[quote=CA renter]No Gates or Brin/Page? How not?[/quote]
I would give credits for today’s computer and its GUI to the scientists at Xerox PARC, not Gate or Jobs. They both basically took a lot of those research and create viable products/companies out of them. Although first Mac came out in 1984, first Windows came out in 1983. Here’s a history of Windows: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/history. Both the first Windows and the first Mac have a mouse, but that was developed initially by Xerox PARC as well. So, in essence, Mac and Windows came out at right around the same time. Gates was just more success than Jobs in monetizing AND expanding Windows’ market share through software licensing vs a one stop shop. We’re seeing a similar result happening today w/ smartphone OS (Android vs iOS). Although Gates, Jobs, Brin/Page were all founders of companies with a product that’s original. Gates and Brin/Page were able to change the landscape of how we use computer and how we search for information on the Internet. After almost 30 years, PC and Windows still have the lion share of the market. Google have the lion share of the search market and Android is blowing past iOS after just 3 years. Make no mistake, Jobs is up there in importance, I just don’t think his company made as big of an impact as Windows, Google Search, and Android. This is just MHO though. This is also why I put him in the Jack Welch category (both are great CEO who turn around failing companies).
In response to CONCHO and Pixar, I view CGI is just another technology in a long line of technologies that improve our way of watching movies. I group CGI with color film, audio added to silent film, HD recording, 3D films, surround sound, etc. They all are ground breaking for their time, but I wouldn’t say one technology is greater than another. BTW, Pixar didn’t invent CGI. Here’s a history of CGI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation_in_film_and_television.
So, although Pixar came out with the first movie fully done in CGI, I would say, sooner or later, it was found to happen, since CGI started in the 70s and Toy Story came out when the technology was mature enough to support a feature-length film. In 1996, Dragonheart came out. It was the first 2D all-CGI backgrounds with live actors. Basically, what I’m trying to say is, CGI is much bigger than Pixar and have a much longer history. I wouldn’t lay the credit for CGI in film at the foot of Pixar. They’re just one of many companies that help advance CGI. This is not even giving credit to the chip makers for designing and releasing CPUs that are fast enough to do these kind of calculation.
