Sublime

In the late 1970s, Adam Osborne was considered by many to be a visionary of the fledgling microcomputer industry. He published his views on its technology and markets in books and magazine articles. In 1981, he introduced the Osborne 1, a portable computer with bundled software that sold for $1,795. His vision was a computer for the masses—not the

Livingston: How did you first come up with the idea of flagging? Newmark: I forget. I think it was my customer service team, not me. I don't recall, it was so long ago. Livingston: But it worked pretty well? Newmark: Yes. It works great in all sorts of ways, and it's also an expression of our values. Mutual trust. This is kind of democracy in real

Construction firms had not been willing to take on the risk associated with delays; instead, they put that risk on their clients. But Ivar understood a fundamental proposition about the allocation of risk: both parties to a deal can gain when the party in the best position to bear a risk takes on that risk. Construction firms, not clients, were in

whiz-bang

Curtis remembers that other people thought I was crazy (or stupid—or maybe both) to spend so much money on a computer for a wrecking yard. But I was never afraid to spend money on technology if it could help us be more efficient. And it turned out that the whole industry would end up computerizing once they saw the benefits it gave people like me a

Few programmers of large computer systems could resist the temptation to leave themselves a secret entrance. Partly it was common sense: if inept users locked up the system—and then called you for help—you always had a way to get in and repair the mess. And partly it was a kind of signature: Kilroy was here.