Abundance... (Computers: The Life Story of a Technology -Post 2)

In the second half of Computers: The Life Story of a Technology, one of the most prominent themes to emerge is that of abundance. The unlimited potential of the human mind is on full display with the development of the personal computer and it’s widespread acceptance and the incorporation of the internet into the daily life of many average people. When the Altair 8800 was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in January 1975 and four thousand orders were placed for designer Edward Robert’s machine a new market for home computers had emerged. (87) In the thirty-five short years since then, the home computer and the market for it has undergone immense changes. Forward thinking entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, a cofounder of Apple Computer, saw the commercial potential of the computer. Launched in 1976, Apple sales had risen to $300 million and employed 1,500 people by 1981. (93) Time magazine actually chose the personal computer as their Man of the Year for 1982 naming a machine instead of an international leader for the only time in the publication’s history. (96) As Jobs stated of his Apple I computer, “We didn’t do three years of research and come up with this concept. What we did was follow our own instincts and construct a computer that was what we wanted.” As the development of the PC has shown, when people unlock their potential and follow their instincts, the advancements are staggering.

The dizzying growth of the industry resulted in much economic upheaval. Computer software, which was initially free with the purchase of a personal computer, became a rapidly budding industry. In 1970, software sales in the US were less than half a billion dollars. By 1985 this new industry had grown to $25 billion. (103) IBM was thrown into disarray by the PC and it’s associated markets and lost a shocking 8.1 billion dollars despite bringing in $62.7 billion in revenue in 1993. (107) Microsoft founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen employed 50,000 people and brought in revenue of $35 billion of which $26 billion was profit. (109)

The internet development was also fueled by human instinct and abundant thinking. A desire to share information between universities and save money on the purchase of machinery led to the beginning of the internet. (114) Through the early years of modifications and tweaks which made the internet user friendly, the contaminant to the process became Wall Street. When private business saw the potential to reach unlimited numbers of people, investors sought to cash in. The “dot-com” boom which promised riches to those at the forefront, crashed when Time-Warner media company purchased America Online in 2001 based solely on AOL’s stock valuation. (128) This proved to be a financial disaster when the stock crashed. An abundant, emerging industry such as the internet can be tarnished by greed. And, Wall Street is usually the source of greed. Making money is not a bad thing, as the economics of the PC and internet worlds have shown readers of Computers: The Life Story of a Technology, but once the purity of the process is tainted by greed, a scarcity mindset overcomes the abundance mentality and the process stalls. It seems, to this reader however, that the “dot-com” frenzy is being replaced by proper business practices in 2010 and the economic impact of the internet has only just begun.

As the last couple chapters of the book allude to, greed is not the only problem that comes with the advancement of technology via the internet. Concerns for national safety stemming from potential military and security problems have also arisen. (140) The dark side of humanity seems to coincide with any advancement we make. What is evident, is that technology is not slowing down. Bringing the subject matter into the year 2010, it seems that US citizens should look back at the development of the computer and internet and see hope. Using the same instincts, ingenuity and abundant thinking as the forward thinking folks referenced in the book, it seems anyone can harness these technologies and create their own place in this still burgeoning new world.