also.
• Jeff "I flew jets and popped my ear drums" Pappows, being asked, heck told not to announce that R5 would ship in February during the keynote at Lotusphere because of the PR mess we would have to clear up when it go to February and it wouldn't ship. Needless to say, we sat there 5 minutes later listening to him announce to the world that it would ship in February, heck what's one more lie.

So I got together with Tim Browne, my manager at the time and we collected some photos of some of the cool R5 stuff, here it is, Still to add a few more pictures of things like R5 Beanie Baby (1 of 2), R5 Sun Tan lotion, waterproof container. R5 Martini glasses etc. etc.

For history buffs, Tim thought you might like to see this, a 1987 Notes manual with some hand written notes...Interesting to note that the paragraph options given back then don't exist today, like keep together etc.
Also see these launch pics from Peru, now that is a launch party!