BOSTON….I have to give the telephone company lobby credit: their latest slogan (see ad on right) is pretty slick. “Smart network or dumb pipe?” they ask, and surely the answer is obvious. Who’d want a dumb pipe if they could have a smart network instead?

As it turns out, the answer is “just about everyone who knows anything about network design,” but since that’s a pretty small group it’s still a slick slogan.

But here’s what I really want to know. I watched their little cartoon, and for some reason they decided to rip off pay homage to the cover art for the old Boston debut album from 1976. My freshman roommate in college sure liked that album, but really, does anyone much younger than me even get the reference? Or do most people watch the cartoon and wonder why the hell it’s illustrated with a picture of the city of Boston underneath a bubble?

Or, unknown to me, is Boston’s debut album a cult favorite even among today’s kids? Or what? Anyone have any idea what they were thinking?