[TUHS] AT&T Videotape Library

Mike Dank via TUHS tuhs at tuhs.org
Fri Sep 12 20:57:13 AEST 2025


I actually have a few of these tapes I picked up from a flea market a while back and am planning on digitizing in the next month or two.

C Language for Programmers - Volumes 4-8
The Shell Command Language for Programmers - Volumes 4-7

I forget if one of the tapes from these is missing, and it’s a shame that I don’t have the beginning volumes for any of them but I grabbed everything being sold at the time.

Cheers,
Mike

> On Sep 12, 2025, at 02:09, segaloco via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote:
> 
> I recently saw some auctions for "AT&T Videotape Library" ephemera while
> searching for documents and it seems there were a fair deal of tapes one
> could order on subjects such as typical shell usage and UNIX internals.
> This is distinct from tapes that were distributed by USL, although I
> couldn't tell you what they published besides C education, I happened
> upon a Volume 2 set from a early '90s C educational film set.
> 
> Anywho, I've found myself curious about the content and frankly the
> production, especially CG effects for transitions and demonstrations.
> Has anyone on list viewed any of these tapes or even better have the
> scoop on the production thereof?  I have a particular soft spot for
> corporate educational material of bygone days, I type as I look at my
> stack of BSP manuals.  Some day I hope to have the hardware to preserve
> VHS tapes because I've already got 5 tapes of various AT&T stuff I've
> picked up over the years.
> 
> Also just in general, any historic educational video content concerning
> UNIX you find particularly memorable?  For me it's the early '80s AT&T
> promotional films about UNIX in which you can tell they're editing over
> "The UNIX System" in post after everyone had already said just UNIX
> during taping.  It's funny, the manual edits feel quite the same:
> 
> g/\(UNIX\)/s//The \1 System/g
> 
> Not saying that to disparage either, I find it a charming little edit
> with an interesting back story.
> 
> - Matt G.


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