Why “The Billion Dollar Code” is Evil
Did you watch “The Billion Dollar Code,” the Netflix documentary that purports to tell the true story behind the creation of Google Earth? If so, were you glad to learn about the scrappy, visionary little team in Berlin, far from Silicon Valley, who were portrayed as the true inventors of the software? And did you cheer them on in their uphill battle against the “evil” giant corporation, Google?
If so, sorry, but you were duped.
“The Billion Dollar Code,” is actually one of the most dishonest and cynical films ever foisted upon the public as a “true story”.
Before making my case, let me share that I did love watching some parts of the movie. After all, I worked at Silicon Graphics from 1994 through 1998, and the filmmakers did a phenomenal job showcasing our hardware, operating system, demos, and logo. In 1994, I became the product manager for Indy, the beautiful blue workstation that is lovingly featured in so many scenes:
And from January 1995 onward, I was a leader of the company’s decades-too-early effort to bring about the “metaverse” by delivering virtual reality over the Internet to personal computers in people’s homes. In many…
