The perfect storm for innovation
- 04 April, 2012 01:27
- Comments
In my career, there have been a few perfect storms, defined as "a confluence, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude."
In 1980, when I was an undergraduate at Stanford University, two geeky guys named Jobs and Wozniak dropped by the Homebrew Computer Club to demonstrate a kit designed in their garage. IBM introduced the Personal Computer and MSDOS 1.0. I purchased an early copy of Microsoft Basic and began creating software in my dorm room, including early versions of tax calculation software, an econometric modeling language and electronic data interchange tools. Every day brought a new opportunity. The energies of hundreds of entrepreneurs created an industry in a few intensely creative months that laid the foundation for the architecture and tools still in use today. A guy named Gates offered me a job, but I decided to stay in school instead.
In 2001, when I was first hired at Harvard, a visionary dean for medical education, a supportive dean of the medical school, talented new development staff, and a sleepless MD/Ph.D. student came together to create one of the first learning management systems in the country, Mycourses. Robust Web technologies, voice recognition, search engines, early mobile devices and new multimedia streaming standards coincided with resources, strong governance and a sense of urgency. Magic happened and in a matter of months, an entire platform was created that is still powering the medical school today.
To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.
Recommended
Join the Computerworld Australia group on Linkedin. The group is open to IT Directors, IT Managers, Infrastructure Managers, Network Managers, Security Managers, Communications Managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email Computerworld
- Follow Computerworld on twitter
-
Australia remains black spot for Vodafone
-
Australia remains black spot for Vodafone
-
How to provide IT support to a dispersed workforce
-
Intel claims Haswell will offer 50 per cent more battery life in laptops
-
Intel claims Haswell will offer 50 per cent more battery life in laptops
