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Functionality Mistakes Throughout History That Were Way Too Expensive to Fix

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78. The Missed Opportunity of Xerox’s Revolutionary Computer

Year: 1971
Location: Menlo Park, California
Company: Xerox
Estimated Damage Value: $2 trillion*

The Xerox Alto, as the pioneer computer featuring an OS, inspired Steve Jobs for Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh, marking a pivotal point in computing history. Despite its influence, only 2,000 units were produced in the early seventies.

Xerox overlooked the groundbreaking Alto’s potential, failing to market it. This oversight allowed Steve Jobs to draw inspiration for future Apple products. Xerox’s realization of their lost opportunity only came with the success of the Macintosh in the early eighties.