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What are some notable blunders in history that resulted in huge loss? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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Loss in terms of money or efforts. Could be recent or ancient.

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[โ€“] 31 points 3 years ago* (3 children)

In terms of money and business, my fav is how Xerox didn't know how to market/capitalize on what was effectively the first personal computer before personal computers were even a concept, which is estimated to be a $1.4 trillion mistake.

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  • [โ€“] 10 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    This Xerox Alto restoration series is a really interesting reflection on that. Here's the point in the series where they finally get it running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OQMhvArI9g

    Yeah, Xerox made revolutionary progress. But it appears that their proximity to a viable consumer product is a bit exaggerated. It really did still take another set of eyes and minds to wrangle it in. I think if they did release it sooner, and without the leaks, the next competitor still would have seen that and soon come along and done a better enough job to nullify their first-mover advantage.

    Those days were chock full of companies that ended up just contributing to the zeitgeist of computing without themselves reaping in the glory.

    I think Steve Jobs' comments about what Xerox could have been... Is largely him stroking his ego that he and Apple pulled off what they couldn't.

    I don't think Xerox would be the Mac of today in most timelines.

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