Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science (2014)
Unlike Medicine, many of the ideas that we had in the past were better than the commonly accepted way things are done now.Capability based security, for example was something that allowed you to run any program, with no danger to your system. It's not part of any common OS. They had it at Xerox PARC, but Steve Jobs chose not to take that part.On the other hand, the PARC focus on replicating paper was a step backwards from work by Engelbart and others.The limitation of a single desktop was put in place to allow children to ease into the desktop metaphor... it wasn't meant for adults to be stuck with the training wheels on.I've been digging back, looking for the ideas we missed... and boy, there are some really powerful tools waiting to be reified in a modern context.