Being Good for Everyone

I was once working in Silicon Valley in the Nineties, for a company called Adaptec. This was founded by an immigrant, who arrived in America with only $20 in his pockets. He built his company, from scratch, into a successful company worth millions.

I knew a number of successful people who were that way, in the Computer Industry, in the Eighties and Nineties. They had built their companies, by making a new technology successful. Their success attracted people intent on taking that success away from them - and using it for themselves. The worst kind of people.

As a tech writer, I often ended up working for them - a situation I did not like at all, but was powerless to change. There were therapists in the Valley, in unlimited supply - any kind of therapist imaginable, and more were being invented all the time. I turned to them, thinking I was the cause of my trouble, and they could help me adapt to my situation.

They were no help at all. All they had to do, was note what I was up against, but none them could do this.

Adaptec was going through a crisis, because adapters were becoming unnecessary. They were used by the first Personal Computer (PC), that was about 3 ft/ tall, 2 ft. deep, and a ft. wide. They could not do much, out of the box - and you had to add adapters to them, to make them do anything else - such as access the Internet.

They were being replaced by the Laptop, that had all this already built in. In a much smaller package.

Adaptec should have simply gone out of business, but instead it was taken over by the Vulture Capitalists, I mentioned before. No one noticed this, it was done so cleverly. But the new owners were getting rich. And the people working for them, were making good money also. While benefiting only themselves.

I saw this going on, but could not understand it. But instead worked for Startup after Startup - all hoping to get rich fast - at the expense of everyone else.

The Industry was going through a huge shakedown, that would result, in the next twenty years, in hundreds of companies disappearing.

Only a handful would be left - Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft (who went through huge changes itself).

These companies were doing something that could not be imagined before. Making Software that would be good for everyone. It also made them rich, very rich - but benefited the Industry even more.

A new economy has dawned, that left many people poorer than before. And they have gone to leaders, who promise to fix everything for them. And them alone.