alan kay about computer science then and now, while now is gone already.

the contributions and the downfall of the Xerox Star
hardware limitation: "the star suffered from being a distributed personal computer and not a personal computer like the then released IBM PC."

software limitation: "No other company could develop software for the system because the programming language was never publicly released. Oddly enough, the "software lock-in" was a strategy that IBM had used in the past, a strategy that the SDD wanted to duplicate."

organizational downfall: "the sales department wasn´t used to sell something else than copiers."

conclusion of this text: "even though innovation is good, too much innovation is partially what caused Star to fail."

dazu passt: "why most quality programs fail" i like the term: machine age mindsets. but i think i would prefer to read: prophets in the dark: how xerox reinvented itself and beat back the japanese.

it sounds a little bit too whimpy to say euro follows a tradition, that brings to the wrong people the money and the jobs. (sl). the peter principle is known everywhere. therefore no mercy. simplemente apply, don´t cry. i find a lot of euro-projects stupid. sometimes i get the feeling, research is done as long until all major player have got a bit from the pie. and sometimes - tragic enough - after listening to some project descriptions, i can just leave the room with the conclusio: well, at least some people have found a way how to survive the next year. is this worse as the vc (thanks chris!) system?

it´s too austriacentric just to mention the axis germany - france, there is un otra historical fight between: france and inglaterra, there is the south with its own history and there is the east that once followed different survival tactics under the cover. and not all of them are forgotten. and far north? no sé, just know aki kaurismäki.

euroland in my opinion often enough follows a simple role model: "everything was going on so nice and cosy and comftable; than somebody called the clarion call and everybody was trying to put their trousers on to get on to their horses." (raymond steele about 3g) the results are obvious and well known by now.

fire in the valley , a reprint from 1984.

jean sammet: "programming languages history and fundamentals", if it can be found.