Although they had just walked in, Gates immediately slouched in front of a new Macintosh that sat unattended on the receptionist’s desk, to see what software was loaded.

Well over a billion dollars had gone into developing this operating system, an investment that continues today with no realistic possibility of a return. The technique works well as long as enough money pours in to buoy up moribund projects. But by mid-1989, IBM was so laden with the walking dead that its highly profitable mainframe monopoly could

Jay Hoag of Chancellor Capital, who by now was a friend of mine, offered comforting words. “Sure I’d rather make money. But bear in mind that this happens all the time. It’s a numbers game. Everybody understands that your first responsibility is to take care of your people. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Mitchell and I had stumbled upon a plain truth: personal computers are deskbound, like typewriters, and are unsuitable for people who spend their time away from a desk or work face to face with others.

Robert offered to pay for baby sitters for those who needed to come in on weekends. We held a Family Appreciation Day, when spouses and children were invited in for presentations, to learn about why their loved ones spent so much time at the office. To help build morale, two senior technical managers with New York accents dubbed themselves the BBC—

A master of promotion, Sculley knew that the secret to success was to change the name of the field and find a new audience.

“In finance, you always have to have an alternative,” Byers said. “Otherwise, you’re sure to be eaten alive.” “Even with a blue-chip company like AT&T?” “With any large company. That’s why I recommend that you look into a Reg D with a retail investment bank.” “What’s a Reg D?” “Regulation D allows you to sell stock to individual investors of hi

Although it seemed impossible, the pace of activity at GO continued to increase. There were so many urgent matters demanding my attention that I took to staying at a nearby hotel, to save the few critical minutes spent commuting from the city. There was no such thing as a weekend off.

Almost like clockwork, every ten years since the beginning of the computer revolution, a new class of computers had unexpectedly emerged.