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The Smithsonian's interview with Steve Jobs

steve jobs interviewWhile I personally think next year's keynote will have Steve announcing his retirement (having climbed about every mountain around), it's important to understand that SJ has led multiple lives already. College dropout, seeker of truths, dad, entrepreneur, tycoon, Pixar CEO, NeXT founder, etc. And then he came back to the company he started and got fired from. Pretty wild ride, and after steering Apple into the great consumer device future it was destined for (remember how computers were supposed to be in our kitchens?), it's only logical that Steve will follow Bill's act and bow out gracefully... Of course, I could be wrong.

But while you wrap your head around my completely unsubstantiated rumor-mongering, let's take a moment to reflect back on the Steve that was. In this 1995 interview for the Smithsonian's "Oral and Video Histories" series, Jobs waxes poetic on his youth, computing, Apple, and what was, at the time, his big new thing, NeXT computer. It's a little shocking to hear him talk about how NeXT shouldn't have made the whole widget, as he'd done with the Macintosh. Especially given his recent return to the "one widget" philosophy...

While I personally think next year's keynote will have Steve announcing his retirement (having climbed about every mountain around), it's...
 

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steve

Steve Jobs wasn't wrong. The Mac did die.

You're using NeXT computers now.

January 12 2007 at 10:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Donald Burr

@4,

In all fairness, if Steve hadn't returned, Apple probably *would have* died in a few years. Things were very much NOT looking rosy at Apple Computer Inc. back in '95.

January 11 2007 at 6:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Si

"The Macintosh will die in another few years and its really sad."

Just goes to show that even his Steveness gets it wrong sometimes...even if it's to his benefit.

January 11 2007 at 5:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kane Dijkman

Nickbob: agreed. He has an artists motivation for doing what he does. Not a CEOs.

January 11 2007 at 4:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nickbob

He's a creative guy, and this is his art. Not going anywhere soon unless health issues come back.

January 11 2007 at 4:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mgkwho

Victor,

if you watched any of the interviews Steve Jobs did in the past few days, you would have seen that very question asked of him.

Jobs said as long as people want him, he'll be there.





And that's that.

-=|Mgkwho

January 11 2007 at 3:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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