Experience immersive workshops on product development, team building and resilience in the approach to failure, told through the General Magic story.
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General Magic is available to watch on VOD platforms worldwide.
Learn MoreLearn MoreHost a private screening of General Magic for your organization paired with live panels and team-building workshops.
Learn MoreGet a custom quoteGeneral Magic is the story of the original creators of the smartphone, who after a great failure, changed the lives of billions.
In 1990, at a secretive Silicon Valley start-up, a small and passionate group of innovators and engineers formed to build a magical device that would enable anyone to connect everyone to everywhere and everything – a personal computer in your pocket.
General Magic, though relatively unknown, is considered by many to be one of the most influential innovation startups in the history of technology. This pioneering team—featuring visionaries like Tony Fadell (co-creator of the iPod and iPhone, founder of Nest, author of Build), Megan Smith (former White House CTO, founder of shift7), Marc Porat (original visionary of the smartphone), Andy Hertzfeld (software engineer, original Macintosh team), and Joanna Hoffman (marketing, original Macintosh team)—created the first smartphone and laid the foundation for many of the 21st century's most transformative communication and digital technologies.
While the business of General Magic ultimately did not succeed, the groundbreaking technologies developed by this trailblazing startup and the subsequent ventures led by its team have profoundly impacted the lives of billions.
Discover the General Magic story.
Find streaming and rental options available in your region on JustWatch
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Please contact us for more information about how to host a private screening, panel or team building event. Former General Magic employees are able to speak on request.
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“A rippling standing ovation followed the film. We Estonians are typically straight faced as people, resistant to emotion or expression in public, but the film resonated something deep within our audience.
“My hope and dream is that General Magic elevates the purpose of each Town employee.”

The compelling story of General Magic shows the powerful value that lies in failure, perseverance and teamwork amongst other empowering themes. Teams and groups will find inspiration in this legendary piece of history.
Software as a Service (SaaS) has become a popular delivery model for software applications, offering scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. C# and .NET are powerful tools for building modern SaaS applications, providing a robust framework for developing scalable, secure, and maintainable software. In this guide, we'll explore the key considerations and best practices for building modern SaaS applications with C# and .NET.
. Amazon.com +1 Core Concepts and Learning Objectives The book focuses on transforming traditional application development skills into the modern SaaS paradigm using the Microsoft tech stack. Key learning points include: Packt +1 Multi-tenancy: Understanding how to design systems that serve multiple customers (tenants) securely and efficiently on shared infrastructure. Full-Stack Development: Practical implementation of the database layer (SQL Server), RESTful APIs (ASP.NET Core), and the user interface (Blazor/JavaScript). Microservices: Transitioning from monolithic architectures to decoupled microservices to improve scalability and maintainability. Security: Mastering authentication and authorization patterns essential for multi-tenant environments. Scaling & Operations: Strategies for scaling applications, including monitoring, logging, and iterative release cycles ("Release often, release early"). Amazon.com +7 Technical Stack Highlights 13 sites Building Modern SaaS Applications with C# and .NET What you will learn. Explore SaaS and understand its importance in modern application development. Discover multi-tenancy and its ... Amazon.com Building Modern SaaS Applications with C# and .NET - Packt This book will take you, the reader, through the full process of building a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application. But before w... Packt Building Modern SaaS Applications with C# and .NET - Oreilly The difference between loose and tight couplingDockerBest practices for building microservicesDesign for failureFocus on decouplin... O'Reilly books Show all Language: C# 12 and later. Framework: .NET 8/10. Database: SQL Server Express and Entity Framework Core. Architecture Patterns: Clean Architecture, CQRS, and Vertical Slice Architecture. Cloud: Emphasis on hosting and scaling within environments like
await tenantService.SetCurrentTenantAsync(tenantId); await _next(context); } building modern saas applications with c# and .net pdf
ASP.NET Core Web API provides a robust framework for RESTful services. For modern SaaS, consider adopting over traditional Controllers for reduced boilerplate and improved performance.
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env) { app.UseRouting(); app.UseAuthentication(); app.UseAuthorization(); app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => { endpoints.MapControllers(); }); } } } Software as a Service (SaaS) has become a
This blog post is just the first chapter. To get the deep dive on:
Suppose we're building a SaaS application for project management, using C# and .NET Core. We might design a multi-tenant architecture using a relational database (SQL Server) and implement authentication using OAuth 2.0 and IdentityServer. it offers features that streamline development:
Implement robust security measures to protect tenant data:
EF Core is the standard Object-Relational Mapper (ORM) for .NET. In a SaaS context, it offers features that streamline development:

Michael Stern has practiced law in Silicon Valley for 35 years. He has worked with General Magic, Pixar, Adobe, NeXT, and eBay. His varied background as an English professor, journalist, and Dickens scholar led to the story development of the General Magic documentary.
“Working at General Magic was an all-consuming, life-changing experience for me. The company was full of the smartest and most creative people I had ever known. It was a story that cried out to be told.”
Matt is a multi award winning director, writer, cinematographer and producer. At the Tribeca Film Festival, he was nominated for the Best New Director Award.
“There was this amazing moment reviewing the archival film, seeing all these young people sitting on the floor of a tiny office … the people who made the iPod, Nest, Android, eBay, the emoticon, the touch screen, the modem, tools we can’t imagine living without today.”
Sarah, a Peabody Award winner and Emmy nominee, was part of the original documentary crew at General Magic. She has held a number of roles in the Tech industry, most recently as Chief Strategy Officer at Kheiron Medical, dedicated to the detection and treatment of breast cancer using AI.
“Our hope is that this film will inspire the next generation of technologists and makers to learn from those who have gone before them and apply the lessons of General Magic to solving the most important problems of our day.”
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