Failure Is Just The Beginning

Huxley Dunsany and the Retro Roadshow will explore some fascinating "failures" from computer and consumer electronics history which were unexpectedly important, influential, and impactful on the modern world. Among other topics, we'll discuss:

• A visionary CEO who bragged about upcoming products and inadvertently destroyed his own company, leading to the obsession with secrecy exhibited by modern tech companies
• The scrappy startup that quietly invented a staggering number of the technologies we all have in our pockets today, before fading into obscurity
• The wild story of how Apple burned over $100,000,000 trying to compete against IBM for business customers with a super-advanced new computer… which didn't work
• How Steve Jobs's "second act" after leaving Apple failed in the open market, but became the technological foundation of nearly every modern Apple product

In addition to a live presentation, the Retro Roadshow team will have working examples of each of these rare and fascinating products on hand for visitors to see, use, and learn about!

Huxley Dunsany has lived all around the US, but has always called Northern California 'home.' A lifelong nerd who grew up with an abundance of curiosity and a lack of funds, his earliest exposure to computers in the early 1990's were with systems already considered obsolete, and this instilled an ongoing love and respect for "outdated" (but still interesting and useful!) technology. With his wife Sarai and son Rhyal, Huxley is the founder of The Retro Roadshow, the East Bay's premier hands-on retrocomputing experience, where visitors can play with and learn about many fascinating, influential and fun vintage computers and video game systems.

Read more about Huxley at The New York Times

Innovation in Practice Series 2023

Date: Wednesday, June 7 @ 12PM-1PM PT

Location: In-Person at GGU Library and on Zoom

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Golden Gate University, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco, United States