With nearly a year now passed since the death of Steve Jobs, Forbes has published a handful of previously "untold stories" about the Apple co-founder.
Excerpts from the story, published online on Tuesday, will appear in the Oct. 22 issue of the magazine. They include first-hand recollections of Jobs by friends and colleagues.
In one story told by software engineer Randy Adams, he recalls when Bill Gates showed up for a meeting at NeXT in the fall of 1986. After his receptionist let him know that Gates was waiting in the lobby, Jobs took his time to greet the Microsoft founder.
"I could see him sitting in his cube, not really busy," Adams said. "But he didn't get up or call Gates up. In fact, he left him waiting in the lobby for an hour. That speaks to their rivalry."
Adams also told a story from 1985 when both he and Jobs each owned a Porsche 911. One day at the NeXT offices in Palo Alto, Calif., Jobs rushed to Adams and told him they had to move their cars.
"Randy, we have to hide the Porsches," Jobs reportedly told Adams. "Ross Perot is coming and thinking of investing in the company, and we don't want him to think we have a lot of money."
The Porsches were hidden behind the office so they could not be seen by Perot. The Texas businessman eventually invested $20 million in NeXT.
Author Connie Guglielmo also shared the story of a time that Jobs had a "meltdown" before introducing a new "mini" retail store design. The store had a "shiny, seamless white floor" chosen by Jobs, but the CEO didn't realize just prior to its unveiling that the floor easily collected black scuff marks from shoes.
In the minutes before the unveiling, Jobs reportedly refused to step outside and greet reporters because he was so upset over the look of the mini store. However, Jobs was "ultimately convinced" to make an appearance.
"When I saw the floor, I immediately turned to Jobs, standing next to me, and asked if he had been involved in every aspect of the design," Guglielmo wrote. "He said yes. 'It was obvious that whoever designed the store had never cleaned a floor in their life,' I told him. He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped inside."
After the store opened to the public, all of the designers were apparently tasked with returning to the store and cleaning the white floor. Apple subsequently switched its store floors to stone tile, which is less likely to collect scuffs.
Other stories included in the full story cover Jobs' thoughts on touchscreen keyboards, his legendary attention to detail as well as lack of "social graces," and the time Jobs played Santa Claus for a friend's daughter.
Excerpts from the story, published online on Tuesday, will appear in the Oct. 22 issue of the magazine. They include first-hand recollections of Jobs by friends and colleagues.
In one story told by software engineer Randy Adams, he recalls when Bill Gates showed up for a meeting at NeXT in the fall of 1986. After his receptionist let him know that Gates was waiting in the lobby, Jobs took his time to greet the Microsoft founder.
"I could see him sitting in his cube, not really busy," Adams said. "But he didn't get up or call Gates up. In fact, he left him waiting in the lobby for an hour. That speaks to their rivalry."
Adams also told a story from 1985 when both he and Jobs each owned a Porsche 911. One day at the NeXT offices in Palo Alto, Calif., Jobs rushed to Adams and told him they had to move their cars.
"Randy, we have to hide the Porsches," Jobs reportedly told Adams. "Ross Perot is coming and thinking of investing in the company, and we don't want him to think we have a lot of money."
The Porsches were hidden behind the office so they could not be seen by Perot. The Texas businessman eventually invested $20 million in NeXT.
Author Connie Guglielmo also shared the story of a time that Jobs had a "meltdown" before introducing a new "mini" retail store design. The store had a "shiny, seamless white floor" chosen by Jobs, but the CEO didn't realize just prior to its unveiling that the floor easily collected black scuff marks from shoes.
In the minutes before the unveiling, Jobs reportedly refused to step outside and greet reporters because he was so upset over the look of the mini store. However, Jobs was "ultimately convinced" to make an appearance.
"When I saw the floor, I immediately turned to Jobs, standing next to me, and asked if he had been involved in every aspect of the design," Guglielmo wrote. "He said yes. 'It was obvious that whoever designed the store had never cleaned a floor in their life,' I told him. He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped inside."
After the store opened to the public, all of the designers were apparently tasked with returning to the store and cleaning the white floor. Apple subsequently switched its store floors to stone tile, which is less likely to collect scuffs.
Other stories included in the full story cover Jobs' thoughts on touchscreen keyboards, his legendary attention to detail as well as lack of "social graces," and the time Jobs played Santa Claus for a friend's daughter.
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