The overlooked reason behind the success of personal computers

Computers and software changed our lives forever. And we are familiar with the famous story of the rise of personal computers, starting from a garage to the creation of the Apple II to Microsft 95...etc.

But what exactly made them successful? A computer is a tool, after all, so what exactly are the tools that made the computer an essential part of our lives?

in this letter, you'll learn about:

1. Spreadsheets origins: VisiCalc
2. Steve Jobs's talk at MIT when he was at NeXT computers and the revolution of OOP (Object Oriented Programming)
3. History and evolution of Xcode, the tool that is used to build life-changing apps we use everyday

🧵 Weekly Thread

History of VisiCalc - The world's first spreadsheet application

VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet application, and it was responsible for the success of the Apple II.
It proved that personal computers are transformative tools that propel productivity and growth to unimaginable heights.

Stackbit @stackbit You’ve never heard of Dan or Bob. But you should have. They built a company, VisiCalc, that led to Apple first big success and changed computers forever. Here’s their story. 9:29 PM • Nov 9, 2021 71 likes • 26 retweets

or you can hear it from the man himself!

📝 Timestamped Note

Steve Jobs President & CEO, NeXT Computer Corp and Apple. MIT Sloan Distinguished Speaker Series

In this talk, Steve Jobs talked about how OOP is the most significant breakthrough since the introduction of the GUI and how building useful app builders (Project Builder) and tools (Objective-C Programming language) that let people create apps customized to their needs is the next big thing.

This a great talk to listen and refelct to once in a while as it contains timless lessons.

Fun Fact: the first version of the internet was created on a NeXT computer!

Download Timestamped Note:

Download our timestamped notes to quickly explore the topics discussed in the episode and listen to what interests you the most!

Steve Jobs President CEO NeXT Computer Corp and Apple MIT Sloan Distinguished Speaker Series Steve Jobs President & CEO, NeXT Computer Corp and Apple. MIT Sloan Distinguished Speaker Series.pdf • 94 KB

📰 Article of The Week

Xcode Through the Years - by

Xcode, The IDE behind the world's most popular and influential apps.
Explore the history of Xcode that began in NeXT Computer company to our current day at Apple in this delightful and exciting article.

Xcode Through the Years

Journey back in time to learn the history of Xcode, why it became popular and important, and where we see it going in the future.

MartianCraft•MartianCraft, LLC.

Thank you for reading!

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