Back from the Future
Chuck! Chuck! It’s Marvin! Your cousin, Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you’re looking for? Well, listen to this!
In this video from 1988 Steve explains how networking is the future, predicts how object-oriented programming with NeXT will accelerate software innovation, and explicitly calls on developers to invent the World Wide Web.
“We know it has something to do with networking… We know there’s something big coming… We know it has something to do with connectivity… We know it has something to do with email… We know it has something to do with file servers and groupware and getting the paper off our desks.” –Steve Jobs
2 years later, Tim Brenners-Lee did just that. On a NeXT machine.
The keynote is also eerily similar to his iPhone introduction in 2007: The “Ease of Use” matrix (workstations instead of “smartphones”), and his focus on Inter-Personal Communication as a “third revolution” in desktop computing.
This introduction looks like his first iPhone-level “eureka”—maybe on par with the original Apple computers. Years ahead of the competition, combining power and usability. This platform still serves as the foundation for Mac OS X and iOS, and 23 years later we’re just beginning to see what “Inter-Personal Communication” really is. (Not to mention how much innovation is taking place now with Xcode and Interface Builder).
Here are links to the full video: