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| Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum to Honor Philippe Kahn for Decades of Innovation in Technology
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2003-- Industry Pioneer Will Share Memories and Thoughts on Thirty Years of BizVantage – Serious business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage. Vision and Success On September 25th, Philippe Kahn, founder of three successful companies, including LightSurf Technologies, the global leader for multimedia messaging services, will speak at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. In keeping with the spirit of innovation that fueled Silicon Valley's astronomic growth, Philippe will share personal stories about the experiences and vision that have driven his success during the past three decades. The event kicks off the fall speaker series at the Museum by the technology world's leading innovators, entrepreneurs and visionaries. Recognized by BYTE Magazine as one of the top 20 most important people in the history of the computer industry, Philippe's contributions are recognized as catalysts for the evolution of some of today's best-known technologies. In 1999, Philippe was also inducted into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame. Philippe is holder of several dozen patents. One of Philippe's earliest contributions is his work on the Micral computer, which he began at the age of 19. The Computer History Museum, which maintains one of the early Micral models in its collection, recognizes this innovation as one of the earliest commercial personal computers based on a microprocessor: http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/timeline.php?timeline_year= 1973 (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.) After immigrating to Silicon Valley, Philippe then founded Borland (NASDAQ:BORL) in 1982 and was CEO of the company for 12 years until 1994. Under Philippe's leadership, Borland became the global leader for professional development tools with yearly sales of $500 million. In 1994, Philippe co-founded Starfish Software, acquired by communications giant Motorola in 1998. Starfish created the first Over-The-Air synchronization system and led the way with the SyncML standard. Philippe founded LightSurf Technologies in 1998. LightSurf is the global leader of multimedia messaging technology and services. LightSurf customers and partners include Kodak, Sprint, O2, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and many others. "Philippe Kahn's personal vision has been a powerful force in bringing about and shaping the camera-phone revolution that is sweeping the imaging, communication and information industries," said Alexis Gerard, President of Future Image, and Chair of the Mobile Imaging Executive Summit conference. "Philippe's innovative work in multimedia messaging and other visual communications technologies, which includes demonstrating the first wireless picture shared over commercial networks in North America, is reshaping the way we live. He's taken one of the fundamental tools of our time - the phone- and reinvented it as a vastly more powerful and useful entity. Our industry is continually straining to see what Philippe will do to spur the next communication shift." "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide an evening with Philippe to our members and the general community. Philippe is a true pioneer of Silicon Valley, and continues to distinguish himself after 30 years of successful vision and leadership," said John C. Toole, executive director and CEO of the Computer History Museum. "Philippe's lecture will be an incredible addition to our historical archives." "During the past decades, I have been fortunate to work on the leading edge of technologies, learning every day from successes and challenges. I look forward to sharing some of my experiences," said Philippe. "Going forward, I am particularly excited about the convergence of wireless and multimedia that will spearhead a new decade of innovation. Organizations such as the Computer History Museum are invaluable because they preserve the memories of innovation in Silicon Valley and around the world." The talk, entitled "Three Decades of Innovation: Philippe Kahn's Personal Stories," will reveal personal history and vision, from Philippe's work on the Micral, through today's leading-edge camera phones and the revolution in telecommunications. Philippe will share anecdotes from starting three successful technology companies, and will examine success factors for starting a new venture, building vision into reality, as well as methods for managing a growing and successful business. Philippe will also share his vision for the next few years. Reservations are required to attend the event. The lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Computer History Museum. For more information, or to register for the event, please visit the Museum's website at www.computerhistory.org or call 650-810-1013. For press credentials, please call Catriona Harris at 650-810-1036. About LightSurf Technologies, Inc. LightSurf is the global leader in MMS, Picture-Messaging, and Premium Content Delivery solutions, supporting all mobile devices and wireless networks. LightSurf's open standards-based services are currently deployed worldwide with partners including Sprint (NYSE: FON, PCS), Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), mmO2 plc (LSE: OOM), Yahoo! JAPAN (JASDAQ: 4689), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Sanyo (NASDAQ: SANYY), Samsung Electronics (KSE: 05930), Toshiba (TSE: 6502), LG International Corp., Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG; Enex: LOG) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT). Founded in 1998 by industry visionary Philippe Kahn, LightSurf is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif. For more information, please visit our website at www.lightsurf.com. About the Computer History Museum The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, a public benefit organization, preserves and presents for posterity the artifacts and stories of the information age. The Museum is home to the world's largest collection of computing-related items - from hardware (mainframes, PCs, handhelds, key integrated circuits), to software, to computer graphics systems, to Internet and networking - and contains many one-of-a-kind and rare objects such as the Cray-1 supercomputer, the Apple I, the WWII ENIGMA, the PalmPilot prototype, and the 1969 Neiman Marcus (Honeywell) "Kitchen Computer." The collection also includes photos, films, videos, documents, and culturally-defining advertising and marketing materials. Currently in its Alpha Phase, the Museum brings computing history to life through a speaker series, seminars, oral histories and workshops. The Museum also offers tours of a Visible Storage exhibit, where 600 objects from the Collection are on display. Future Phases will feature full museum exhibits including a timeline of computing history, theme galleries, and much more. For more information, please visit www.computerhistory.org.
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