The Long Strange Journey of Steve Jobs

I spent an hour of my weekend watching the Bloomberg TV documentary on Steve Jobs, part of their “Game Changers” series. For those of us early PC users, who lived through the micro-computer era, the episode was a pretty well balanced portrayal of the times and the long strange journey of Mr. Jobs. Not too surprising, Jobs himself did not participate directly in the filming of the show. But the show’s producers brought in amazing interviews and comments from those with direct, firsthand experience with Jobs such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, the CEO who replaced Jobs, John Sculley and Apple employee #12 Robert Cringley who wrote the book, Accidental Empires and starred in the related video, Triumph of the Nerds.

I have been lucky enough to attend several Macworld expo keynotes, particularly one in 2000, early in Steve Jobs’ return to Apple when he announced OS X and the 2007 macworld when the iPhone was first announced. After watching the Bloomberg episode I was inspired to relive the 2000 keynote in seven-minute segments via YouTube. It’s been a long strange journey indeed. So, whether your are a veteran of 6502 or Z80 era or someone who just recently became aware of Apple after seeing all those crazy lines at the mall whenever they do that iPhone thingy, check out Bloomberg TV’s Game Changers: Steve Jobs.

For further info check out the following resources:

Books:
Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date, by Bob Cringely.

Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World’s Most Colorful Company, by Owen Linzmayer and Owen W. Linzmayer

Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer, by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine.

Inside Steve’s Brain, Expanded Edition, by Leander Kahney

iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It, by Steve Wozniak

Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made, by Andy Hertzfeld.

The Soul of A New Machine, by Tracy Kidder.

DVDs:
Macheads: A FanBoy Documentary, by Kobi Shely.

Triumph of the Nerds, by Bob Cringely.

Welcome to Macintosh by Rober Baca and Joshua Rizzo.

Online Videos:
All Things Digital, D5 VIDEO: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Prologue