Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview is a video of an interview with personal computer magnate Steve Jobs, originally conducted Robert X. Cringely for inclusion in the television documentary series Triumph of the Nerds.
During production of the series Triumph of the Nerds, several interviews were conducted with key figures in the development of the PC industry. This interview with Steve Jobs was thought to be lost forever since the original master tape went missing while being shipped from London to the United States in the 1990's. Then, sixteen years later, a VHS copy was found by series director Paul Sen, who had kept a copy of the interview on VHS for posterity. This video is a nearly complete copy of that interview, with a few segments edited out (verification needed), and an introduction by Robert X. Cringely. The DVD also includes a commentary track with director/producer Paul Sen & writer/presenter Robert X. Cringely, an interview with Andy Hertzfeld - The original Macintosh programmer at Apple Computers, an audio interview with writer/presenter Robert X. Cringely conducted by producer John Gau, and a trailer.
- Due to the source of the video being a first generation VHS copy, the interview does have slightly deteriorated quality when compared to the same interview segments presented in Triumph of the Nerds.
- Run Time: 1:12:15
Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
The following is a segment by segment breakdown of the interview.
Introduction by Robert X. Cringely
Robert X. Cringely introduces the interview presented in this video, and relates its historical significance, as well as the fortuitous events that led to the discovery of a VHS copy which had been saved for posterity by the director/producer of Triumph of the Nerds, Paul Sen. As noted in the commentary which accompanies the interview, Paul Sen had felt that the interview was of significant importance and decided to keep a copy for personal use (the only interview conducted for the series which he decided to preserve).
(00:01:38)
Part 1: How did you get involved with personal computing?
The interview with Steve Jobs begins by covering his early years, and how he was first introduced to computer programming. Around the age of ten or eleven, Jobs had an opportunity to use a time sharing terminal at NASA's Ames Research Center. Using a simple teletype interface without a graphics video display, he could write programs in Basic or Fortran, which he describes as "an incredible thrilling experience". (00:03:26)
From that early experience, his captivation with computers grew, and with it his curiosity about their mysteriousness . At the age of twelve he became employed at Hewlett Packard after placing a phone call to Bill Hewlett hoping to secure spare parts for a frequency counter he was building. This conversation would offer Steve Jobs his first opportunity to work for a major computer company. The experience of working at Hewlett Packard had a remarkable influence on him, forming his view on what a company was, as Hewlett Packard recognized that the company's true value was its employees. (00:04:59)
To be continued...
