Apple at 50: Five Decades of Thinking Different

So, Apple is one of the most successful, most profitable, most scrutinized companies in the history of the world.

2.5 billion people at this moment are carrying around Apple devices.

That, if you're doing the math, is 31% of every man, woman, and child alive.

If they were a country, they would be the biggest country in the world, bigger than China or India.

They earn a million dollars every 90 seconds, so next time you're feeling well-paid.

They're approaching a $4 trillion market capitalization.

And it all started with these two Steves.

Neither one of them could be with us tonight.

Steve Wozniak has another thing, but we did interview him, I interviewed him, at this museum a week and a half ago, and we're going to show you now an excerpt from that story.

Steve Jobs wanted a company, and he did it, and I was his resource.

And I had the computer already done that was going to be all of Apple's revenues for the first 10 years of the company.

The Apple III failed, the Lisa failed, I wasn't on these, and the Macintosh failed the hardest of all.

But the Apple II kept bringing in the millions of dollars and putting us up the Fortune 100 and Fortune 20 list and No, that one computer.

So that was helpful to him, and I'm glad.

I got what I wanted.

I didn't want to start a company.

I didn't want to start an industry.

I wanted other engineers to look at my designs and say, he doesn't design normally.

This is some kind of genius.

I mean, I really had ways of using minimal parts so effectively.

That's all I wanted.

I wanted respect from engineers, and I've gotten that.

So, Apple is one of the most successful, most profitable, most scrutinized companies in the history of the world.

2.5 billion people at this moment are carrying around Apple devices.

That, if you're doing the math, is 31% of every man, woman, and child alive.

If they were a country, they would be the biggest country in the world, bigger than China or India.

They earn a million dollars every 90 seconds, so next time you're feeling well-paid.

They're approaching a $4 trillion market capitalization.

And it all started with these two Steves.

Neither one of them could be with us tonight.

Steve Wozniak has another thing, but we did interview him, I interviewed him, at this museum a week and a half ago, and we're going to show you now an excerpt from that story.

Steve Jobs wanted a company, and he did it, and I was his resource.

And I had the computer already done that was going to be all of Apple's revenues for the first 10 years of the company.

The Apple III failed, the Lisa failed, I wasn't on these, and the Macintosh failed the hardest of all.

But the Apple II kept bringing in the millions of dollars and putting us up the Fortune 100 and Fortune 20 list and No, that one computer.

So that was helpful to him, and I'm glad.

I got what I wanted.

I didn't want to start a company.

I didn't want to start an industry.

I wanted other engineers to look at my designs and say, he doesn't design normally.

This is some kind of genius.

I mean, I really had ways of using minimal parts so effectively.

That's all I wanted.

I wanted respect from engineers, and I've gotten that.