Re I remember this The Magical Apple Spin-Off That Almost Invented the iPhone in 1993

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

That was a big mistake. Actually was one of many. Dave
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Brian Zisk <zisk () well com>
Date: Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: [IP] Re I remember this The Magical Apple Spin-Off That Almost
Invented the iPhone in 1993
To: <dave () farber net>
Cc: ip <ip () listbox com>


I went up after their huge and impressive dog and pony show at MacWorld and
asked how one could develop for their platform.

"We already have our 10 development partners".

Brian Zisk

SF MusicTech Summit 10/17/2017
http://www.sfmusictech.com
Future of Money & Technology Summit 12/04/2017
http://www.futureofmoney.com
Maui Music/MoneyTech February 2018
http://www.mauimusictech.com

On Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 9:31 AM, Dave Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:

> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Charles Arthur <charles.arthur () gmail com>
> Date: Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 8:52 AM
> Subject: Re: [IP] I remember this The Magical Apple Spin-Off That Almost
> Invented the iPhone in 1993
> To: <dave () farber net>, <dewayne () warpspeed com>
>
>
> I visited General Magic in 1993 or 1994 to write an article for New
> Scientist. It really was born in a mansion rather than a garage.
>
> Here’s how the article I wrote (
> https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14219217-300-black-hat-white-rabbit/)
> begins:
> ++
>
> Imagine being lost on a mountain. You know there’s a path to the road,
> but all you can see are hills, lakes and woods, and the map you brought
> along is little more than a sketch. This is the moment that you need the
> device so beloved of 1950s science fiction – a communicator. A small device
> that can display detailed maps of the area, send messages to the emergency
> services and, if you’ve got the advanced model, beam you back home.
>
> Well, there’s a small group of scientists working in a Californian
> development
> laboratory who’d like to help you out.
> ++
>
> So yes, pretty close to the iPhone.
>
> best
> Charles
>
> On Twitter: http://twitter.com/charlesarthur
> The Overspill:
> http://theoverspill.wordpress.com/
> More:
> http://www.charlesarthur.com/
>
>
>
>
> On 27 Jun 2017, at 13:31, Dave Farber <farber () gmail com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> *Date:* June 27, 2017 at 7:41:21 AM EDT
> *To:* Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> *Subject:* *[Dewayne-Net] The Magical Apple Spin-Off That Almost Invented
> the iPh =?utf-8?Q?one_=E2=80=A6_in_1993_=*
> *Reply-To:* dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> The Magical Apple Spin-Off That Almost Invented the iPhone … in 1993
> By Sean Braswell
> Jun 27 2017
> <
> http://www.ozy.com/flashback/the-magical-apple-spin-off-that-almost-invented-the-iphone-in-1993/40708
> >
>
> Can you guess which company penned this mission statement in 1990?
>
> We have a dream of improving the lives of many millions of people by means
> of small, intimate life support systems that people carry with them
> everywhere. These systems will help people to organize their lives, to
> communicate with other people, and to access information of all kinds….
>
> Apple is a good guess, but the above was actually the dream of General
> Magic, an Apple Inc. spin-off that aimed to create a revolutionary
> hand-held computer. Named after Arthur C. Clarke’s famous maxim that “the
> best new technology is indistinguishable from magic,” it was Silicon
> Valley’s hottest startup, at least for a spell. But even magic and
> partnerships with Apple, Sony, Motorola and other big players failed to
> conjure a market for its innovative but unsettled technology.
>
> General Magic was the brainchild of Apple’s Marc Porat, once labeled a
> “wizard with a business plan.” Months before the U.S. Olympic Basketball
> program started assembling its “dream team” in 1991, Porat began assembling
> his own all-star squad of coding legends and design and hardware gurus from
> within Apple’s ranks. Leading the talented crew of tech wizards were
> co-founders Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld — two of Macintosh’s key
> designers — as well as artist Susan Kare (designer of the trash can and
> other Mac icons).
>
> General Magic’s vision was more an illusion than a reality.
>
> Technology startups are often born in garages, but as the Los Angeles
> Timesobserved, “General Magic was born in a mansion.” Apple Chairman John
> Sculley, also on General Magic’s board, helped Porat build his dream team,
> and Apple, likely trying to hedge its bets with its own hand-held project,
> Newton, came aboard early with $10 million in seed money. The secret
> startup initially flew under the radar, but as it began drawing more
> big-name investors and partners, including AT&T, Sanyo and Sony, word got
> out.
>
> Almost 17 years before the iPhone, General Magic’s aim was nothing less
> than a pocket-size communications device that could send messages, perform
> computing and make calls. The company called a dramatic press conference in
> February 1993 to announce two key components of that device: Magic Cap (a
> user-friendly operating system) and Telescript (a telecommunications
> language to allow devices to communicate across different networks).
> Industry observers raved that the company was creating “the digital version
> of English” to go with its hand-held personal assistant of the future.
> General Magic raised almost $90 million, and another $82 million at its
> 1995 initial public offering. Silicon Valley’s brightest angled to work at
> its Mountain View headquarters, equipped with free-roaming rabbits and
> conference rooms named after famous illusionists like Houdini.
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>
>
>
>
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