Dealers of Lightning: Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer Age Pdf, Epub, Ebook

DEALERS OF LIGHTNING: XEROX PARC AND THE DAWN OF THE COMPUTER AGE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

At a time when Steve Jobs was only a teenager and Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even born, a group of visionary engineers and designers - some of them only high school students - in the late s and s created a computer system called PLATO, which was not only years but light-years ahead in experimenting with how people would learn, engage, communicate, and play through connected computers. Most oftheteam's creations would go on to be developed and perfected by other companies, such as IBM, Apple, and Microsoft. Mar 10, Keri Solaris rated it it was ok Shelves: read- for-uni. By: Jon Gertner. This is a book that manages to perfectly recreate the atmosphere at the PARK lab, be it good at some times or bad at others. The level of detail is astounding. When you hear how Xerox developed almost all the components that are now so integrated and ubiquitous in computing, like the mouse, GUI, WYSIWYG, Ethernet, OO programming, etc, it is hard to comprehend how the company couldn't capitalize on those technologies. Companies portal San Francisco Bay Area portal. If you think you know a lot about how we got from to the birth of personal computing to where we are today, you are probably wrong and you might be astounded to. We are sorry. About Michael A. I'm not a big subscriber to the idea of singular, irreplaceable inventors. Turn on more accessible mode. Give me something more!! Writing code for me now, will be a spiritual experience. It created the industry I love and work in. Free with a day trial. Riveting read. I was particularly impressed at how they created a microprocessor-based unlike the Alto portable computer with Smalltalk, bitmapped display, multiprocessing and networking - the Xerox NoteTaker - in In particular, the speed of re-compilation was one of the things that really wow'ed Jobs when he made his historical visit. Great Book, not so great Audible Fascinating story and great book. Stephanie Young July 17, The content is good but not as technical as I expected. User reviews - 3. Not as technical as I'd like - though I have yet to read any computer book that is. Jan 15, Brian Olinger rated it really liked it. Although very significant in terms of its influence on future system design, it is deemed a failure because it only sold approximately 25, units. To view it, click here. I atleast hope "Computing is pop culture. Most of these developments were included in the Alto, which added the now familiar Stanford Research Institute SRI developed mouse , [11] unifying into a single model most aspects of now-standard personal computer use. Aug 04, Simon Eskildsen rated it liked it. It deals less with the details of the technologies which were developed there. Retrieved on November 11, It can be pretty tedious to listen to, but there is some good suff in there if you can hang in there. It was the first 3-D computer graphics chip which was the foundation of Silicon Graphics Inc. It encourages others to believe that the commercializing of advanced new technologies is easy, provided only that one has the will to do so; and that a company's early domination of a high-tech market will reward it with an unassailable competitive advantage for decades to follow. But outside of a few research labs and military training facilities, this tantalizing vision of the future was nothing but science fiction. No Reviews Available. Smith; Robert C. This is the - by far - on of the best books I have ever read about computer history. Thankfully their work still had a huge impact on modern technology through other companies who came sniffing. They were tasked to lead the company into new and unchartered territory. Dealers of Lightning: Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer Age Writer

One hundred years of blood, toil, tears and sweat has gone into ensuring all this works correctly on a a small machine that stands atop my desk right now. Such an environment has probably never existed before or since. A little outdated, still worth the listen Audio was extremely muffled and the book ends mentioning Apple's future was in doubt. Apr 21, Douglas Sellers rated it liked it. That Xerox ever managed to bring anything to market at all beyond the photocopier is a miracle. Sort order. Hiltzik won the beat reporting Pulitzer Prize for co-writing an article about corruption in the music industry, and the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. Still, it worked out well for virtually all Riveting read. Enlarge cover. Add to Cart failed. Please note that you should expect to receive a response from our team, regarding your inquiry, within 2 business days. Based on extensive interviews with the scientists, engineers, administrators, and executives who lived the story, this riveting chronicle details PARC's humble beginnings through its triumph as a hothouse for ideas, and shows why Xerox was never able to grasp, and ultimately exploit, the cutting-edge innovations PARC delivered. Louis , about starting a second research center for the company. User Review - Flag as inappropriate This is the - by far - on of the best books I have ever read about computer history. This brilliant group created several monumental innovations that triggered a technological revolution, including the first personal computer, the laser printer, and the graphical interface one of the main precursors of the Internet , only to see these breakthroughs rejected by the corporation. That being said, I am still recommending this book to all my geeky computer science or rnd friends. Let me say that I am no programmer and that I do not have any advanced if none at all technical knowledge on pc technology. I listened to the audiobook, which I probably wouldn't recommend. The object lesson I take from PARC is this: beware of any company that aims to start an "innovation lab", either implicitly or explicitly, because not only will that send the signal that innovation only belongs to that business unit thus not making the company innovative overall , the lab will always be in a tug-of-war with the bean- counters who didn't understand innovation in the first place! Want to Read saving…. Ther story is enlightening and compels the reader to continue, but the audio quality is quite poor. As if Apparently, Xerox got revenues from its laser printer alone which ran into returns of its investment in PARC many times over. I am coming away with a greater appreciation for the difficulty of turning truly groundbreaking research into marketable consumer products. Work Phone. The unique mission and organization of the Defense Department will likely make innovation here fundamentally different from companies like Apple that proved so effective at recognizing and realizing the potential of technology developed at PARC. Trivia About Dealers of Lightn Average rating 4. The standard narrative is that their Palo Alto Research Centre PARC developed all of the big ideas of modern desktop computing mouse, ethernet connection, desktop GUI, laser printing under their noses, but I'm sceptical of the genius narrative. Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews. David Phillips Write review. No default payment method selected. I did enjoy the story and the history. Great Book, not so great Audible Fascinating story and great book. What has not changed is the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big or go belly up , and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations. Interesting but a bit tedious This book provides a great history lesson in technology, however, its main focus is on the individuals that developed the technology, not the technology itself. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Xerox's bureaucracy's complete incapacity to do anything with their amazing research is a great warning against growing too big. The object-oriented approach and the Integrated Development Environment of Smalltalk brought a totally intuitive feel The first ever time I developed software using the Smalltalk programming language and development environment, it was a sublime experience. Unfortunately the result didn't satisfy me completely. It is absolutely amazing how many modern technologies spawned from the developments made by the visionaries at PARC such as the computer mouse, the GUI interface, ethernet, the laser printer, etc. But it does document the role PARC played in the 's in laying the foundation for much of what we now take for granted in computer technology. This is a good book for anyone interested in notions of creativity and invention. Yet, instead of giving up, these determined inventors turned their ideas into empires that radically altered contemporary life and changed the world. Obsessed with the idea of getting computer power into their own hands, they launched from their garages a hobbyist movement that grew into an industry, and ultimately a social and technological revolution. Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and battling to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Drawing on the science of phase transitions, Bahcall reveals why teams, companies, or any group with a mission will suddenly change from embracing wild new ideas to rigidly rejecting them. Dealers of Lightning: Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer Age Reviews

Work Phone. Quotes from Dealers of Lightn Also parts of audio missing from the end of most chapters. View 1 comment. Cancel Submit Feedback. This brilliant group created several monumental innovations that triggered a technological revolution, including the first personal computer, the laser printer, and the graphical interface one of the main precursors of the Internet , only to see these breakthroughs rejected by the corporation. Drawing from interviews with the engineers, executives, and scientists involved in the Xerox PARC, Dealers of Lightning chronicles an amazing era of egos, ideas, and inventions at the dawn of the computer age. Until , when Oculus founder Palmer Luckey - then just a rebellious teenage dreamer living alone in a camper trailer - invents a device that has the potential to change everything. I listened to the audiobook, which I probably wouldn't recommend. Still, it worked out well for virtually all Riveting read. Most of these developments were included in the Alto, which added the now familiar Stanford Research Institute SRI developed mouse , [11] unifying into a single model most aspects of now-standard personal computer use. In the s, while their contemporaries were protesting the computer as a tool of dehumanization and oppression, a motley collection of college dropouts, hippies, and electronics fanatics were engaged in something much more subversive. Apr 05, Raghu rated it really liked it. Instead, others came in including, famously and literally, Jobs himself and took the ideas forward. They were tasked to lead the company into new and unchartered territory. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass. Writing code for me now, will be a spiritual experience. Taxes where applicable. It deals less with the details of the technologies which were developed there. This is the - by far - on of the best books I have ever read about computer history. Other Editions The PARC guys are inspiring; they aren't allowed to buy a computer so they say "fuck it, we'll just make one.

Dealers of Lightning: Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer Age Read Online

Physicist and entrepreneur Safi Bahcall reveals a surprising new way of thinking about the mysteries of group behavior that challenges everything we thought we knew about nurturing radical breakthroughs. It is absolutely amazing how many modern technologies spawned from the developments made by the visionaries at PARC such as the computer mouse, the GUI interface, ethernet, the laser printer, etc. Michael A. Smalltalk programming language. But it is not a book just for the computer technologist. My unstinted admiration for Smalltalk and PARC made this book an exercise in preaching to the converted. I found it a bit heavy sometimes though. While there is some truth that Xerox management failed to see the potential of many of PARC's inventions, this was mostly a problem with its computing research, a relatively small part of PARC's operations. Oct 22, Artem rated it it was amazing. Pages displayed by permission of Harper Collins. I was surprised to learn that even more had been invented, tinkered with and implemented at PARC than I could ever have imagined- with very little of it becoming a comercial product. To print a PDF copy of this article, click here. To that extent, it may not impact the current generation of year olds and younger. In particular, the speed of re-compilation was one of the things that really wow'ed Jobs when he made his historical visit. Listeners also enjoyed Founded by Jacob E. Instead, others came in including, famously and literally, Jobs himself and took the ideas forward. They went on to bigger and better things, or started companies of their own 3com, Adobe to make the computer technology they wanted. By: Jon Gertner. Much of the book explores the tensions between Xerox's corporate headquarters and PARC management in addition to the rivalries between and among the departments at PARC. This book is not very technical, but that is not a bad thing, you still get a very good overview of who developed which technology, with what intention, and how it failed for xerox anyways and why. This is a story of their battles, their politics, the uphill engineering struggles they faced, their inner demons but above all, the story of the triumph of what unyielding human curiosity, chutzpah and soul gutting hard work can accomplish. It played a pivotal role in the creation of among other things personal computers, GUIs, and the internet. Although very significant in terms of its influence on future system design, it is deemed a failure because it only sold approximately 25, units. It's all here folks! Views Read Edit View history. Ther story is enlightening and compels the reader to continue, but the audio quality is quite poor. Day Two is, in Jeff Bezos' own words, "stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by excruciating, painful decline, followed by death. The passion of the scientists and engineers for their vision and the leadership at PARC that knew how to get the most out of its human capital are engrossing stories in themselves. By: Adam Fisher. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Sep 04, Goku rated it it was amazing. The level of detail is astounding. Most Helpful Most Recent. Obsessed with the idea of getting computer power into their own hands, they launched from their garages a hobbyist movement that grew into an industry, and ultimately a social and technological revolution. It's all here folks! Companies portal San Francisco Bay Area portal. Published April 5th by Harper Business first published March 1st In fact, I'd go as far as say this should be mandatory reading for and computer science student and beyond. People were so full of ideas and excitement, and of course everybody knew more than anybody else about how the world was supposed to be. Hiltzik writes with a decisive and confident voice so, as a small nitpick, I wonder a bit how unbiased some of the stories are. What an amazingly well written book about a complex situation. Audio was extremely muffled and the book ends mentioning Apple's future was in doubt. https://files8.webydo.com/9584352/UploadedFiles/349F079D-E37A-38C5-507D-025E2D2FC8FE.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9584480/UploadedFiles/08C508A2-0212-CD20-7D2E-644D33D8D8F7.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9582786/UploadedFiles/84948567-B8A9-0CD0-5E0C-A2BCDB062620.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583722/UploadedFiles/A30F6879-CFF7-3F9C-8B25-C7613B0FF34A.pdf https://cdn.starwebserver.se/shops/razmusblomqvistao/files/understanding-media-industries-215.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583172/UploadedFiles/EB57FD75-CCC5-CA4A-A4C1-A4994B35D69E.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583047/UploadedFiles/BC583C5B-1FA6-C1FE-190C-25406AAD228D.pdf https://cdn.starwebserver.se/shops/ronjajohanssonhk/files/among-the-dead-cities-is-the-targeting-of-civilians-in-war-ever-justified-571.pdf