Steve Jobs - The Lost Interview (11 May 2012) [VO] [ST-FR] [Ultra HD 4K]

SUMMARY

In a 1995 interview rediscovered in 2012, Steve Jobs recounts his early fascination with computers, founding Apple, innovations like the Macintosh, corporate struggles, and visions for technology's future to Robert X. Cringely.

STATEMENTS

Steve Jobs first encountered a computer at age 10 or 11 through a time-sharing terminal at NASA Ames Research Center, sparking his lifelong passion.
Computers in the early days were mysterious, represented by movies with flashing lights and tape drives, making personal interaction thrilling.
Jobs called Bill Hewlett at HP at age 12 for parts, leading to a summer job that shaped his view of company culture and employee treatment.
HP's practices, like daily coffee and donut breaks, impressed Jobs, emphasizing employee value as the company's true asset.
Jobs attended HP's Palo Alto Research Labs meetings, where he first saw the HP 9100, the earliest desktop computer with a self-contained CRT display.
He met Steve Wozniak around age 14 or 15, bonding over electronics expertise and starting joint projects.
Inspired by an Esquire article on Captain Crunch, Jobs and Wozniak built blue boxes to make free phone calls by mimicking AT&T signaling tones.
They discovered AT&T's technical journal at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, confirming the feasibility of blue boxing.
The blue box allowed global calls via satellites and cables, teaching Jobs that small inventions could control vast infrastructure.
Blue boxing influenced the creation of Apple, showing the power of personal ingenuity over giant systems.
Jobs and Wozniak built a terminal for free time-sharing access since they couldn't afford one, leading to the Apple I as an extension.
The Apple I was hand-built for personal use, taking 40-80 hours each, using scavenged parts.
To meet demand from friends, they created printed circuit boards, selling them after Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak his calculator.
Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop ordered 50 assembled Apple I boards, prompting Jobs to secure parts on 30-day credit from distributors.
They assembled and sold the boards, realizing profit in unsold units, which led to nationwide distribution calls.
Mike Markkula joined as a key figure, investing money and expertise after retiring from Intel, enabling Apple II production.
Jobs envisioned the Apple II as the first fully packaged personal computer for non-hobbyists, with color graphics from Wozniak.
Don Valentine introduced Markkula; Jobs convinced him to join as an equal partner rather than just invest.
Apple II debuted at the West Coast Computer Faire in 1977, stealing the show with advanced graphics and attracting distributors.
At age 21, Jobs learned business by questioning conventions, rejecting "folklore" practices like standard costing in factories.
Programming teaches logical thinking, akin to law school, positioning computer science as a liberal art everyone should learn.
Jobs became a millionaire at 23, but wealth was secondary to company, people, and product impact.
Xerox PARC's graphical user interface in 1979 convinced Jobs all future computers would adopt it, despite its flaws.
Xerox failed due to sales-driven leadership eroding product innovation, calling executives "toner heads" oblivious to computing potential.
IBM's entry scared Apple, but their poor initial PC improved via ecosystem partnerships, unlike Apple's underestimation.
HP veterans at Apple resisted GUI ideas like mice and fonts, leading Jobs to outsource a cheap, reliable mouse design.
Companies falter by prioritizing process over content, as IBM did; great products stem from content experts, not managers.
The Lisa project mismatched Apple's affordable image, costing $10,000 and failing commercially.
After losing leadership battle to John Couch, Jobs formed a Macintosh team to save Apple with a $1,000 computer.
Macintosh reinvented manufacturing via an automated factory inspired by 80 Japanese visits, using Lisa's microprocessor cheaper.
Sculley's flaw was assuming ideas alone suffice, ignoring craftsmanship and trade-offs in product evolution.
Jobs's rock tumbler metaphor illustrates team friction polishing ideas into beautiful products through passion and collaboration.
Dynamic range in software/hardware excellence is 50-100:1, far beyond most life's 2:1, demanding A-players only.
Macintosh team intensity was unsustainable for some, but cherished; feedback focused on work quality, not egos.
Apple pioneered desktop publishing with the first U.S. Canon laser printer engine, partnering with Adobe.
Jobs convinced Aldus developers to focus on software, canceling Apple's internal project and acquiring Adobe stake.
LaserWriter succeeded via AppleTalk sharing, making expensive hardware viable despite internal resistance.
Jobs's 1985 marketing blunder announced Macintosh Office broadly, diluting desktop publishing focus.
Departure from Apple in 1985 stemmed from hiring wrong CEO Scully, who prioritized survival over vision amid recession.
Scully blamed Jobs for problems, leveraging board ties; Jobs advocated stronger leadership and Macintosh focus.
Apple post-Jobs lost its 10-year lead, stagnating R&D without direction, eroding differentiation to Microsoft.
Microsoft succeeded via IBM boost and opportunism, dominating apps from Mac to Windows, but lacks taste and originality.
NeXT focuses on object-oriented software, enabling 10x faster development, commercializing Xerox ideas.
Web fulfills computers as communication tools, not just computation, fostering innovation beyond Microsoft's control.
Bicycle analogy: computers amplify human abilities like bikes outpace natural locomotion, ranking as top invention.
Direction guided by taste, stealing great ideas from arts; Macintosh team blended liberal arts with computing.
Jobs identifies as hippie, drawn to life's deeper meaning beyond materialism, infusing products with spirit.

IDEAS

Early computer access at NASA as a child demystified technology, turning abstract power into personal thrill.
Calling tech giants like Hewlett at 12 normalized bold outreach, yielding jobs and mentorship unexpectedly.
Blue boxing revealed how amateur hacks could hijack trillion-dollar networks, empowering youth against giants.
Hand-building terminals from necessity birthed Apple I, blending ingenuity with economic pragmatism.
Selling personal assets for PCBs showed bootstrapping's raw grit in tech entrepreneurship.
Assembling on credit and flipping inventory taught fluid business adaptation without formal training.
Envisioning packaged computers democratized tech for software hobbyists, not just hardware tinkerers.
Questioning corporate "folklore" like costing methods uncovered inefficiencies, favoring real-time data.
Programming as liberal art mirrors law school, honing structured thinking for broader life application.
Wealth's irrelevance when driven by product passion highlights intrinsic motivation over financial gain.
Xerox GUI's inevitability struck instantly, proving paradigm shifts feel obvious post-revelation.
Monopoly breeds sales over product focus, rotting innovation as "toner heads" sidelined visionaries.
Ecosystem alliances turned IBM's flawed PC into juggernaut, lesson in vested interests' power.
Outsourcing mouse design bypassed internal skepticism, accelerating innovation against resistance.
Process obsession confuses means with ends, dooming firms like IBM by neglecting content depth.
Lisa's high price clashed with Apple's ethos, illustrating cultural misalignment's commercial peril.
Missionary zeal in Macintosh team reinvented Apple via automation, proving underdogs save legacies.
Ideas evolve through craftsmanship's trade-offs, not static brilliance, demanding daily reintegration.
Rock tumbler analogy captures team friction's alchemy, transforming rough ideas into polished gems.
50-100:1 excellence gap in tech rewards elite talent pools, self-sustaining via mutual attraction.
Direct feedback on work, sans ego coddling, sharpens A-players toward collective goals.
Pioneering laser printing via partnerships unlocked desktop publishing, reshaping creative workflows.
Sculley's idea-over-execution disease afflicted Apple, undervaluing the grind between concept and reality.
Survival instincts in crises can scapegoat innovators, fracturing visionary leadership.
Stagnant R&D post-departure eroded Apple's edge, showing direction's primacy over spending.
Microsoft's tasteless opportunism cloned successes without soul, lowering humanity's creative bar.
Object-oriented tech at NeXT revolutionized software creation, amplifying developer productivity exponentially.
Web as communication metamorphosis breathes life into computing, equalizing small firms against behemoths.
Computers as "bicycle of the mind" amplify cognition, positioning them atop human inventions.
Taste as compass draws from arts' best, with "steal from greats" fueling hybrid innovations.
Hippie ethos infuses tech with transcendent spirit, attracting souls seeking meaning beyond commerce.

INSIGHTS

Personal encounters with technology in youth forge enduring passions, turning curiosity into lifelong vocations.
Bold, unfiltered connections with industry leaders at young ages unlock opportunities and shape worldviews.
Hacking infrastructures teaches asymmetric power: small tools wield outsized control over complex systems.
Necessity-driven invention, like custom terminals, evolves into commercial empires through iterative scaling.
Bootstrapping via asset sales and credit reveals entrepreneurship's essence as resourceful problem-solving.
Challenging entrenched business norms exposes hidden inefficiencies, enabling leaner, more informed operations.
Learning programming cultivates rigorous thinking, applicable as a foundational skill across disciplines.
True wealth lies in impact and creation, rendering financial windfalls secondary to purposeful work.
Revolutionary interfaces, once glimpsed, render alternatives obsolete, accelerating industry-wide adoption.
Corporate monopolies prioritize sales over innovation, systematically eroding the genius that built them.
Strategic alliances amplify weak starts, transforming market threats into collaborative dominances.
Internal resistance to bold ideas demands external pivots, hastening breakthroughs against inertia.
Institutionalizing success processes risks substituting method for substance, stifling creative content.
Product pricing must align with brand culture and audience, or even brilliance fails commercially.
Underdog teams with divine mission can overhaul organizations, blending reinvention across operations.
Product magic emerges from iterative craftsmanship, navigating trade-offs in a dynamic synthesis.
Elite talent clusters self-perpetuate, elevating standards through exclusive, high-caliber collaboration.
Candid work critiques, focused on output, propel excellence without undermining personal confidence.
Partnerships in nascent tech, like printing, catalyze ecosystem revolutions beyond solo efforts.
Leadership vacuums in downturns breed scapegoating, derailing visions for self-preservation.
Innovation requires directional leadership; mere investment without vision yields stagnation.
Cultural barrenness in products diminishes societal elevation, as taste shapes human refinement.
Advanced paradigms like objects exponentially boost creation, commercializing overlooked potentials.
Communication tools redefine computing's core, fostering equitable innovation outside monopolies.
Tool-building epitomizes humanity, with computers as ultimate amplifiers of intellectual reach.
Aesthetic sensibility, borrowed from arts, infuses tech with soul, transcending utilitarian bounds.

QUOTES

"To see one and actually get to use one was a real privilege back then."
"It was an incredibly thrilling experience... that you could write a program... and actually this machine would sort of take your idea and... execute your idea."
"We could build something ourselves that could control billions of dollars worth of infrastructure in the world."
"I don't think there would have ever been an Apple computer had there not been blue boxing."
"If we could make... a printed circuit board... you could build a computer... in a few hours instead of 40 hours."
"Nobody knows why they do what they do... nobody thinks about things very deeply in business."
"I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer... because it teaches you how to think."
"The most important thing was the company, the people, the products we were making."
"Within 10 minutes it was obvious to me that all computers would work like this someday."
"Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry... could have been the IBM of the '90s."
"It's not process, it's content... the best people... understand the content and they're a pain in the butt to manage."
"Designing a product is keeping 5,000 things in your brain... and fitting them all together."
"Through that group of incredibly talented people bumping up against each other... they polish each other and they polish the ideas."
"The difference between average and the best is 50 to one maybe 100 to one easy."
"When you say someone's work is shit, you really mean their work is not anywhere near good enough."
"He basically got on a rocket ship that was about to leave the pad... and thought that he built a rocket ship."
"Apple's dying... on a glide slope to die... because... the understanding of how to move these things forward... evaporated."
"They just have no taste... their products have no spirit of enlightenment about them."

HABITS

Regularly question established business practices to uncover underlying reasons and inefficiencies.
Seek out and immerse in cutting-edge research labs or meetings to spark personal innovation.
Build prototypes from scavenged parts to solve immediate needs, honing hands-on skills.
Network boldly by cold-calling experts for advice, parts, or opportunities regardless of age.
Prioritize A-player talent in teams, fostering self-policing excellence through mutual standards.
Provide direct, work-focused feedback to elevate performance without ego involvement.
Draw inspiration from diverse fields like arts and history to enrich technical projects.
Visit global factories and competitors to adapt best practices in manufacturing.
Maintain intrinsic motivation by focusing on product impact over financial rewards.
Evolve ideas iteratively through daily trade-off navigation and team friction.
Steal and integrate superior concepts from other domains shamelessly.
Infuse personal spirit into work, seeking deeper meaning beyond routine.

FACTS

Jobs first used a teletype terminal at NASA Ames around 1965-1966, programming in BASIC or Fortran.
HP provided daily coffee and donut breaks in the 1960s, predating cholesterol awareness.
The HP 9100, seen by Jobs in the early 1970s, was suitcase-sized with a CRT and programmable in BASIC/APL.
Blue boxes mimicked 2600 Hz tones to hijack AT&T's network, allowing free international calls.
Apple I boards were etched for $1,000 from selling Jobs's bus and Wozniak's calculator.
Byte Shop ordered 50 Apple I units in 1976, paying $500 each, twice the $250 build cost.
Apple II launched at 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, featuring pioneering color graphics.
Jobs visited Xerox PARC in 1979, viewing GUI, object-oriented programming, and networked Altos.
Xerox Alto system in 1979 had over 100 networked computers with email capabilities.
Macintosh mouse designed by David Kelley in 90 days for $15, versus HP's estimated $300 and 5 years.
Apple built the world's first automated computer factory in Fremont, California, for Macintosh.
Jobs worth over $100 million by age 25 after Apple's 1980 IPO.
LaserWriter, introduced 1985, used first U.S. Canon laser engine, boosting Apple's printer revenue to world-leading.
Apple acquired 19.9% of Adobe in 1980s for PostScript integration.
Web commerce projected to handle 15% of U.S. goods/services, tens of billions in sales by 2005.

REFERENCES

Triumph of the Nerds TV series (1995).
Esquire magazine article on Captain Crunch.
AT&T Technical Journal (discovered at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center).
Scientific American article on locomotion efficiency.
HP 9100 desktop computer.
Apple I and Apple II computers.
Macintosh computer and Lisa project.
Xerox PARC's Alto system, GUI, object-oriented programming.
Blue box device for phone phreaking.
LaserWriter printer and PostScript software.
Adobe (19.9% stake).
NeXT operating system and object-oriented tech.
Canon laser printer engine.
Bill Hewlett (HP co-founder).
Steve Wozniak (co-founder).
Mike Markkula (investor).
Don Valentine (venture capitalist).
Paul Terrell (Byte Shop owner).
David Kelley (mouse designer).
John Sculley (Apple CEO).
John Couch (Lisa leader).
Aldus developers (PageMaker).
MCI's Friends and Family billing software.
Picasso's saying on copying vs. stealing.
Rock tumbler as team metaphor.

HOW TO APPLY

Start young: Seek access to computers or tech resources through local centers or bold inquiries to build foundational fascination.
Network fearlessly: Cold-call industry leaders for parts, advice, or jobs, treating unlisted numbers as open doors.
Experiment with hacks: Replicate blue boxing by studying network signals to grasp infrastructure control via simple devices.
Build from necessity: Design and assemble custom terminals or tools when commercial options are unaffordable, scavenging parts.
Bootstrap funding: Sell personal assets like vehicles to finance prototypes, then scale via credit from suppliers.
Assemble and iterate: Hand-build initial units, then create PCBs to reduce assembly time from days to hours.
Pitch assembled products: Approach stores with fully built demos, negotiating bulk orders to cover costs plus profit.
Recruit key partners: Identify retired experts like Markkula, convincing them to invest time alongside money.
Package for masses: Design affordable, user-friendly enclosures for non-hobbyists, adding peripherals like keyboards.
Question conventions: Probe "why" behind business practices, eliminating folklore for real-time efficiency.
Learn programming: Dedicate a year to languages like BASIC or APL to train logical thinking as a liberal art.
Visit innovators: Insist on demos at labs like PARC to absorb paradigm-shifting ideas like GUIs.
Outsource resistance: Bypass skeptical teams by hiring external designers for components like mice.
Form missionary teams: Assemble small, passionate groups for high-stakes projects like Macintosh to reinvent operations.
Embrace friction: Foster arguments in elite teams to polish ideas through collective refinement.
Focus feedback: Deliver direct critiques on work quality to realign A-players without ego damage.
Pioneer integrations: Partner early with hardware like laser engines and software like PostScript for new markets.
Steer by taste: Expose to arts, steal great concepts, blending with tech for soulful products.
Infuse spirit: Channel hippie-like depth into creations, seeking meaning beyond commerce.
Nudge vectors: At tech's dawn, subtly direct innovations toward human amplification like mind bicycles.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Steve Jobs's journey reveals technology's power when fused with passion, artistry, and relentless questioning to amplify human potential.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prioritize early, hands-on tech exposure to ignite curiosity and demystify complex systems.
Cultivate bold outreach habits to connect with mentors, unlocking unexpected opportunities.
Embrace hacking mindsets to understand and influence large infrastructures innovatively.
Bootstrap ventures resourcefully, using personal sacrifices to fund initial prototypes.
Scale handmade innovations via efficient designs like PCBs to meet growing demand.
Secure credit wisely from suppliers to bridge production without upfront capital.
Envision products for broad accessibility, packaging tech for everyday users.
Challenge corporate orthodoxies deeply to streamline operations beyond tradition.
Mandate programming education universally to foster structured, adaptable thinking.
Value intrinsic drivers like product impact over monetary rewards in pursuits.
Absorb revolutionary demos promptly to anticipate and adopt inevitable shifts.
Guard against sales dominance in growth, preserving product innovation core.
Leverage alliances to bolster weak launches, creating ecosystem dependencies.
Bypass internal doubts by outsourcing critical innovations externally.
Champion content experts over process managers for superior outcomes.
Align pricing and features with brand ethos to avoid market mismatches.
Rally underdog teams with clear missions to overhaul stagnant organizations.
Navigate product evolution through craftsmanship, embracing trade-offs daily.
Assemble exclusive A-player groups for self-sustaining excellence amplification.
Critique work directly and pivot opinions swiftly for success-focused agility.
Forge software-hardware partnerships early to pioneer transformative applications.
Withstand leadership vacuums by advocating unified, visionary execution.
Invest in directional R&D leadership to prevent innovation evaporation.
Critique tasteless cloning, pushing for culturally enriched product designs.
Commercialize overlooked paradigms like objects for exponential efficiency gains.
Champion web as equalizer, building communication-centric tools innovatively.

MEMO

In the dim glow of a rediscovered 1995 VHS tape, Steve Jobs emerges as a youthful visionary, recounting his improbable path from a 12-year-old cold-calling Hewlett-Packard co-founder Bill Hewlett for spare parts to igniting the personal computing revolution. Interviewed by journalist Robert X. Cringely for the series Triumph of the Nerds, Jobs vividly describes his first brush with a teletype terminal at NASA Ames Research Center around age 10, a primitive printer-keyboard setup that executed his BASIC programs with magical precision. This thrill, he says, captivated him amid an era when computers were cinematic enigmas—flashing lights and whirring tape drives—far from everyday reality. Jobs's early summer job at HP instilled a reverence for employee-centric cultures, like mandatory coffee breaks, shaping his ideal of companies as extensions of human potential rather than mere profit machines.

The narrative pivots to audacious teenage exploits with Steve Wozniak, sparked by an Esquire tale of phone phreaker Captain Crunch. Rifling through Stanford's technical library, they unearthed an AT&T journal revealing signaling tones that hijacked the global phone network. Their homemade blue boxes—digital tone generators—enabled free calls worldwide, even pranking the Vatican as Henry Kissinger. This epiphany, Jobs reflects, proved two kids could command billions in infrastructure, a lesson birthing Apple: "I don't think there would have ever been an Apple computer had there not been blue boxing." Necessity fueled their first venture—a custom terminal for free time-sharing—evolving into the hand-wired Apple I, assembled in garages from scavenged parts over grueling 40-to-80-hour marathons. Selling his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak's calculator funded printed circuit boards, and a fateful pitch to the Byte Shop's Paul Terrell secured an order for 50 assembled units, kickstarting distribution on 30-day supplier credit.

As Apple burgeoned, Jobs, at 21, navigated uncharted waters by dismantling business "folklore." He decried opaque costing as a crutch for poor information systems, later automating Macintosh factories for penny-precise tracking. Recruiting Intel retiree Mike Markkula as equal partner, they unveiled the Apple II at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire—a packaged marvel with Wozniak's color graphics, luring distributors and catapulting the firm public. By 23, Jobs was a millionaire, yet dismissed wealth's allure: "I never did it for the money." His 1979 pilgrimage to Xerox PARC sealed a revelation—the graphical user interface's inevitability, glimpsed amid object-oriented prototypes and networked Altos. Though flawed, it blinded him to other gems, convincing him all computing would follow suit. Xerox's squandered fortune, he laments, stemmed from "toner heads"—sales executives eroding product genius in monopoly complacency, a fate echoing IBM's process paralysis.

Internal strife at Apple underscored Jobs's mantra: content over process. HP transplants scoffed at mice and proportional fonts, prompting him to outsource a $15, reliable design in 90 days. The Lisa, a $10,000 mismatch for Apple's affordable ethos, floundered commercially after Jobs lost a leadership duel to John Couch. Undeterred, he rallied a "mission from God" Macintosh team, touring 80 Japanese factories to build the world's first automated computer plant. This $2,500 powerhouse reinvented distribution and marketing, its GUI born from liberal arts-infused A-players—musicians, poets, zoologists—who polished ideas through frictional genius, like rocks in a tumbler yielding gems. Jobs warns of execution's chasm: great ideas demand craftsmanship's 5,000-brain juggling, navigating electron, plastic, and robotic limits. Desktop publishing's triumph via the LaserWriter—pioneering Canon engines wedded to Adobe's PostScript—proved partnerships' power, elevating Apple to global printer leader despite resistance.

Tensions peaked in 1985's recession, exposing CEO John Sculley's Pepsi-honed survival instincts. Blamed for Apple's woes, Jobs was exiled without a role, watching values erode: "He destroyed everything I'd spent 10 years working for." Sculley's "disease"—equating ideas to 90% effort—stagnated Macintosh, letting Microsoft clone its way to dominance via IBM's rocket fuel. Jobs critiques Microsoft's pedestrian products as McDonald's fare, lacking taste's enlightenment drawn from typesetting's elegance. By 1995, Apple's glide path to oblivion seemed irreversible, its R&D billions yielding mere 25% evolution. At NeXT, Jobs championed object-oriented software, commercializing Xerox's overlooked revolution for 10x faster builds, powering business weapons like MCI's Friends and Family billing that seized market share.

Peering ahead, Jobs hails the web as computing's communicative rebirth, unowned by Microsoft, equalizing tiniest firms with giants in a catalog-to-digital deluge worth tens of billions. It fulfills dreams of computers as tools, not calculators—humanity's "bicycle of the mind," outpacing condors in efficiency per a Scientific American study. Direction, he insists, hinges on taste: shamelessly stealing from Picasso, blending arts' subtlety into silicon. A self-proclaimed hippie, Jobs embodies the 1970s spark beyond materialism—gaps revealing life's deeper inrush, infusing Macintoshes with lovable spirit. Computers, he believes, transmit poets' feelings, drawing souls who'd otherwise chase other mediums. In this lost interview, Jobs nudges technology's vector toward amplification, a 4,312-IQ testament to passion's polish.