I’m a sucker for hearing ex-Apple employees talk about the company’s early days. In particular, it’s fascinating to find out more about the development of innovations like MacPaint and the Mac graphical interface, as well as speculate over who was really responsible for the Macintosh’s creation.
On this week’s episode of the Triangulation podcast, tech broadcaster Leo Laporte interviews Bill Atkinson about his 1978 to 1990 stint at Apple.
Check it out below:
You can download the whole podcast for free here. If you’re a long-time Apple fan — or a newer one, wanting to find out a bit more about the company’s illustrious history — it’s well worth a listen over the weekend.
Source: TWIT
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
3 responses to “Apple veteran Bill Atkinson talks about the early days of Macintosh”
“Apple veteran Bill Atkinson talks about the early days of Macintosh”
I’m a sucker for hearing early Apple team members talk about Apple as well. One of the best book on the subject is “Revolution in the Valley.” It’s the story of how the Macintosh came to be (sometimes in spite of Steve Jobs), told by key members of the team, complete with great photos and diagrams. Used copies can usually be found on Amazon for little money. I must have given 15 of them as presents over the years.
From 1985 to the early 2000’s I went each year to Macworld Expo in San Francisco. What a time that was. At the first Macworld Expo magicians and musicians roamed the floor of the convention. It was more like a festival. Many great memories of looking at all things Apple, including meeting Steve Jobs, Danny Goodman, Andy Hertzfeld… and Bill Atkinson. Great designers and inventors, all. We have them—and of course Steve, who brought them together—to thank for Macintosh, and so much more. Thanks for the article, Luke.
I remember when I got my first Mac 128 which became a Mac 512, then a Mac Plus. I had such great fun playing with Mac Paint and Mac Draw. Those were such amazing times. At work, I’d be using DOS on some IBM PC/XT or PC/AT desktops and then come home to Mac OS which was a lot more pleasurable to use. I still have my Mac Plus in the basement, neatly packed away. I last booted it 5 years ago from a floppy, but I wonder if that boot floppy disk is still usable.
My first Mac was an SE30 in 1989 running OS 6. I had Adobe Illustrator 88, Photoshop 2.6 and QuarkXpress 2. Within 6 months I bought a 20″ Ikegami black and white (not grayscale) cathode ray monitor and connected it to the SE30 so I could do page layouts and logos. I went from there to the Mac IIci and a 20″ color monitor, etc., etc. until I now have a Mac Pro 2013 and a 30″ Cinema Display. We’ve all certainly come a long way with Steve, Bill and Andy’s help. Our Macs are the center of our lives, assisting us at work and home, business and entertainment. I even met my future wife when I ordered a keyboard and software for that original Mac.