Steve Jobs comes to Atari

[jerryd]

Atari forum,
 One time Al Alcorn came into the lab and introduced a new engineer dressed in
 a toga and sandals named Steve Jobs.  He must have been about 19.  Like me he
 didn't seem to have a specific job for the first few weeks and just hung
 around the lab.  Then he started working on "Breakout".  Sometimes he would
 take his pad and go down to the local park for hours.  I think he came out to
 lunch with us a few times but he wasn't very social.  His bench was right next
 to mine but he was different and a tough person to get to know and get along
 with.
 
 Nolan Bushnell would often talk to us about his plan to get video games into
 people's homes using their televisions which eventually happened with the 2600.
 This could have sparked some of Steve's ideas.  I know he asked Nolan to back
 him financially with his plan to start a company and build a computer but
 Nolan wasn't interested.

 I went to see Steve years later when he was trying to get "Next" computer up
 and going.  As soon as I walked in he said "I don't have any jobs available".
 I told him I wasn't looking for a job and started to talk about the old days
 at Atari but he just wanted to talk about what he was into now and where he
 thought it was going. He was always marketing his new ideas.

 Many years later I was working for a company that was supplying some test
 equipment to Apple and I was loaned out to them for over a year.  I worked
 in Apple's Milpitas building.  I ran into Steve a couple of times but we
 didn't have much in common.  I was working there during the big earthquake
 that stopped the world series in 1989.  It was an "earthquake proof" building
 so is rocked and rolled the whole time with almost no damage.

 

Steve ultimately proved to be one of the best marketers ever.  I'm glad

to have known him.

Jerryd
 

[Video 61]

Atari forum,

 One time Al Alcorn came into the lab and introduced a new engineer dressed in

 a toga and sandals named Steve Jobs.  He must have been about 19.  Like me he

 didn't seem to have a specific job for the first few weeks and just hung

 around the lab.  Then he started working on "Breakout".  Sometimes he would

 take his pad and go down to the local park for hours.  I think he came out to

 lunch with us a few times but he wasn't very social.  His bench was right next

 to mine but he was different and a tough person to get to know and get along

 with.

 

 Nolan Bushnell would often talk to us about his plan to get video games into

 people's homes using their televisions which eventually happened with the 2600.

 This could have sparked some of Steve's ideas.  I know he asked Nolan to back

 him financially with his plan to start a company and build a computer but

 Nolan wasn't interested.

 

 I went to see Steve years later when he was trying to get "Next" computer up

 and going.  As soon as I walked in he said "I don't have any jobs available".

 I told him I wasn't looking for a job and started to talk about the old days

 at Atari but he just wanted to talk about what he was into now and where he

 thought it was going. He was always marketing his new ideas.

 

 Many years later I was working for a company that was supplying some test

 equipment to Apple and I was loaned out to them for over a year.  I worked

 in Apple's Milpitas building.  I ran into Steve a couple of times but we

 didn't have much in common.  I was working there during the big earthquake

 that stopped the world series in 1989.  It was an "earthquake proof" building

 so is rocked and rolled the whole time with almost no damage.

 

Steve ultimately proved to be one of the best marketers ever.  I'm glad

to have known him.

 

Jerryd

 

never knew him or met him. but what you said about him is what i have heard from many, kinda cold but driven. good story though, like to hear about those days. they are gone now, to bad, it was good for america for sure.

 

 

lance

www.atarisales.com