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The Beginnings of Apple Computer
John Burek points out an article written by Stan Veit, former editor-in-chief of Computer Shopper magazine, and one of the first retailers to deal with the fledgling Apple Computer in the late 1970s. Veit describes his introduction to the Apple I and his early interactions with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as they developed their early models. Quoting:
"After Woz hooked his haywire rig up to the living-room TV, he turned it on, and there on the screen I saw a crude Breakout game in full color! Now I was really amazed. This was much better than the crude color graphics from the Cromemco Dazzler. ... 'How do you like that?' said Jobs, smiling. 'We're going to dump the Apple I and only work on the Apple II.' 'Steve,' I said, 'if you do that you will never sell another computer. You promised BASIC for the Apple I, and most dealers haven't sold the boards they bought from you. If you come out with an improved Model II they will be stuck. Put it on the back burner until you deliver on your promises.'"
Where's my iTablet Steve?
Online & Feelin' Fine
Actually, I did Google it first, but I failed to notice that the last word of "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" got cut off in my copy/paste.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Apparently it always takes a raving ego maniac to do it, however.
It certainly takes some degree of ego and drive to do it. But whether it takes a sociopathic egomaniac is debatable. We certainly have history to show some examples of success. We also have examples of failures. The question is, in the cases of those successes, did it require those personalities or did they just seize the opportunity away from other qualified people?