Tech Firms Owe Debt to 'Star Wars' Creator
By GREG SANDOVAL, AP Technology Writer 
Thanx George! Avid, Sonic Solutions, Pixar and more all have roots that go back a long time ago to a place far, far away....... SAN FRANCISCO - After filming the first "Star Wars" movie with special effects far from special, George Lucas spent millions to develop a complete digital editing system to populate his sequels with armies of X-wing fighters and Gungan warriors. Then, he virtually gave it away. "We were 10 years ahead of the commercial reality," said Bob Doris, co-general manager of Lucas' computer division during the mid-1980s. "He inspired some very worthwhile ventures ... but the innovations weren't close to paying for themselves." So Lucas sold many of his technologies for cheap  technologies that would later appear in home stereos, cell phones, medical imaging devices and virtually every Hollywood studio, driving billion-dollar companies and employing thousands of people. read more...
Thanx George! Avid, Sonic Solutions, Pixar and more all have roots that go back a long time ago to a place far, far away....... SAN FRANCISCO - After filming the first "Star Wars" movie with special effects far from special, George Lucas spent millions to develop a complete digital editing system to populate his sequels with armies of X-wing fighters and Gungan warriors. Then, he virtually gave it away. "We were 10 years ahead of the commercial reality," said Bob Doris, co-general manager of Lucas' computer division during the mid-1980s. "He inspired some very worthwhile ventures ... but the innovations weren't close to paying for themselves." So Lucas sold many of his technologies for cheap  technologies that would later appear in home stereos, cell phones, medical imaging devices and virtually every Hollywood studio, driving billion-dollar companies and employing thousands of people. read more...
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