Skip Navigation

You're viewing a single thread.

206 comments

  • In terms of money and business, my fav is how Xerox didn't know how to market/capitalize on what was effectively the first personal computer before personal computers were even a concept, which is estimated to be a $1.4 trillion mistake.

    • This Xerox Alto restoration series is a really interesting reflection on that. Here's the point in the series where they finally get it running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OQMhvArI9g

      Yeah, Xerox made revolutionary progress. But it appears that their proximity to a viable consumer product is a bit exaggerated. It really did still take another set of eyes and minds to wrangle it in. I think if they did release it sooner, and without the leaks, the next competitor still would have seen that and soon come along and done a better enough job to nullify their first-mover advantage.

      Those days were chock full of companies that ended up just contributing to the zeitgeist of computing without themselves reaping in the glory.

      I think Steve Jobs' comments about what Xerox could have been... Is largely him stroking his ego that he and Apple pulled off what they couldn't.

      I don't think Xerox would be the Mac of today in most timelines.

    • Thanks for sharing, I remember this from a documentary on Steve Jobs.

206 comments