Being idealistic really helps you overcome some of the many obstacles put in your path.

I left Apple in April of 1984, pretty soon after the introduction of the Mac.

I got bitten by the free software bug in February of 1998 around the time of the Mozilla announcement.

I knew the Apple II was great when I bought it, but as I dug into the details it just completely blew me away the creative artistic approach that the designers had taken.

Being idealistic really helps you overcome some of the many obstacles put in your path.

But I think Steve's main contribution besides just the pure leadership is his passion for excellence. He's a perfectionist. Good enough isn't good enough. And also his creative spirit. You know he really, really wants to do something great.

As you know, Microsoft eventually kind of grabbed the gold ring out of Apple's hands, I guess.