- loved the intro too (even thou drew didn’t know you surname or URL!)

how did you do your presentation?
- i really like the way your images pop out ; )

finally, amateur video can make one look, err, ‘raw’ but you could give yourself a fighting chance by editing the thumbnail!

ciao for now

Attempted to take this direct, but couldn’t find a Feedback link on your Contact Us page…

Strange/wonderful, how you, a customer, knew, and still remember the names of the people who waited on you.

That is exactly the environment we set out to create.

Our sales people were not on commission, we were solution-oriented, we were expensive (sold as close to retail as possible), but provided before, during, after support to our customers.

All our employees “sold” and would work the counter, handle any customer’s problem (even when sold by another salesman).

So, while, the person behind the counter could have been anyone… it was probably Pat (whiskey voice).

A bittersweet occurrence, was when an employee left our company… over 50% left to work for Apple:)

Fun Times!

I now live in Antioch CA (near Concord). You can email me at:

dicklacara@mac.com

I was a close observer of Apple between 1978-1989 with personal & business relationships at several levels: my 1st computer was an Apple ][; we were an Apple Dealer; Apple was a Customer of ours– 3rd party software, hardware, LANs, etc.; we were a partner with Apple developing a point-of-sale (POS) system for Apple Dealers running on Apple hardware.

Apart from pronunciation of a few names, the events that Dan portrayed are surprisingly accurate and cogent (for one so young). At least those events that were known to the public (including me).

In the mid 80’s, an Apple middle manager (to remain unnamed) told me the following inside joke:

“What’s the difference between Apple and the Boy Scouts…

…One of them has adult leadership”.

or later, what are the top 3 best things SJ ever did for Apple:

“co-founding, leaving, returning… …you pick the order!”

As to Apple and SJ being farseeing or just lucky… This can be illustrated by many things, but here is one that is current. Apple/SJ had:

1) the openness to recognize a compelling new technology that was NIH, Not Invented Here (inside Apple)
2) the prescience to see its potential
3) the flexibility to buy the technology, rather than re-invent it
4) the focus and discipline to just do it– apply this technology to build a practical, real-world product in a very short period of time
5)the audacity to ruffle some feathers and set a new path

The technology is MultiTouch; the company is FingerWorks; the product is the iPhone; and the prescience/focus/audacity is SJ!

Luck… Nah! Serendipity… maybe, to some extent… but Apple/SJ have created the environment where “Serendipity happens” with surprising frequency!

Oh, and I didn’t realise how much you look like Bill Murray. Sort of. No insult intended.

The question about Bill Gates and Microsoft’s lack of direction right at the end was the best part. Good improv answer. Microsoft don’t really understand why Apple are on the up at all, so keep on trying their old play book. Tablet computing is a particularly sharp example now that the iPod/touch are going to become precisely that for those who want them come June.

No offense taken. Please don’t take anything I write here as anything but light-hearted commentary.

@dicklacara,

Let’s not get into age wars, here! I’m just glad to be on the top side of the grass and still an Apple fan.

Regarding C+, I do recall Lucy as well as Larry Byrum, Ann Jolley, and another lady who worked the front desk. Oh, and there was a guy named Jim. I was always interested in databases so I could catalog all my books and LPs and handle a 2000 person mail label database. You sold me Barney Stone’s DB Master as well as something called TDM. All ancient. All worked back in the day. And look what we have now: Bento, all manner of book/music/game cataloggers.

Where are you calling home these days? I’m in Palo Alto but only until June when we move out of state.

If you want to take this out of the comments section, click my name, which will take you to my website. Click on the “contact us” menu item on the left, then click on the “feedback” link on that page to send me an email.

-Tod

Sebastian