I guess the thing that struck me most - well there were two, actually - was Steve's keen inquisitiveness and as a result his ability to clearly see how something in the present could have a resounding, future impact.

Early in the interview, he was talking about business and he said (and I'm paraphrasing here) that he would always question "business as usual," and offered the example of cost accounting and inventory control while at Apple in the days of the Apple II. He was told that the accountants would estimate inventory costs and then adjust the estimate at the close of a quarter when the actual results could be calculated. When he asked why it was done that way, they said, "... because that's the way we've always done it." And, when he pressed further, they explained that they didn't have accurate data because system controls weren't very good... and that was the real reason. This segment was part of a longer monologue about thinking and how critical thinking were brought to bear to produce the MacIntosh and, now as we know, future Apple products.

One of the things that was so useful about this particular interview was Bob Cringely's own curiosity and a willingness to just let Steve riff. Simple questions: why'd you do that? what happened when? etc. So unlike Walter Isaacson's biography that seemed so filtered by the author's desire to overly dramatize the events of Steve's life, this was just Steve enriching each answer like a skilled raconteur, imbuing them with anecdotes and his own pointed opinions.

Towards the end of the interview, when speaking about NeXT, he begins to speak about the Web and Internet. I had to remind myself this was 1995. Arpanet email had only been introduced in 1970 or '71. Microsoft's first MS Mail client was released for the Mac in 1988. Tim Berners-Lee wrote the first web browser using a NeXT computer in 1990. All of this stuff was very, very new! But, in this 1995 tape, Jobs was speaking about the Web as if it was going to be this remarkably powerful networking tool because it could be used so that people could communicate and (again I'm paraphrasing) he spoke about things like printed catalogs and product distribution and the billions of dollars of business that would, relatively soon take place on the web. In hind sight, this acknowledgement was ridiculously prophetic. It was either a great guess or demonstrated a remarkably thoughtful mind at work in developing an extremely plausible hypothesis.

Lots to be learned by this interview and so well worth watching!

His enthusiasm is contagious. He seems to see the good and the potential in others. Yet he always has his purpose, a big goal to achieve.

At the time of this interview, he could not have known he would quickly take over Apple and turn it into America's most successful company. I would have loved working with him, I think.

I read the reviews and yeah have seen all of this before but hearing in this format and the way discussed so openly this video is one of the best Jobs videos I have in my collection!

This interview gave an opportunity to really understand how Steve Jobs thought. It is far better and more interesting than listening to someone else providing their interpretation of how Steve Jobs thought. The body language helps tell the story.

As a linux enthusiast I've always been a bit contemptuous of apple products - oversimplified, restrictive, too proprietary. And while much of this is true and while apple has changed dramatically over the years, watching this interview, I have a much greater respect for the vision and character of a man who has unquestionably altered the course of personal computing.

Jobs elegantly describes his passion and drive to create digital environments that are both aesthetically unique as well as functional. Very curious to learn more about how things evolved at Next and more of the history of how apple initially grew - Jobs and Wozniak in a basement hacking on hardware and ideas that would revolutionize an industry that was just beginning to be introduced to the general public.

This is absolutely worth watching (and I imagine one of the best interviews of Jobs in existence).

Enjoy

The film is about 90 minutes long. The first 30 good, but the last 60 are great. It is during that last portion that I believe you get an understanding of the charasmatic Steve Jobs.

This was by far one of the best interviews of Steve Jobs I've seen. He's less guarded having not yet returned to Apple and very candid about his business philosophy. And if you're a prime member you can't beat the price!