July 19, 2015, New York City
Wall St Equity Trading Software Veteran, Hadar Pedhazur talks Steve Jobs, NeXT and advanced computing to AppStorey
Hadar Pedhazur is the owner of Opticality Ventures, a venture capital firm
that invested in software technology companies. In 1990 he was a highly
skilled Wall St Equity software programmer working at the cutting edge of
applied Computer Science.
When Hadar started a new job leading a group of NeXT enthusiasts, he went from skeptic, (searching for a way to go from being behind the ball to ahead of the game), to an inspired evangelist who found an adventure in computing and a world of engineering talent he’d never dreamed of.
we’re not significantly smarter than our competitors, although we like to think that
Much of these innovations were captured in 1991, by Bloomberg News and can be found Here and a worthwhile reading PDF can be found here UBS Hadar Pedhazur Equity Derivatives Picks Next.
Hadar explains how and why NeXTSTEP tools and technologies were invented right at the turn of the 1990s and are largely unchanged today in terms of their architectural form. It is remarkable that one set of tools is so widely connected with igniting the mobile world of today, that was part of a pre-web, pre-AppStore world.
But first —
Equity trading is one of the most demanding of software industries and Wall St was an early adopter of advanced computer technology. Hadar helped build systems using NeXT computers that changed the way traders work.
After the first day I called my boss and said “This machine is so slow it’s absurd to think we can use this” after the second day I called my boss and said “this machine is so slow, but it’s inconceivable that we DON’T use this, because the software is absolutely extraordinary” — Hadar Pedhazur
Before the 1990’s if there were computers on trader’s desks, there would likely be three and a TV just to have live information handy – So, the job to make one computer and do all the jobs needed simultaneously was valuable and desirable but seemingly impossible to achieve.
[we need better tools] “we’re absolutely going to commit to NeXT in a big way”
Advanced networking, security and truly industrial concerns run this billion dollar financial game and Hadar and his team had some completely new ideas that would change more than his group or company.
Mr. Pedhazur remains an expert in NeXT Computer technology and history, he has spoken at numerous technology and related business conferences, and has held a number of advisory roles, including membership on the User Advisory Board of NeXT.
“The reason NeXT technologies and innovations like Interface Builder or Objective-C are still used today, is because they didn’t need to change that much” — Hadar Pedhazur
Hadar notes that mobile technology today, (excluding perhaps his own choice of Android phones) are nearly entirely built using the exact same tools and technologies the NeXT computer first introduced to the world in 1988. It’s hard to imagine a computer with a greater impact.
Hadar tells us about demonstrating NeXTSTEP software to Steve Jobs and the results, as they often were with Steve, were both unpredictable and short worded.
I’d Fire off this demo that even SUN was having trouble doing and all he [Steve Jobs] could come up with saying was “Hadar? That interface is so Gothic!” — Hadar Pedhazur
NeXTSTEP was everything your mobile phone App development is today, minus the wireless networking, it provided the entire foundation of not only Mac OS X but the very spark of the mobile revolution. The Apps that were written and conceived at that time have stood the test of time and many prolific NeXT software developers are iOS and even Apple Watch experts today. Hadar prefers to enjoy his Android device, thank you very much.
Hadar lives in the greater New York City area and remains interested in his Venture Capital & Private Equity roots. Currently, he is with Opticality Ventures. Previously he was with UBS, First Boston and attended New York University.
Come learn more about Hadar and the technologies that make today possible at AppStorey https://appstorey.com/
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