Six months ago one of my closest friends died unexpectedly. Norm happened to be brilliant, but you could probably say the same of most people with an Erdös number of one. What set Norm apart was his warmth, a bit of craziness and his natural storytelling ability. He was a walking storybook of some of the most important developments at Bell Labs from the mid 1970s to 1990s - developments that touch nearly everyone.
Arguably the iPhone is the largest innovation of the 21st century - so far and today marks the tenth anniversary of it's release. It has changed businesses and the behavior of an enormous number of people on the planet. To celebrate, the Computer History Museum had a discussion with four of the principal people involved in it's development. Of course an important voice was missing, but one of the guests happens to be like my friend Norm - a natural storyteller. Scott Forstall also happened to be one of the people closest to Steve Jobs.
The event ran about two hours. I'm guessing those with a deep interest in the history of technology have already seen it. Scott's segment is a delight and probably interesting to everyone else. Plus it's only about thirty minutes long. What project led up to the iPhone and why did it start? When and how did Apple know they are on the right track? How did Steve Jobs scam his old company for lunch money, the compassion of Steve Jobs for his friends... It begins at the 1:26:00 mark
Comments