A Connection of Geniuses
It’s been two weeks since I wrote a newsletter, it seems I’m always puzzled as to what content I should put in the newsletter.
But tonight, shortly before the radio show, I put down one of the four books that I’m reading that I received earlier in the evening from Amazon.
I’m currently reading books called “Where Wizards Stay up Late”, “Worms”, “Dealers of Lightning”, and “Steve Jobs”. All of these books have something to do with either the origin of the computer industry or the men involved in the origin of the computer industry.
In the Dealers of Lightning one of the prominent characters is a fellow named Bob Taylor. Bob Taylor was one of the innovators of ARPANET, the inspiration for the Internet, and the inventor of the personal computer at Xerox Parc. Xerox Parc stands for Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. It still exists in an area that is now known as Silicon Valley.
Xerox Parc is where Steve Jobs and Bill Gates first saw a graphic user interface on a display screen which was connected to a computer that Bob Taylor invented.
In starting my fourth book this evening, the Steve Jobs book, I discovered something extremely interesting. Dealers of Lightning and Steve Jobs are both books that talk about the genius of innovators and entrepreneurs. The only connection between the two that I can find in the books so far is that Steve Jobs visited Xerox PARC saw the graphical user interface that Bob Taylor and his team had invented and decided to use that on the first Apple computer.
I also discovered something reading these two books about these two men that gives them another connection. It turns out that they were both very difficult people to work for many times giving instructions in a tirade or demanding more than their people thought they could deliver. For each, in his own time, invented what could have been called impossible.
I think the connection of Steve Jobs with his first computer to Xerox Parc to see Bob Taylor’s computer is more than ironic. Unknowingly one genius of the industry “acquired” the knowledge and idea of another genius of the industry, both having a similar management and creative style.
But, there is one more thing that makes us even more ironic. Both Bob Taylor and Steve Jobs were told at a very young age by their parents that they were chosen and special and both were adopted.
I’m trading off reading a little from each book each evening. The more I read the more I have a hard time putting either book down.
There are many more geniuses and innovators that made computers that we use in our homes and businesses what they are today but Bob Taylor and his team and Steve Jobs and his team are two of the great ones.
And somehow, intellectually, these two men were connected.
It’s a sad day in my tech world…
Back in 1990 I was working on a computer system in a customer’s office. While there I met a guy named Ron, who became one of my best friends, who had just bought a 30 foot cabin cruiser he was putting on Fox Lake.
Cell phones were not cellular yet. They were big bricks or had huge transmitters in the trunk.
Ron asked if I could do a custom phone installation on his new boat. Of course I could and did. Ron then wanted a custom sound system on the boat. Now, we were getting into a tech area that I was not very knowledgeable in.
He wanted 18 speakers total including 2 18 inch sub woofers, custom switching system, 2 huge amps, and 2 additional deep cycle batteries.
Because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing I called on a good friend of mine to help me design this monster sound system.
When I asked Ed Wilk to help me put it together he said no. NO? One of the only people I knew who could make this work flawlessly said no?
Yep. He said no. What he did do is take a whole lot of time to teach me how to learn to do it myself instead. Recommending books, asking me test questions, grading my design drawing, and more.
Instead of helping me do it, he helped me learn how to do it. Ed and I became great friends over the years. We helped each other on other small projects from time to time.
Last time I saw him was in Chicago to feed a Portillo food jones, just before Website Wednesday Night went on the air.
My friend Ed Wilk passed away today.
Not many know this, but in my tech world he was one of my mentors.
Rest in peace my friend.
Remote Support Services Are Back
A few weeks ago I had to take some time away from providing remote computer support to help with a family business, as was announced on the front page of Savemybutt. I was working 12 to 15 hours a day, stay in a Super 8 motel, with only 2 day off in 5 weeks.
That project in my life is now complete, though my computer business took a massive ding.. Whew…. Glad that’s over!
During that time I was not taking new appointments and actually had to cancel a few to work. Ha ha! Are REAL job.
Effective tonight, August 24th, I am again accepting new appointments for remote computer services.
If for some reason I was not able to make it to your appointment in the last couple of weeks, please make a new one and note that in the description. I have something special for you!
I look forward to, once again, help you with your computer issues.
Thank you for your understanding,
Mike DiMichele
If They Made Donuts They Would Have Made A Fortune From The Cops
Dateline: Midway, Georgia – July 17, 2011
“Midway Police Shut Down Girls’ Lemonade Stand for not having a Business License”
When I was a kid I remember setting up a table at the end of my driveway in Hoffman Estates (before it was on the map I think) to sell lemonade. It was a dead end street, Baxter Lane, and because I knew all the neighbors I think I made 50 or 60 cents.
Last year in the cul-de-sac in front of my home in Algonqin, the little girl across the street set one up at the end of her driveway. I found out she did substantially better then I did, making $3.50.
But, I guess in Midway Georgia, with a population of roughly 2000 people, children are not allowed to sell lemonade without paying $50 for a one day business license.
There are just some days that I wish I was still a half pint living in the fifties again.
You can read the story here http://tinyurl.com/3vqha9p.
The President speaks to a bipartisan group of college students about politics
On March 8th 2011 President Obama surprised and took questions from a group of Boston Area College Democrats, Republicans and Independents after his speech at Tech Boston Academy in Dorchester, MA.
This is a smart man telling it like it is to a group of young people. I think it inspired those lucky young men and women about what to expect should they choose a career in politics.
Since I am a huge Lincoln fan, I found his comments about the Emancipation Proclamation and the Huffington Post interesting.
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