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As a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Pake was an early researcher in nuclear magnetic resonance, work that directly led to the MRI scanner. But in 1970 Pake was lured away from WUSTL to head a newly created research laboratory: Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. Researchers at PARC -- not Apple, not Microsoft -- invented the graphical user interface, the mouse, the laser printer, and Ethernet and local area networks. "George used to say he'd be surprised if anything came out of the lab within five years that would have tremendous impact on the corporation," said John Shoch, one of PARC's early researchers. "He set the time horizon pretty far out. That was pretty unusual in the context of a corporation." Pake's vision earned him a National Medal of Science in 1987. He died March 4 from heart failure at his home it Tucson, Ariz. He was 79. From This is True for 7 March 2004 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Michael A. Hiltzik List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $11.53 Editorial Review: Throughout the '70s and '80s, Xerox Corporation provided unlimited funding to a renegade think tank called the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Occupying a ramshackle building adjacent to Stanford University, PARC's occupants would prove to be the greatest gathering of computer talent ever assembled: it conceptualized the very notion of the desktop computer, long before IBM launched its PC, and it laid the foundation for Microsoft Windows with a prototype graphical user interface of icons and layered screens. Even the technology that makes it possible for these words to appear on the screen can trace its roots to Xerox's eccentric band of innovators. But despite PARC's many industry-altering breakthroughs, Xerox failed ever to grasp the financial potential of such achievements. And while Xerox's inability to capitalize upon some of the world's most important technological advancements makes for an interesting enough story, Los Angeles Times correspondent Michael Hiltzik focuses instead on the inventions and the inventors themselves. We meet fiery ringleader Bob Taylor, a preacher's son from Texas known as much for his ego as for his uncanny leadership; we trace the term "personal computer" back to Alan Kay, a visionary who dreamed of a machine small enough to tuck under the arm; and we learn how PARC's farsighted principles led to collaborative brilliance. Hiltzik's consummate account of this burgeoning era won't improve Xerox's stake in the computer industry by much, but it should at least give credit where credit is due. Recommended. --Rob McDonald In the bestselling tradition of The Soul of a New Machine, Dealers of Lightning is a fascinating journey of intellectual creation. In the 1970s and '80s, Xerox Corporation brought together a brain-trust of engineering geniuses, a group of computer eccentrics dubbed PARC. This brilliant group created several monumental innovations that triggered a technological revolution, including the first personal computer, the laser printer, and the graphical interface (one of the main precursors of the Internet), only to see these breakthroughs rejected by the corporation. Yet, instead of giving up, these determined inventors turned their ideas into empires that radically altered contemporary life and changed the world. Based on extensive interviews with the scientists, engineers, administrators, and executives who lived the story, this riveting chronicle details PARC's humble beginnings through its triumph as a hothouse for ideas, and shows why Xerox was never able to grasp, and ultimately exploit, the cutting-edge innovations PARC delivered. Dealers of Lightning offers an unprecedented look at the ideas, the inventions, and the individuals that propelled Xerox PARC to the frontier of technohistoiy--and the corporate machinations that almost prevented it from achieving greatness.  List Price: $42.00 Amazon Price: $35.20 Editorial Review: Art and Innovation contributor Craig Harris writes that "[b]oth scientists and artists are converging ... in such issues as artificial life, teleprescences, and multimedia and immersive environments." But this connection is often overlooked, and as niche computer technologies become more standard, the groups may be becoming more entrenched and separate. Xerox PARC, now recognized as the hotbed of computer technology development in the latter half of the 20th century (and discussed in books such as Dealers of Lightning), took a new turn in the 1990s. Because of its interest in the "Office of the Future," Xerox paired Bay Area artists with its in-house team of computer scientists (as well as anthropologists, philosophers, linguists, interface designers, mathematicians, and cryptographers) and closely documented their discoveries. At the center of the PAIR Program's mission lies the future of digital media and the thesis that artists should be fundamentally involved with the development of these tools rather than just be consumers of them. Two more diverse and entrenched disciplines could hardly be found, and the surprising results are painstakingly detailed here. Precursors to the 1990s incarnation of the artist-researcher pairing brought about technical innovations such as the first bitmapped graphics editor, a result of the combined efforts of a mathematician and a sculptor. The roughly half-dozen experiments conducted within the PAIR Project are discussed in detail in this book, including a chapter about work on LambdaMOO, the social virtual-reality site that seeks to transcend the Web's use as primarily an information provider. Another particularly strong section of the book, titled "Endless Beginnings," owes much to Jenny Holzer, with multiple lines of thought on one hypertext-based project wrapping through the pages. While this book is limited by the need to present every speck of information (much like a conference paper), the ideas are substantive and worthy of consideration. Computer professionals working on the Web and in software development can read this notebook of ideas to facilitate their own expansive thinking beyond just the merits of clean code. --Jennifer BuckendorffThe idea behind Xerox's interdisciplinary Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is simple: if you put creative people in a hothouse setting, innovation will naturally emerge. PARC's Artist-in-Residence Program (PAIR) brings artists who use new media to PARC and pairs them with researchers who often use the same media, though in different contexts. This is radically different from most corporate support of the arts, where there is little intersection between the disciplines. The result is both interesting art and new scientific innovations. |
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