Revolution in the valley
"There was a time, not too long ago, when the typewriter and notebook ruled, and the computer as an everyday tool was simply a vision. Revolution in the Valley traces this vision back to its earliest roots: the hallways and backrooms of Apple, where the groundbreaking Macintosh computer was born. This book traces the development of the Macintosh from its inception as an underground research project in 1979 to its triumphant introduction in 1984 and beyond." "Through period photos (many published for the first time here), original sketches, and Hertzfeld's firsthand accounts, the book reveals what it was like to be there at the birth of the personal computer revolution. The story comes to life through the book's portrait of the talented and often eccentric characters who made up the Macintosh team. Now, over 20 years later, millions of people are benefiting from the technical achievements of this determined and brilliant group of people."--Jacket.
Stats for nerds
29recommend
43mentions
37people
2008–2026years
74% recommend26% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The other books on hardware from this timeframe such as Tracy Kidder's _The Soul of a New Machine_ or Jerry Kaplan's _StartUp_ or Andy Hertzfeld's _Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made_ (available as: https://folklore.org/0-index.html) are quite striking and forthright in their discussion of hardware limitations and the ingenuity needed to get things done.
The book _CAD History_, available on-line at: https://www.shapr3d.com/history-of-cad/introduction has a bit on Xanadu from the Autodesk end of things.
Or, contrast the far more prosaic _Weaving the Web_ by Tim Berners-Lee and esp. take note of compromises such as URL changing from Universal Resource Locator to Uniform Resource Locator.
- Good to know, that's what I was expecting. I'll have to give the Cat a spin! Also, thanks for this article and the Jef Raskin one - I thoroughly enjoyed them and their depth. I was in the middle of reading the book version of folklore.org (Revolution in the Valley) and these were a pleasant surprise.
- Totally agree. I recently re-read Revolution in the Valley (Andy Hertzfeld's memoir of working on the Mac) and I absolutely got same same vibe you described. It's also hard not to be in awe of someone like Bill Atkinson - RIP legend. I just wanted to experience first hand the work this team made, rather than just reading about it, looking at screenshots or using it via an emulator. Maybe I'll learn something, or worst case, just a sense of appreciation of the shoulders of the giants we stand on.
- Oh man, he's a legend. My condolences to any family members passing by in remembrance. My highest respect goes to those with the tenacity and character required to force a good idea into existence. Bill inspired many people. While reading about him in "Revolution in the Valley", it felt like it recalibrated my own personal compass and gave me a sense of purpose in my own endeavors.
- I haven’t read it in physical form, but maybe Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made by Andy Hertzfeld?
AFAICT it’s based on the stories from https://folklore.org/, so I ought to be good.
You can see how it looks here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMExWOBvmho
- Andy Hertzfeld (folklore's writter) wrote "Revolution in the valley": a book about the Mac history, compiling many stories from his blog. It's a gem! https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Valley-Insanely-Great-Stor...
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