Found in 7 comments on Hacker News
metroholografix · 2024-07-03
· Original
thread
Wizards for me falls flat (kinda like "soul of a new machine" that's often recommended but which I found a complete waste of time) while the Dream Machine, Dealers of Lightning [1] and Norbert Wiener's biography [2] are all essential reading.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Information-Age-Cybernetics...
nappy · 2023-07-22
· Original
thread
Agreed. It's an excellent book. But perhaps a little long if you are purely interested in computer history and want an introduction in a shorter volume. I recommend these two: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idea_Factory https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...
aristofun · 2022-01-02
· Original
thread
Here are the good books trying to answer your question among others:
https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-M-Mitchell-Waldrop/dp/1...
https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...
vvanders · 2021-08-14
· Original
thread
Showstopper![1] covers Windows NT in a similar vein and Dealers of Lightning[2] is another good read that goes into some if the really interesting history of Xerox PARC.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Showstopper-Breakneck-Windows-Generat...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...
vvanders · 2020-11-11
· Original
thread
I kinda feel like Dealers of Lightning should be required reading at this point[1], both for the breadth of invention and how they squandered it.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...
signa11 · 2019-07-16
· Original
thread
actually, i like "Michael A. Hiltzik’s Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887309895/) much better than the wizards book.
it is quite a long read, but is very good.
[•] <https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer...>
In addition to all the technical detail, you learn so much about corporate hubris in their massive quest for non-innovation (resting on their laurels).
C-level staff ignored the brilliance of their Alto computer, invited Steve Jobs over in exchange for a few shares of AAPL IPO [which they almost-immediately sold], and left all their computer researchers scratching their heads as to why staff were being ignored.