raptor: My dad took me to Palo Alto Research Center a couple of times, back in the mid-1970s. It was an amazing place, and what is even more amazing is the sheer amount of genius that Xerox threw away. I’m sure you know this, but the mouse, ethernet networking, and dozens of other innovations were either discarded, or sold cheap to competitors, because Xerox couldn’t use them in their xerographic business. Stunning when you think about it.
Speaking of ancient history, and the old guard “dinosaur” mentality: A good friend of my dad’s was an engineer with Amdahl, the mainframe maker. He opined at a BBQ (circa 1981) that the PC would never take off, and true computing power would always be held by the “big iron” (mainframes). Whoops.
My dad offered to cut me a deal on the Los Altos place, but my wife at the time didn’t want to move to the Bay Area, and didn’t really get along with my parents. So, I hear ya. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
