To: Jack Templin who wrote (2068 ) 3/7/1999 7:46:00 PM From: mark calder Read Replies (2) | Respond to
Read it too, actually wrote an analysis, Wow, where to start. This book traces the history of the U of W HIT lab and the life of Tom Furness. Basically Four startup companies are detailed. F5 Labs, Virtual I/O, Zombie Virtual Reality Entertainment and Microvision. Not one good thing was ever mentioned about Microvision. The book depicts Tom Furness as a great, benevolent, down home folksy kind of guy who wouldn't cheat or hurt a flea. Steve Willey comes away as the most hated person in this book. The point of view adopted by this author is by association that of Furness's. There is a lot of bad blood between Microvision and the HIT lab. This is unfortunate because the early investment by the founder of Microvision, Casey Harlingten, a Canadian bond broker, saved the lab from bankruptcy. In my own opinion the basis for all this infighting and bad blood is the basic setup of the lab itself. On one hand we have an academic research facility set up to offer grad students and research fellows a facility to conduct their thesis research, being funded by companies determined to protect their intellectual property and competitive advantage. The academic types naturally have to publish their findings while the companies hold back all involved with nondisclosure agreements. From what I have read the early formation Microvision was a loose and fast arraignment. Furness was promised one quarter of all the stock in the company in return for his assistance at fund raising meetings. Fortunately for us this early agreement was a Handshake agreement between Furness and Ron Erickson. This and further stock and option agreements reached with Furness appear to be the basis of the lawsuit filed by Furness. Throughout the book Microvision and the senior management are made to look like bumbling fools who would steal a babies lollipop if they could get away with it.
