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X-EROX
PALO ALTO RESEARCH 'CENTER
Systems Science Laboratory
LSI Systems Area
August 25, 1979
For Xerox Internal Use Only
To: Bert Sutherland, Alan Kay, Lynn Conway, Chris Jeffers, Ted Strollo
From: Doug Fairbairn
Subject: Whither NoteTaker?
stored: notetakerkick.memo
NoteTakers work. I know. The rough draft of this memo was written on a NoteTaker. The
machine sat on my dining room table - and there was still enough room for dinner, a few
magazines, and all the other things that find their way to such a table. The point is that
NoteTakers are small and portable and very powerful besides. However, the NoteTaker project is
slipping towards disaster. We, and I include myself, have been weak in our commitment to the
program and this weakness will delay the program into oblivion if we are not careful.
Both the people who help develop the machine and its future users sense this lack of commitment.
spa has felt this weakness more than anyone. They have been forced to make unexpected
cutbacks in their manpower and to reassign their personnel to non-existent jobs. They have no true
idea what our plans are and morale is very low. They sense our lack of commitment. The same is
true of the manufacturing group who are now unsure when or whether they will have a program.
Those who have expressed interest in NoteTakers and are willing to put up their money for them
can sense the indecision. I can't tell them when to have their purchase orders in because I don't
know when the build will start or how much they will cost. They aren't sure if NoteTaker is real.
There have been innumerable visitors passing through who have expressed interest and asked "when
can I get one"? Answer?? It's time to decide. It's time to make a plan and stick to it. Its time to
make a plan and tell others what it is. It's time to put NoteTaker firs~. We need a commitment
that everyone in SSL understands and supports.
My recommendation is that the issue be discussed with all group leaders as well as spa as soon as
possible. SSL must as a group make a commitment to this program and pledge that it will have
priority when it comes to allocating budget. As a development program it cannot stand the
uncertainties of some research programs. There are many outside suppliers and customers who
must be scheduled and accounted for in our plans.
With N oteTaker, there are a number of very interesting applications to investigate and opportunities
to capture. Education, LSI test bed, field service, and remote communications are some of the
applications which have been discussed. All have as a common goal the idea of teaching us and the
corporation what portable computing is all about. On a parallel track, John Titsworth once asked
ASD if they had ever considered doing a probe in the homes of the top Xerox executives.
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NoteTakers might be an ideal vehicle. Intriguing. All these ideas, dreams, and speculations will
remaIn so much hoi- air unTess we finish the design, finIsh the initial software, and start up the
production lines. It really won't be until NoteTaker is handed off to a manufacturing group b.l.at
people will be sure it's for real and start to factor them into their plans. Until then, it's all
hypothetical.
What exactly must be done?