Uri and his Dan computer

Dan Update
March 1997

Me and my Dan – Uri Geller

Uri Geller’s astonishing paranormal powers have propelled him to international superstardom over the last 30 years. (Among his inumerable feats of mental prowess have been several well-publicised demonstrations during the 1980s of his ability to erase or garble computer media simply by concentrating.) 

Nowadays, the range of Mr. Geller’s activities extends to fields that are only slightly more mundane. With his friend and business partner Meir Gitlis, for example, he has been involved in a number of inventions. These include an earthquake sensor, devices for verifying the authenticity of bank notes and diamonds, and a gas leak detector. He is also the author of several international best-selling books.
One of Mr. Geller’s current passions is his “Ultimate Bike” project. Several years ago he met up with professional cyclist and cycle designer Bruce Bursford. The two men developed a firm friendship which led to the formation of the Ultimate Bike team and Mr. Bursford’s successful attempt in August last year to become the first cyclist in history to break through the 200mph barrier. Much of the credit for this, says the cyclist, belongs to his friend for teaching him “how to tap into the inner resources” that gave him the additional power he needed to achieve the record.
Now the pair have teamed up to start a company, Technical Perfection, which will manufacture the Ultimate Bike for sale around the world. “The Ultimate Bike will change the way the world thinks about cycling forever,” says Mr. Geller. “It will not rust and is entirely unaffected by extremes of weather. You could send it to the bottom of the ocean for a century, haul it up and still ride it. It is also a beautiful object in its own right – like a work of art. I should know, I have the one that broke the record hanging on my wall at home.”
Despite his powers of extra-sensory perception, Mr. Geller selected computers in much the same way as the rest of us: “When I needed to buy computers for the Ultimate Bike project,” he recalls, “I started researching which was the best brand on the market. We were building a factory to build the best bike in the world and we wanted to make sure it was equipped with the best of everything.”
“I asked my secretary to take a careful look at what was on offer, and I happened to read a computer magazine and a report on PCs in a major consumer magazine myself. Quite independently, my secretary and I were both impressed by what we read of one brand: Dan Technology. I couldn’t believe the number of awards the company had won, and when I dug a little deeper and found out the company was named after the founder’s son, it blew my mind. My son’s name is Daniel too.”
Now, Mr. Geller has a network of Dan computers at the Technical Perfection factory in EastAnglia and one at his Thames-side home near Reading. “I made the right choice,” he says. ‘Our Dan PCs really are the best – they’re really easy to use, they’ve never broken down, they’ve never given me any problems at all in fact. I’m in love with the computer I use at home, and whenever I talk to anyone about it, I always recommend Dan to them.”
And his famous ability to play havoc with the contents of computer disks? “I’m very careful with my own,” he smiles.