Society And Technology

NeXT, Steve Jobs, And Apple

Kevin A. Sensenig | December 1, 2014

Historical Criticism

NeXT, Steve Jobs, and Apple

Item 1

It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — free trade.  In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.

— 34, The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Pathfinder [edition]

Bitmapping and graphical interfacs became features of Xerox PARC’s prototype computers, such as the Alto, and its object-oriented programming language, Smalltalk.  Jeff Raskin decided that these features were the future of computing.  So he began urging Jobs and other Apple colleagues to go check out Xerox PARC.

— 95, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

They [the Xerox team] were wrong.  Atkinson and others [the Apple team] had read some of the papers published by Xerox PARC, so they knew they were not getting a full description.  Jobs phoned the head of the Xerox venture capital division to complain; a call immediately came back from corporate headquartes in Connecticut decreeing that Jobs and his group should be shown everything.  [Adele] Goldberg [Xerox team] stormed out in rage.

— 97, “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

item 2

In 1996/7 Steve Jobs could have sent the following email via secure T1 to Gil Amilio, from home or his Pixar office or at Apple:

Hey Gil, 

Why don’t you unpack the NEXTSTEP 4.2 or 3.3 Intel and install that on some IBM and HP and Compaq and Dell computers, and market it.  You’d need to develop the drivers for the hardware models.  The entire NEXTSTEP software would then remain intact, you could even leave the install and boot process pretty much the same.  The same documentation.

I think you should really pursue this.

Steve

item 3

A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right — www.marxists.org

Hegel’s Philosophy Of Right, by Alan White

Philosophy Of Right, by G W F Hegel, Dover Philosophical Classics

The Constitution Of The United States Of America With The Declaration Of Independence, Fall River Press

item 4

A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product. But at Apple, we believe a great customer experience shouldn’t come at the expense of your privacy.

— Tim Cook, Apple CEO, 2014, [ "A message from Tim Cook about Apple’s commitment to your privacy.”, retrieved 2014-12-01, http://www.apple.com/privacy/ ]