People who work on the user interface side need to have empathy as a key characteristic. But if you are writing device drivers you don't really need to understand humans so well.

I started working at Apple about 18 months after I bought my Apple II

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

I did some products for the Apple II, most notably the first small low cost thermal printer, the Silent Type.

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.

I'm the kind of developer who likes to throw lightning rods around. To make a great program there's got to be at least one person at the center who is breathing life into it. In a ferocious way.

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