Good Artists Copy. Great Artists Steal.

In the video, Rise of the Nerds: Part 3, we see the rise of the computer age and how the men behind these companies created this vision. I found it very interesting that Xerox ultimately jump started the technological advancement of personal computing. Xerox Alto began by trying to put computers into the workplace. It was the first GUI (Graphic User Interface) with a mouse pointer. They connected other computers to one another using Ethernet. The discoveries and technologies were way ahead of its time, but the Xerox headquarters didn’t share the vision of personal computing and shut down the project. 

The researchers at Xerox showed Steve Jobs their idea for a GUI. He was so impressed with the idea that he claimed right away that all computers would eventually run using it. The Apple team used the idea of GUI and improved it. When Steve Jobs says that Xerox could’ve owned the entire computer industry, it put things in perspective for me. I guess we look at these large companies and don’t think about how they got their success. The continuous rise and fall of the Macintosh shows that there is more to a company than its product. Apple obviously had a more user friendly interface and contained new and innovative ideas, but IBM and Windows remained ahead of Apple because of the way they ran their business. Jobs looked at personal computing as, what can we make new and better for users whereas the other major computer companies looked at personal computing as how do we sell more and how can we make more money. In business, you must look at your company as a business and not as an outlet to pursue dreams. Jobs, at one point in time got kicked out of Apple because his visions and persistence in an OS called LISA lost Apple a lot of money. Jobs eventually came back to take over the Macintosh OS and formed it into a cheaper LISA. Although Macintosh was revolutionary and very user friendly, it didn’t have as many applications as IBM PC’s. IBM then became a huge threat to Apple.

IBM PC ran on a DOS which was created by Bill Gates. The IBM PC had a plethora of software that wouldn’t work on Macintosh’s and that Apple didn’t provide. It also wasn’t a GUI. Jobs signed a contract with Gates to create bundled applications for the Mac. This is where Gates got the idea that GUI was the future of personal computing. 

Windows OS was then launched by Bill Gates. He was sued by Apple for basically stealing their software. They were mimicking the Mac, but unfortunately Apple lost the case.  Windows exploded with popularity and took over the industry of personal computing. 

All of this history shows us that success doesn’t have to come from your own personal innovative and creative ideas. You can take someone else’s success, and make it your own. Good artists copy, great artists steal... whether we like it or not.