Everything iPad

As Apple moves forward, and we eagerly await the release of the iPad, why not take a look back? And not at Apple, but more specifically at Steve Jobs. The Revolutionary Man, as he was called “back in the day.” Through an interview pulled out of the Rolling Stone’s archives, we get a good look at what it was like to talk to Jobs in 1994. He had been booted from Apple in 1985, and had subsequently started NeXT: a company set out to astound the world all over again. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. And as the article states, this interview takes place during one of Jobs’ low points in his career, offering a fantastic glimpse of a Jobs that never lost his enthusiasm for people, or personal computing.

The interview is lengthy, but it handles the questioning in such a way that the subject matter stays fresh, and enlightening. When it comes to Jobs, even shutting down NeXT a year before doesn’t put a damper on his enthusiasm for the industry in which he was so embedded. Even as reports and analysts were ready to count him out, he presented a strong front, telling everyone he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. By pushing new technology — a technology that NeXT helped propel, Jobs knew that the PC industry’s revolution at the time was far from over.

Jobs has a passion for software. While he believes that the software should be packaged in an awesome box, he knows that it’s the software that makes the difference. That kind of thinking is exactly what provides OS X, and the iPhone Operating Systems. Ease of use keeps customers coming back, even if back in 1994, Jobs admitted that Apple, and the Macintosh with it, were niche fillers. And when the Internet was beginning to hit its stride, growing by huge numbers month by month, Steve Jobs was quick to point out that it was fantastic to see the growth happening. “I think the den is far more interesting than the living room.” By putting the Internet in everyone’s den, the world opened up in so many ways, with software leading the excursion. It was also note-worthy to see his take on online retailers, or shopping from home. He was not a fan of it back in 1994, but obviously that mentality has shifted quite sharply, to the thanks of millions of purchasers around the world.

As we move into the future, one inexorable step at a time, taking a look at the past, and the men and women who have shaped it as such, is never a bad thing. It shows us quite a lot, and not simply about the person, but about the industry and the world around them at the time. The fight between Microsoft and Apple is still going strong, and to hear Jobs’ comments regarding the company back in 1994, and especially Bill Gates, is a great read in of itself. Not everything changes, it seems. And as we look at the past, we can’t help but be excited about what’s to come. To see everything change, so quickly, so profoundly, just means that we are forever caught in an industry of revolutions.

[via The Rolling Stone]