“Four decades after Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak set out to turn computers into a tool that anyone could use, Apple has become the most valuable brand in the world, with some of the most successful products ever made,” Shara Tibken reports for CNET. “Apple has shaped countless industries, from computing to music, and its former employees have gone on to innovate and create new tech industries around everything from enterprise software to smart thermostats.”
“At its heart, Apple has always been about creating elegant, easy-to-use products we never even knew we wanted,” Tibken reports. “‘It was love at first sight when I first encountered the Apple II at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire in April 1977,’ said Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original members of the Macintosh team who designed the system’s software. ‘I continue to be thrilled by new Apple products to this day.'”
“Other former Apple executives and partners shared their favorite memories of the company and Jobs, who was, to many people, the driving force behind its success. They include former finance execs Debi Coleman and Susan Barnes, ex-Apple designer Clement Mok, technical visionary Alan Kay, chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki and Jobs’ marketing mentor, Regis McKenna,” Tibken reports. “”
Read more in the full article — including how the name for Steve Jobs’ “NeXT” actually came from Bill Gates — here.
MacDailyNews Take: Great article, but it’s unclear exactly how Gates contributed the name that was eventually stylized “NeXT.”
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