nolanbushnellThe Next Web has dug up a video of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell's keynote presentation at Campus Party Brasil, where he spent time remembering Steve Jobs' work at Atari as well as talking about segments of his upcoming book "Finding the Next Steve Jobs."

What is one of the characteristics that made Steve Jobs successful? He was creative, but you know what else was really important? He was a very, very, very hard worker. How many of my employees did I find sleeping under their desks when I came in early on a Monday morning? Not many. Did he kinda smell bad? Yeah. That's cause we didn't have showers, and if you didn't go home for two or three days you could get gamey.

Bushnell goes on to mention that one of the most important messages he gave Jobs was that if 99 percent of people thought something was crazy, and the one percent that created the idea thought it was cool then the idea's creator should "pursue it with all vigor." This message has been echoed by Apple and Jobs multiple times, including in Apple's "Here's to The Crazy Ones" commercial and "Think Different" slogan.


He packs his hour-long talk -- the Jobs portion starts at the 13:00 minute mark -- with additional anecdotes about Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, like how Jobs offered Bushnell a third of Apple for $50,000, which Bushnell passed on.

Top Rated Comments

bdavis89 Avatar
150 months ago
You obviously didn't read the autobiography on Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

You obviously don't know what an autobiography is.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twigman08 Avatar
150 months ago
Sadly, a terrible autobiography.

May I ask what was so terrible about it?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iheartiphone4 Avatar
150 months ago
Wow, I didn't know Jobs had been involved with Atari :)

You obviously didn't read the autobiography on Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kdarling Avatar
150 months ago
Re: not showering. I've read that Jobs truly thought that his fruit diet made him naturally smell good. Apparently the diet at least made it so he couldn't smell himself :)

As for Atari, Pong engineer Al Alcorn noted (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37762/InDepth_Steve_Jobs_Atari_Employee_Number_40.php) that he later figured out why Jobs would only "work" at night when nobody else was around to see:

"Jobs never did a lick of engineering in his life. He had me snowed," Alcorn later recalled. "It took years before I figured out that he was getting Woz to 'come in the back door' and do all the work while he got the credit."
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDav Avatar
150 months ago
I disagree. Showering is very important for hygiene and can stave off cancer.

Really? How so.

----------

Putting "things" above personal hygiene & health, speaks volumes about the person...

What does it say about the person. That he will end up as a billionaire and go down as a major player in history? Just wondering.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDav Avatar
150 months ago
The thrust of my response (especially the materialism) was to MacDav, rather than Jobs, but I apologize in my stereotyping of aspects which didn't apply to him. I only met him in-person once, very briefly at the Palo Alto Apple Store.

I think I'd be the same, given the situation, in that after a million or so, the amount would then become irrelevant. Apparently that IS NOT the case with many of the very wealthy, for whom the game is about finding more creative ways to amass as much as possible. I respect that aspect of Jobs very much, especially his drive towards the goal he set out to accomplish. However, that still isn't necessarily all positive in the big picture. Our vocation in life is VERY important, but not THE most important thing. Balance is needed, and I doubt Jobs was balanced in that regard (please correct me if I'm wrong). I don't see how anyone could work like that and have their family life in proper balance.

Many throughout history have achieved great things at some other cost (often high). The ends don't always justify the means.

Hmmm. "Proper balance"? Who decides what is proper balance? Is there actually such a thing? I don't believe there is. Every situation and circumstance is unique. You'd have to ask Mr Jobs' family if he was a proper husband and Father. From what I've read he was a doting father and a good husband. Although as I mentioned, who is the decider of such things? His family? The court of public opinion? Ultimately, no human knows such things. No human has all the facts and figures or the brain power to make a truly objective evaluation. I gave up that quest many years ago. Today I leave that quest to those who think they can manage such a monumental task.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...