BookName:Fumbling the Future
Author:Douglas K. Smith and Robert C. Alexander
Can be borrowed from MSRA Library
This book contains five parts: The architectuer of information, the creation of alto, the rejection of the alto, the reaffirmation of the copier, the harvest of isolation.
To summarise Xerox, Xerox pioneered many of the key breakthroughs in the computer industry, but then they were not able to make money on the technology they developed.
Many, many other companies have made billions of dollars; however, Xerox just couldn't figure out how to get the benefits.
Firstly, the book describes Xerox's early history. How Xerox invented a copier, and for a number of years they were so successful that they made huge amout of money. Many of the major players in the industry are mentioned, their goals and interests. Xerox was very aggressive. With the success of the copier, Xerox boldly decided they needed to also get into the computer industry.
Next the book talks about how the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was created, how George Pake selected various key people to help staff the research center, and the charter PARC was given. The book reviews who was hired, what they did, and how the groups at PARC worked together, and how the groups at PARC failed to work together.
Now comes the downhillside of Xerox. The first President of Xerox, Joe Wilson, was a gifted and excellent leader. However, Joe Wilson dies, and the next president of Xerox, Peter McColough is less talented. Huge imprecise decisions are as follows: Peter decided to spend almost a billion dollars for a science computer company which Peter then tried to force out into the general computer market, going up against IBM. Peter also took Xerox into Medicine and Education. And Peter got involved in Politics and Charities. Peter McColough was not focused on Xerox, and let several problems undealed.
The book gives some insights into what drove the researchers at PARC to develop the first personal computer, the Alto, and many of the reasons why it was revolutionary. The book ascribes the destruction of the potential of the Alto to various managers at Xerox not catching the vision and those who caught the vision not being able to work well with high level management.
The book talks about the same subject as Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age. I think the main difference is that it is written more businessly and provides much more insight. Also this book is more sympathetic to Xerox.
The most important theme, in my opinion, is the role of "financial people" in the decline of Ford Motor Company and of Xerox. The rise of Ford-trained executives cooccured with the loss of the entrepreneurial spirit at Xerox. The final result is thus different.
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