Steve Jobs on Personal Computers: Home, Business, Education
What Jobs talks about
Jobs argues that personal computers will not be limited to one place or one use. He says Apple’s theory is to make computers that can be used wherever people need them.
He points to homes, businesses, and education as obvious settings for Apple computers. He also notes an Apple computer was going up on the first space shuttle to control a biology experiment.
The recording is framed by later news commentary from Cork about Apple’s history there and Jobs’s legacy. The core of the transcript is Jobs’s early view of how personal computers would spread into everyday life.
A news presenter and an Apple employee are heard around the archived Jobs excerpt.
In his words
“We make personal computers that can be used irrespective of location”
“The home just happens to be one of the locations that the computers are used in”
“We foresee Apples being used in homes, but we also foresee them being used in businesses and education”
“There's an Apple going up on the first space shuttle”
Key points
- Personal computers should be usable irrespective of location.
- Homes are only one of several important places computers will be used.
- Apple expects computers to matter in business and education too.
- He cites Apple’s use on the first space shuttle as proof of broader applications.
- The vision is a world where personal computing reaches far beyond the home.
Full transcript
In Cork, former employees of Apple were today fondly remembering the visits there of Steve Jobs during the 1980s. The company's arrival in Cork in 1980 was one of Ireland's earliest IT industry inward investment stories. Do you actually believe that every home is, within the short term, the next few years, going to have its own personal computer? Well, we base our theory on the fact that we make personal computers that can be used irrespective of location. And the home just happens to be one of the locations that the computers are used in. So we foresee Apples being used in homes, but we also foresee them being used in businesses and education. And there's an Apple going up on the first space shuttle, as you may know, to control a biology experiment. And of course, Apple lasted longer than the space shuttle. Steve Jobs and Apple seen here arriving in Cork when the company was on the verge of winning the race to bring out the first personal computer.
Dan Burns started with the company in 1981. He met Mr. Jobs a number of times over the following 13 years. He was clearly a genius, and I think we'll go down in the annals of history of one of the great inventors and the great innovators. He was a tough guy. He was tough to walk for. He was tough to walk with. He was very demanding, but clearly a genius. At the massive Apple facility in Cork City, the American flag was flying at half-mast as a sign of respect for Mr. Jobs. Many of the 2,000-plus Apple employees here in Cork are engaged in high-end strategic work, developing and bringing to life the vision Steve Jobs had when he spoke about a world after personal computers. With cloud computing and other exciting developments, the Steve Jobs legacy will be felt for many years to come.
Do you think he'll be missed? I have no doubt. I mean, not only will Apple miss him, but the world in general will miss him. We'll all miss him. Daniel Tiernan, RT News, Cork.
Transcribed from the audio with OpenAI Whisper. Timestamps link to the video above. Errors are possible.