Was Steve Jobs just a casual salesman? Certain technical documents from 1971, put up for auction, demonstrate the opposite. I have always been fascinated by the way the story can change depending on who tells it. For years, many portrayed Steve Jobs as just another charismatic salesman who took advantage of Wozniak's talents. But Jobs knew more than many people think.
A 16-year-old Steve Jobs: technical and obsessed with details
What we have before us are schematics and technical notes handwritten by Jobs himself when he was just 16 years old. And no, we're not talking about the scribbles or meaningless inventions I had in mind. Are detailed digital circuit designs with a complexity that is surprising given their age and the age of young Jobs.
In these notes, Steve Jobs carefully analyzes the design of a digital meter. I wonder about the usefulness from automatic rangecalculates the maximum counting frequencies and suggests improvements to the time bases. “Why not have 1 second as the maximum time to eliminate the basic problem of 10 seconds?”, he asks in these sheets.
The documents include a list detailed components which demonstrates his in-depth knowledge: JK type flip-flops, 4-bit binary counters, octal decoders… We are not talking about basic concepts, but elements that only a person with real technical mastery could handle with such ease .
And how did all this come to light? Well, at an auction, more precisely in the month of March 2023. These were sold three sheets for $12,501 in which it includes: two with annotations and original diagrams by Jobs and a third which is a photocopy of a diagram made by another designer.
They are all dated October 30, 1971 and probably originated in Jobs' early technical work while still in high school. The origin of these documents is particularly interesting because they correspond to the time when Jobs, at just 16 years old, was already deeply involved in the world of electronics. This is the period when I attended the Homebrew Computer Club and He collaborated with Wozniak on his first projectslong before the creation of Apple.
Confirmation comes from his former boss
Allan Alcorn, who hired Steve Jobs at Atari in 1973, confirms this: “When I hired him, it was as a technician to work with engineers who were building prototypes. He was perfectly capable of doing that.” And these technical notes demonstrate it irrefutably. He wasn't just the showman who presented products on stage. He was someone who deeply understood the technology he was selling, capable of designing complex circuits and proposing technical improvements to make the impossible possible.
In Applesfera | Every iPhone is unique: how to change icon color with iOS 18 and tips for a striking design
In Applesfera | How to take a hearing test with your iPhone and check the health of your ears
