Glad you pointed this out. I believe the sequence was that Jobs himself got a shorter demo during his first visit with no prior arrangements. He then negotiated bringing back a group of his key people to get a more in depth demo and that included the stock deal.
When Apple was accused of 'ripping off' PARC, Steve didn't seem keen to bring up this rather salient point. I suspect it may have been a combination of wanting Apple to continue receiving credit for these innovations from consumers and also the fact that, in retrospect, the million dollar stock deal could seem a bit like trading beads to Native Americans for Manhattan Island. Another point worth noting is that Apple's PARC visit was in December 1979 and the Xerox Star was publicly announced in April 1981, so Apple got a 15 month head start (the Apple Lisa shipped in Jan 83).
I've also heard that Xerox didn't hold on to the Apple stock for very long, so never gained the windfall they could have. As is well documented, Xerox senior management didn't understand what they had in PARC and also didn't understand how rapidly microcomputers would become ubiquitous. So, of course, they didn't think Apple's stock price would skyrocket either.
Lisa and early MacOS are tremendously different in their details than the Alto operating system. While there was clearly a transfer of inspiration, Apple engineers like Bill Atkinson made countless small and large innovations to simplify the Xerox GUI model and improve its usability based on extensive in-house R&D and user testing (and in some cases implement features that the Apple team presumed Xerox had but actually didn't exist on the Alto). It is simply ahistoric to build narratives around Apple stealing Xerox ideas wholesale.
> the million dollar stock deal could seem a bit like trading beads to Native Americans for Manhattan Island
But in both cases the value only existed because of the people offering the deal. XeroX doing nothing with a UI or native Americans doing nothing with some land would mean the UI and the land would continue to be worth nothing. It was the others coming with ideas and effort that made them valuable.
Yes, you are correct to assume. I should be more humble as I just revealed my own ignorance when it comes to the meaning of "equivocating" :P
> But in both cases the value only existed because of the people offering the deal. XeroX doing nothing with a UI or native Americans doing nothing with some land would mean the UI and the land would continue to be worth nothing. It was the others coming with ideas and effort that made them valuable.
Specifically, "XeroX doing nothing with a UI or native Americans doing nothing with some land would mean the UI and the land would continue to be worth nothing" is what I am getting at.
Dollar value aside, if the argument you’re making is that the land now called NYC would have equivalent or greater value if it were today as it was then - that the subway system, roads, schools, hospitals, restaurants, apartments, etc. have no increased relative value over the undeveloped land - you’re likely to be considered ignorant by most of the inhabitants of the developed world.
I would have an easier time finding value in a refuse pile than I would within New York City.
> ignorant by most of the inhabitants of the developed world
"developed world", ah yes the part of the world marked by sedentary lifestyle, obesity, mental illness, suicide, mass shootings, and vast disparities in power.
Only beasts are joyful in Hell. I can recognize the demons just in their happiness.
