Computer Dealer Demos: Selling Home Computers with Bouncing Balls and Animated Logos

Computer dealer demos, such as Boing Ball for the Commodore Amiga, were used to impress trade show audiences and retail customers. Dealer demos, such as those used by Commodore International, Atari, and Apple, illustrate how the home computer was socially constructed as a consumer commodity through the interdependent activities of software companies and user communities rather than simply through the marketing strategies of the hardware industry.