Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything"From the moment the public met Macintosh - introduced by an apocalyptic commercial that had a nation rubbing its eyes in astonishment - it was clear that there had never been anything like it. Its creators had been commanded to devise a personal computer that was not just good, not just great, but "insanely great"--So great that it would change the world. And it did. Macintosh won over a fanatic cult audience with its friendly interface, its attention to aesthetic detail, and what could only be called its quirky personality. It invaded not only people's offices and homes, but their minds as well. The Mac also catapulted the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technics, economics, and show biz. Eventually, the essence of Macintosh found its way to nearly all computers, and has fundamentally changed the way we deal with information. Like the Model T or the Apollo mission, Macintosh thrust America into a new millennium." "Now, on the Mac's tenth anniversary, Insanely Great tells the exciting story of the machine that became a kind of Manhattan Project in a box. Veteran technology writer and Macworld columnist Steven Levy zooms in on the machine - the product of the collective will of its sometimes maniacal creators and its dedicated users - as well as the fortunes of the unique company responsible for the Mac's evolution. Levy looks beneath the surface of our stormy romance with silicon and software, at how the Mac proved to be a harbinger of our changing relationship with technology. And he tells how he - a self-described proto-Luddite - became a convert, seduced by a machine and its vision." "Full of insider anecdotes, peppered with Levy's sharp commentary - and created entirely on the machine it celebrates - Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for Mac users, as well as for anyone curious about how we've arrived at the portal of the interactive era."--Jacket |
From inside the book
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Page 51
... Xerox Corporation's extraordinary success . Xerox was literally synonymous with copying machines ; the revenues piled in and the profits piled up . But the com- pany's future was far from assured . Making copies of documents was but one ...
... Xerox Corporation's extraordinary success . Xerox was literally synonymous with copying machines ; the revenues piled in and the profits piled up . But the com- pany's future was far from assured . Making copies of documents was but one ...
Page 71
... Xerox placed a few Altos in the Carter White House , but did not publicize the enthusiastic reaction . And when Xerox conducted an experiment whereby a group of secretaries used Altos equipped with a word processor named Gypsy that ...
... Xerox placed a few Altos in the Carter White House , but did not publicize the enthusiastic reaction . And when Xerox conducted an experiment whereby a group of secretaries used Altos equipped with a word processor named Gypsy that ...
Page 77
... Xerox Development Corporation , a branch of the copying giant specializ- ing in venture capital . Apple was in the midst of solicit- ing new investments to sustain its meteoric growth , and Xerox's investment arm was interested . Here ...
... Xerox Development Corporation , a branch of the copying giant specializ- ing in venture capital . Apple was in the midst of solicit- ing new investments to sustain its meteoric growth , and Xerox's investment arm was interested . Here ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alan Kay Alto Andy Hertzfeld Apple Apple II Apple's applications artist Bandley began Bill Atkinson bit-mapped Brainerd Burrell Smith button called Capps chip Cupertino cyberspace desk desktop disk drive display document dream Dynabook Engelbart engineers Finder floppy disk folder Gassée going graphics hackers hard disk hardware HyperCard IBM PC icon idea interface intosh Jef Raskin Joanna Hoffman John Sculley Kay's keyboard Larry Tesler later Lisa Lisa's look Mac team Mac's machine Macintosh team MacWrite memex memory menu metaphor Microsoft million mouse move original PageMaker PARC PARC's personal computer PowerBook powerful PowerMac problem prototype puter realized RISC scientists screen Sculley's ship Silicon Valley Smalltalk sort spreadsheet Steve Capps Steve Jobs Tesler Tesseract things thought tion told tosh virtual vision wanted wizards word processor writing wrote Xerox