Birth of the PC industry:
- In the beginning there were minicomputers
- - DEC, Data General, Prime, Computer Automation, Wang, SEL, Basic 4, Four Phase, General Automation, Minicomp, Modcomp, Microdata, Varian, Unicomp, Interdata
Death of the Minicomputer:
- Ken Olsen, "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."
- Then there were microprocessors.
- Then there was the personal computer.
Death of the PC industry:
- INTEL/Microsoft is over
- Apple is the future
What happened to Microsoft:
- Microsoft pushed Windows as far as it could go and produced bloat ware with unfixable security holes and performance de-hancements that overcame prodigious hardware improvements.
- Monopoly encourages hubris
- Gates retired to philanthropy
- Putting an economist in charge of a technology company is a bad idea.
- Open Source
- Linux
- Google Android
- Apple/Steve Jobs: Mac OS, iPod, iPhone, iPad
What happened to INTEL:
- Pushed the x86 architecture as far as it could go and produced high-power consumption low performance de-hancements that overcame prodigious process improvements.
- Monopoly encourages hubris
- Moore and Grove are retired. Noyce is dead.
- Putting a bureaucrat in charge of a technology company is a bad idea.
- Death of Microsoft means end of reason for x86 to exist.
- "Patterson's Three Walls" means x86 is over.
- Apple/Steve Jobs: iPod, iPhone, iPad, A4
What is the future (See the future by understanding the past.)
- - Richard Stallman was right. OS will be free because electrons are free. Linux and Android will rule the world.
- - Steve Jobs was right. Computers will transparently disappear into products. (Customers do not want to own computers.)
- - Scott McNealy was right, "The network is the computer." (Communications matters. Everything will be wireless.)
- - Location, location, location. (Everything will be portable.)
- - David Patterson was right. "The Three Walls is a Brick Wall"