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Q & A WITH BOB CRINGELY: CONTINUED
Very good TV show about computer I have watched.
By question is that how is these gusys in PC industry
make a big fortune? Is it because they are lucy or
they jump to PC industry early? Also how can I get
your book "Accidential Empires"? Is it avaible in
book store? They were lucky AND early. And yes, Accidental Empires is available in paperback from HarperCollins.
I bought a Mac about a year a go. I'm a fraid a I'm going to have to join the PC world. Which OS is easier to operate,and How much of a learning process will I have to go through to learn Windows? Is there much much difference ? john johnson lorain,ohio Windows 95 is no sweat to use once everything is installed. Relax. But the Mac IS still easier to use.
Bob Please comment on the recent heavy losses by Apple Mac. How has the incorporation of the PowerPC chip helpd or hindered Apple? rachael dalton exton, PA Apple had no choice but to go with the PowerPC. And since they earn royalties on every PowerPC chip, it makes good business sense, too. Now if they would just ship Copland, the PowerPC-native MacOS!
The "windows" system that was developed at PARC, did it later become Unix's X-Windows system? Jas Eckard Raleigh, NC No. X-Windows was developed at MIT.
I especially liked the way you allowed Gates and Jobs to dig their own holes rather than do it for them.
But my real question concerns the nice checkerboard
that showed up in one scene (correctly set up, too)
Do you play? There are precious few of us around.
If so, you're probably familiar with Jonathan
Schaeffer's work on Chinook at University of
Alberta. I know how to play checkers, but no, I don't play regularly.
Whatever happened to Gary Killdall and his company? Shouldn't Mitch Kapor at least have been mentioned by name? David Lazarus Fanwood, NJ Gary sold Digital Research to Novell several years ago. He died in 1995. And Mitch Kapor was the only person who refused to have anything to do with the show.
I watched the PBS program last night and am fascinated by the frank revelations made by some of your interview subjects. Additionally, I found the quasi-documentary angle w/ host quite believable. Q: Even Bill Gates and crew are spooked on where the net is taking "us". Any crystal ball forecasts? Nope. Your guess is as good as mine.
I grew up as what we called an intellectual freak, cousin to the nerd. Today, I am creative director
of corporate communications for an international biotechnology firm. I produce professional
electronic media with a vast array of killer software apps (like After Effects 3.1),
the Power Mac and Scitex's non-linear video editing gear known as the Turbo Cube.
Best Regards and job well done. Kirk out.
You're miniseries was fascinating--my question is simple--is there anyone now doing what Xerox was doing back in the '70s at PARC? I'm not a computer nerd, but as a graphic designer using the Mac to create, I'm eternally grateful to those researchers at PARC! And it's true what Steve Jobs said _ I do love my Mac and I have worked on the DOS platform for several months (with and without Windows) and there's no comparison in my eyes. J. Skeete Toronto, Ontario There is lots of basic research being done in universities and at large corporations (including Xerox PARC), but I doubt that we'll ever see the kind of work done in one place as they did at PARC circa 1971-74.
A close friend of mine has a collection of over 100 micro computers dating back to the 1970s (nope, no Apple I in the set).
What do you think of the future of "antique" PC
collecting and shows like the Trenton (New Jersey)
Computer Fest? I think antique PC collecting will be a BIG deal in 2025, so start collecting today!
In talking about Apple's history, there did not seem to be much info about when and why Woz left the company. The focus was more on Jobs. Just curious about what happened to Woz after he created the Apple II Ron Clemins Philadelphia, Pa Woz almost died in a plane crash in 1983. After his recovery, he went to UC Berkeley to finish his undergrad degree. He is today an Apple Fellow, but that means giving four speeches per year to employees. Mostly, he works with the Los Gatos Public Schools.
Was Gary Kimball flying his plane when the IBM suits came to see him about CP/M 86? Why didn't you show Pammy? Frank Markus New York, NY Gary was away from the office. Pammy was, too.
What happened to the creator of small talk? also from the zerox Park Group? Whas he not the one who originally came up the the idea of icons? Helen Kritzler Bronx, New YOrk Icons long predate Xerox PARC. They were used in some form as early as 1968 at the Stanford Research Institute.
I was wondering if in the next show if you were going to bring up the facts of Bill Gates in his legal matter with apple? I personaly think apple is jelous of microsofts victory of their mistakes. Marc Ashmun Sandy, OR I thought we covered that in THIS show.
Now that the Macintosh OS has been licensed to third party manufacturers, what do you see as the long-term future of Apple Computer and the Macintosh? Do you think the Macintosh computer, either through Apple Computer itself or through one of the clone makers, will remain part of the personal computer scene, even though it may be a minority player in the overall market? Secondly, what do you think would have happened if, when the Macintosh first arrived on the scene, it had been competitively priced with the IBM and IBM clones? Do you think it could have been the dominant machine in the personal computer industry? William Penner Stockton CA Apple could have been more successful. Apple could still be more successful.
Mr. Cringely: My question is a simple one. I was wondering what is the best way for a resent collage grad to get into this industry. I have my BS in Managment with a small background in computer programing (Basic, Pascel, and C) With a strong Finance background (almost another BS) any help you can give me would be great. Hope to here form you soon. Brian Sundermier Get an idea and start a company. But first, study spelling.
Triumph of the Nerds mentions graphical user interfaces as originating in Xerox PARC in the 1970s. However, isn't it true that the cathode ray tube, linked to the computer, is itself an iconic graphical user interface whose optimal image is the cartoon? And do not the computer & the cathode ray tube yield interactive involve- ment in depth? As with TV, the user is the screen. The cathode ray tube plus Windows '95 equals a graphical graphical user interface? Canadian Centre for Culture & Technology Port Alberni, B.C., Canada Picky, picky, picky. And a blank sheet of paper is a newspaper without the words and pictures.
In your TV series, you mentioned how Steve Jobs and Apple parted company. Under what circumstances did "The Woz" leave Apple? Was it an amicable split, and did he retain his shares in Apple? Jeff Samin Fernie, BC, Canada Most of your question is answered a few questions above. As for his shares, Woz sold his Apple shares at a very good price in the early 1980s but later bought back some shares when the stock was in the toilet around 1985.
Bob, great show! I would like to comment though, that it appeared to me that you should have given some credit to the Tandy Corp/Radio Shack for their contribution to the PC business. Was it just not glamorous enough for the show? Dave D'Arche San Mateo, CA No time, no space, no Jon Shirley.
In all the years that you were on everyone's S___ list in silicon valley. What was there response when they found out you were going to interview them, how were you treated, & humbled by the greatness that these people have become. Also give me a little more insight on what Larry Ellison (Oracle) has up his sleve that did not make it on this program. ie I-net devices, challenging MS, ETC..
Thank you for the program it reminded me of my
life just a few short years ago in 1984 when I
was called a NERD for programing an APPLE ][
(not a plus, I was 13) It took time to arrange the interviews, but hardly anyone turned us down. My sense is that these folks saw this as a chance to describe their own places in history. As for Larry, he plans to link a database to every intelligent device in the world. He is also toying with doing an OS to vie with Microsoft and licensing it to all comers FOR FREE.
A big hello to you and Pammy. Good (or even great) show(s) - in the local media blitz of interviews, you said you had MANY more hours of material already in the can; I hope the money people let you make some more shows. You could be the Carl Sagan (in the sense of popularizer) of nerds. :-) One big omission in the shows was the complete absence of notice of the rise of minicomputers -- DEC and Data General weren't even mentioned (yeah, on the cutting room floor; whatever). I was particularly amused by some extremely ironic comments by Steve Jobs in the third show; (VERY highly paraphrased), "Apple stole a lotta stuff," "Microsoft stole everything, and is worthless because of it." Hmm... I'll have to check the rerun for exact quotes.
Keep up the good work, whatever it may be after Infoworld made a big mistake. And good luck in court. Yes, we have lots of material for future shows. Leaving out minicomputers (and workstations) was intentional. This was a PC history, not a computer history.
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