American Genius : Jobs vs Gates | S1E1

Brief Summary

This video explores the complex relationship and rivalry between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, two titans of the digital revolution. It begins with their early days, highlighting Gates's technical prowess and Jobs's design and marketing genius. The video details their collaborations, such as Microsoft's software for the Apple II, and their eventual competition with the development of graphical user interfaces. It also covers Jobs's ousting from Apple, his return, and Apple's resurgence with innovative products like the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, as well as Gates's philanthropic endeavors and legacy.

  • Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were pivotal figures in the personal computer revolution.
  • Their collaboration and competition drove innovation in the tech industry.
  • Both men faced challenges and setbacks, but ultimately left a lasting impact on the world.

The Hacker and the Hippie

In the early days of computing, Bill Gates, a driven and competitive teenager from a well-to-do family, and Steve Jobs, a college dropout with a spiritual background, embarked on separate paths that would converge and shape the future of technology. Gates, with his deep understanding of mainframe computers, sought to make them more accessible, while Jobs, influenced by the hippie counterculture, aimed to bring beauty and simplicity to computing. The introduction of the Altair 8800, the first personal computer, sparked a race to develop software and hardware that would revolutionize the way people interacted with technology.

Birth of Two Companies

Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed a programming language for the Altair, leading them to found Microsoft in an Albuquerque strip mall. Simultaneously, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple I, a computer with a keyboard and monitor, marking a significant step towards user-friendly computing. Despite initial setbacks, Jobs and Wozniak remained determined to create affordable computers, leading to the development of the Apple II, which would revolutionize the computer business.

Collaboration and Competition

The Apple II's success caught Bill Gates's attention, leading Microsoft to develop the SoftCard, enabling the Apple II to run business software. This collaboration benefited both companies, with Microsoft becoming a major revenue source for Apple. However, Gates soon set his sights on IBM, aiming to make Microsoft's software the standard for their personal computers. This marked a shift towards competition between Microsoft and Apple.

The Deal with IBM

Bill Gates secured a deal with IBM to provide the operating system for their PCs, even though Microsoft didn't have one at the time. Gates acquired an existing operating system, renamed it MS-DOS, and negotiated a non-exclusive license with IBM, allowing Microsoft to sell it to other computer companies. This deal proved to be a major turning point, making Microsoft an incredibly wealthy and influential company.

The Xerox PARC Visit

Steve Jobs, recognizing the threat posed by IBM and Microsoft, sought a breakthrough innovation. He visited Xerox PARC, where he saw a graphical user interface (GUI) that would transform his vision for Apple. Jobs struck a deal to invest in Xerox in exchange for a tour of their facility, leading to the development of the Macintosh, a computer with a revolutionary easy-to-use design.

The Macintosh and Windows

Steve Jobs assembled a passionate team to build the Macintosh, demanding excellence and innovation. He brought in John Sculley as Apple's CEO to manage the company's growth. Meanwhile, Bill Gates, after seeing the Macintosh's GUI, instructed his team to develop a similar interface, which would become Windows. This marked the beginning of a direct rivalry between Apple and Microsoft.

War Declared

Bill Gates announced Microsoft Windows, preempting Apple's Macintosh launch. Steve Jobs accused Gates of stealing Apple's ideas, but Gates defended his actions, emphasizing the importance of creating a great computer and a strong company. Despite the conflict, both companies continued to develop their respective operating systems, shaping the future of personal computing.

The Launch of the Macintosh

Steve Jobs launched the Macintosh with a groundbreaking presentation, showcasing its user-friendly interface and innovative features. However, the Macintosh struggled to gain traction in the market, leading to Jobs's ousting from Apple in 1985. This marked a low point for Jobs, while Bill Gates continued to build Microsoft into an empire with Windows becoming the standard operating system.

Jobs's Return and Apple's Resurgence

Apple, without Steve Jobs, struggled to innovate and faced financial difficulties. In 1996, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, leading the board to ask Jobs to return. To save Apple, Jobs sought an investment from Bill Gates, who agreed to invest $150 million in the company. This partnership helped Apple turn around, with Jobs focusing on creating relentlessly beautiful products like the iMac, iPod, and iPhone.

Legacy and Philanthropy

Steve Jobs's reputation soared with Apple's resurgence, while Bill Gates faced an image problem. Gates turned to philanthropy, establishing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address global issues. Meanwhile, Jobs battled pancreatic cancer, but continued to innovate until his death in 2011. Both men left a lasting impact on the world, shaping the technology industry and inspiring generations of innovators.

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Transcript

Full transcript of “American Genius : Jobs vs Gates | S1E1”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.

0:08 text is history welcome to the Future Apple's future kind of neat the digital age was not born peacefully it emerged from a bitter rivalry between two of the most influential Minds the world has ever known Bill Gates the young computer Prodigy we have an operating system and Steve Jobs the charismatic innovator today for the first time ever I'd like Macintosh to speak for

0:55 itself two brilliant thinkers tell you what I'll let you invest your 1 million in our company willing to do whatever it takes how's 50 Grand sound sounds amazing to go down in history we had a deal that you agreed to as the man who would make the computer personal if Apple goes down you've got no one to fight and change the world forever [Music] a teenager and his friend are on a

1:42 mission to hack into their local computer center and help themselves to some free computer time the Hacker's name is Bill Gates Bill Gates was a guy who came from a well-to-do family in Seattle had a great education was a smart guy was by all counts a very driven and competitive guy that was his nature Bill wanted to win even as a teenager Gates possesses a rare knowledge he knows how to operate a Mainframe computer mainframe computers were these

2:27 huge computers that experts used you know to Crunch data they were used by corporations and you know the gods of tech had to run these things they couldn't be handled by Regular People in 1974 the concept of the personal computer doesn't exist until a company in New Mexico introduces the first computer small enough to be used by the general public it's called the alter 8800 it was a proof of concept toy in a way I mean it was a sophisticated toy it was a Direction but it didn't do a whole lot it didn't have a terminal didn't have a keyboard didn't have any of the things that we typically associate uh with a

3:13 computer right now most importantly there's no easy way to operate it when the alter is released Bill Gates is a student at Harvard University Gates and his friend Paul Allen know that to be useful the alter needs a programming language and they decide to give it one Bill Gates and Paul Allen sensed that something was in the air they didn't want to spend the next 2 or 3 years watching the parade go

4:09 by they use an early form of programming in which holes are punched into spools of paper in patterns that form commands to prove that their program works they'll have to take it directly to the makers of the alter you go you look older they'll take you seriously [Music] okay but Gates and Allen aren't the only ones determined to make computers easier

4:56 to use 3,000 M away the future of the personal computer is being imagined in a completely different [Music] [Music] way Steve Jobs is a College Dropout who has just returned from a spiritual quest in India and has limited experience with computers he was part of the hippie crowd the whole drugs and all kinds of alternative Lifestyles he was not trained in Computing one of job's friends is Steve wnc an electronics and computer hobbyist who's come up with a radical

5:44 idea hey what you working on I got something new check this out wnc has built a computer with a microprocessor like the alter but he's added two other key components a keyboard and a [Music] monitor instead of having to punch code into paper programming can now be written directly using the same Keys found on a typewriter it was a Eureka moment I could type commands on the computer and they came up on my TV screen these things I call Eureka moments are surprises that even you didn't realized

6:30 how important they were going to be for how things worked jobs is immediately intrigued but unlike wnc jobs is less interested in how computers work and more interested in how he can sell them Steve was the total businessman he wanted the company I just wanted to build cool products and that was pretty much our relationship we needed each other so badly Bill Gates is waiting on word from his partner Paul Allen who's demonstrating the software they created for the

7:17 alair okay uh this is just a basic language rewrote but let me type in a few commands and show you how it works you don't know which ideas are going to have the greatest potential until you've actually put them in practice sometimes someone comes up with an idea and you say wow this could really revolutionize the [Music] world Paul Gates and Allan have just sold the first

8:04 software program for a personal computer it's enough to inspire Bill Gates to take the biggest risk of his life at the age of 19 he drops out of Harvard and along with Paul Allen starts a small computer company in an Albuquerque strip mall they call it Microsoft in a California garage another ambitious company is being born Steve Jobs thinks he can sell the latest computer designed by his partner Steve

8:49 wnc after all it has 16 times the memory of the alter 8800 and a memorable name I was thinking executech maybe uh personal computers Inc [Music] no it was a brilliant name because it made people laugh it was sort of a disjuncture a bit apple and computer those two words didn't go together but

9:34 it made you feel it was friendly it took the edge off the word computer but a clever name won't make it any easier to sell their [Music] creation as you can see we're using the the aski keyboard and uh as well as the Moss 6502 chip why didn't you use the Intel 880 it's more compatible you can see the design here if you want to know more you can buy one I think we've shared enough even with the Revolutionary addition of a keyboard and monitor the Apple 1 is a

10:20 flop jobs only sells 200 units to computer hobbyists [Music] but jobs and wnc are not ready to quit we knew we were going to be successful we never once thought we would fail we knew that we were going to shock the world and that we were going to be so far ahead of everybody else's attempts to build lowcost computers that we were going to own the world while Steve wnc Works to make their processors faster Steve Jobs knows he needs to make the computer itself more

11:05 appealing not only the computer enthusiasts but to everyone he begins to imagine a fully contained [Music] machine incorporating all the needed components into a revolutionary easyto use design [Music] it was just the thing of beauty Steve Jobs brought a whole different design and spiritual Dimension to Computing he looked at the Zen of computing and he was able to bring a sense of beauty to [Music]

11:56 Computing the Apple 2 was about to change the computer business forever and one man is determined not to be left [Music] behind 22-year-old Steve Jobs believes a personal computer will one day be in every home and now he's one step closer to making that dream a reality in June 1977 the Apple 2 was released and it's unlike anything the public has ever seen

12:41 [Music] before its easy to use design is an instant hit with consumers and within a year of its release the company is bringing in $8 million in sales we started selling right away we were so advanced in the computer world it was color it was Graphics we were so many light years ahead of everyone else Apple has its first hit but when Bill Gates gets a look at the

13:27 computer he sees a a way to advance his own company Microsoft the Apple 2 may be perfect for everyday consumers but it's programming isn't compatible with most business software on the market Gates knows if he can give it the ability to run business programs he can cash in on Apple's success Gates and his engineers spend months developing the soft card a circuit board that plugs right into the Apple 2 allowing it to run business software but in order for Microsoft to

14:14 benefit from its design two of the greatest Minds in the computer industry will have to meet face to face [Music] sure looks good on the outside it's what's inside that [Music] matters you know how to write code I hire people for that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were like a binary star system starting in the 1970s they orbit around each other they each have a grand

15:01 gravitational Pole now you'll be able to run everything out there word processors spreadsheets Bill Gates has just given Steve Jobs a way to turn his popular home computer into a powerful business machine it's a win for apple and for [Music] Microsoft by 1980 selling soft cards to Apple users has become Microsoft's number one Revenue source and the company triples its sales but Bill Gates is already looking past Steve

15:47 Jobs and sets his sights on the biggest name in technology IBM for decades IBM has been at the Forefront of business technology but now they want to get into the personal computer business the thing that gate saw that was important was IBM was going to be a big deal in this area and so he wanted to be the Principal software on that PC what we're really looking for is an operating system an operating system I thought you only needed programming languages we could go with another

16:35 vendor I mean we have an operating [Music] system Gates makes a deal with [Music] IBM even though Microsoft hasn't actually built an operating system yet [Music] but Bill Gates knows where he can get one how's 50 Grand sound that sounds

17:22 amazing um who' you say it was for confidential Gates purchases an already finished operating system from a small software company and renames it Microsoft Doss basically they said we're going to pay you $50,000 and we can do with this anything that we want with it and the company was glad to sell it to them armed with an operating system Bill Gates now has the upper hand so when you were returns to IBM he makes one non-negotiable demand I'd like the right to sell it to third parties Gates is making software and

18:09 software was King and so Gates made the very shrew idea of creating software that could be on any device and I think IBM was not thinking of it in terms of where it was headed Gates negotiates a non-exclusive license to IBM for Microsoft Doss now Microsoft has the right to sell their operating system to any computer company in the world it probably ranks as the greatest business deal in history the money that dos brought in made Microsoft an incredibly wealthy company and when you have a lot of wealth you have a lot of power and you can begin to shape an industry

19:01 [Music] Steve Jobs has been watching from afar as Bill Gates dominates the computer business Apple's response to the IBM PC uh was you know derision they thought it was a big clunky inelegant box but they were also smart and they knew anything that IBN stepped into it was going to own a chunk of that market jobs knows if he's going to keep keep apple competitive he needs a big [Music] idea this guy Jeff Rasin suggested we go to Xerox Park Center he said they have some things you should see they're under wraps they're kind of

19:51 secretive yeah so what kind of great things have you got going on over at Xerox Park some objectoriented Programming Network stuff nothing as exciting as you guys I tell you what I'll let you invest your $1 million in our company if you give us a full tour of your facility we can make that happen Steve Jobs has no idea that what he's about to see will transform his life his company and the [Music]

20:40 world Andy you're on the Mac team now Burell you're also on the Mac team and Mike you're coming as well design meeting tomorrow morning 8: a.m. jobs makes one non-negotiable demand everyone on the team must be as passionate as he is Steve Jobs he had a certain Vision he was not particularly Pleasant to deal with a good chunk of the time all this sucks okay there were amazing stories about uh the uh the pressure cooker that the the Macintosh team was under but he was also the most charismatic guy who ever walked the planet according to anyone who ever met him or worked with him

21:32 with building the Macintosh demanding all his attention jobs realizes he needs a proven business leader to run Apple Steve needed somebody who could be a crisp manager and marketer cuz Steve was all over the place he was not a great manager in 1983 former Pepsi executive John Scully steps in as Apple's new CEO Justice jobs is nearing completion on the Macintosh we're all set all the top guys yep all in for the M who'd you pick for software Microsoft you trust Gates there's no one

22:19 better what he did for Apple 2 insanely great [Music] once again Steve Jobs invites Bill Gates to participate in his latest Innovation text is history welcome to the Future Apple's [Music] future Steve wants to show off this notion that they're going to do this user interface that's really cool and graphical [Music] and Gates thinks it's absolutely wonderful and he's willing to write

23:05 Microsoft software to be part of it kind of neat but Gates senses an even bigger opportunity for Microsoft I think when Bill Gates saw the graphical user interface I can't imagine he did anything but think like I get to run back and tell my guys about this because this is the way you're going to interact with computers in the future what's wrong with ours it's brain dead his can slide Windows around he can have two open at once why don't we just drum up a look alike we need to beat him to the punch this has to happen

23:50 now Bill Gates decides to go after Apple directly he instructs his team to start work on a graphical user interface that they call interface manager because anyone a child but by the fall of 1983 a different name would finally stick Windows when word of Microsoft Windows reaches Steve Jobs he's only weeks away from releasing the Macintosh the idea he's devoted the last 3 years of his life to [Music]

24:40 the man who jobs thought was an ally has declared war Gates get him down here now Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are both staking their Futures on the same revolutionary approach to software for the personal computer but in the effort to get to Market with it first the one-time partners are now at War Gates get him down here now

25:40 is this how you treat your friends I trusted you I brought you in on the Apple 2o I brought you in on the Macintosh we had a partnership we had a deal that you agreed to and you're stealing from us you're killing us and I'm not going to stand for it Bill Gates is a smart guy and he he's a smart businessman and he recognized an opportunity he wanted to create a great computer he wanted to create a great company a strong company and you do whatever you have to do to get that Windows is still two years away from being ready but Bill Gates knows he needs to beat jobs to the announcement

26:26 [Music] I'm here to show a few highlights for our upcoming product It Sports a userfriendly graphical interface time is a such a factor in these things so it's like okay let's let's start something from nothing that's the spirit of Silicon Valley [Music] Steve Jobs dream has been hijacked but unlike Gates he has a working product that's ready to

27:13 sell and a natural talent for marketing [Music] it many of us have been working on Macintosh for over 2 years now today for the first time ever I'd like Macintosh to speak for [Applause] itself hello I am Megos it sure great to get out of that [Applause] b the Mac was the ultimate Fusion of

28:00 Beauty with technology the world's first truly beautiful machine it looks like it's smiling at you it looks friendly that made Steve Jobs's heart sing the unveiling of the Macintosh is a [Music] hit but the computer itself is slow and struggles to find buyers the Macintosh sales fell drastically we had a factory designed to build 80,000 macintoshes a month and the sales fell to 500 a month our Apple stock dropped in half

28:45 this is scary stuff for a company I got with the design department and I think it's going to be Steve there's no one who admires your Brilliance and vision more than I do John what are you saying the board's decided that it's best if you step down Steve Jobs had created a board of people who are all almost like Father figures to and they're looking at the kid Steve

29:31 Jobs who' become undisciplined was spending too much money was antagonizing people and they finally vote to kick him out of the company he founded Steve told me it was like a kick in the gut [Music] in 1985 the Macintosh fails to light the world on fire and Steve Jobs the founder of Apple Computers is out of his own company

30:20 [Music] a man who once seemed an Unstoppable Pioneer has been cast aside while his rival Bill Gates is building Microsoft into an Empire High MS DOS has become the standard operating system on millions of computers and on November 20th

31:08 1985 Bill Gates and Microsoft introduce windows to the world as Bill Gates legal troubles Mount his competitor apple is doing no better Apple without Steve Jobs is not innovating they're kind of milking the old product line they don't even have a good new operating system with Windows dominating the industry Apple's share of the home computer Market Falls to 4% and in 1996 the company loses $1 billion Apple was struggling Apple went through a series of CEOs that were

31:55 Treading Water you had you know Scully you had Gil IO you had Spindler Apple was within a month or two of going bankrupt Apple stands on the brink of collapse so 12 years after forcing them out the board asked Steve Jobs to come back but before he can begin making apple Innovative again jobs knows he's going to need an infusion of cash and fast to get it he'll have to turn to an

32:42 unlikely Source hi [Music] Bill Bill Gates is under investigation for running a monopoly Steve Jobs is back of the company he founded but it's on the verge of [Music] bankruptcy hi Bill Steve I hear you're making friends with the justice department and you're back on board a sinking ship if Apple goes down you've got no one to f

33:28 fight but if you keep us in the game you can go on winning think about it it didn't behoove gates for Apple to go away at that stage of the game if you have no competitor then people say you own all the market and that's not a good thing it's better to have a crippled competitor than no competitor at all [Music] now I'd like to talk about meaningful Partners Apple lives in an ecosystem and it needs help from other

34:14 partners and I happen to have a special guest with me today via satellite down link and if we can get them up on stage right now [Music] good morning this was a remarkable moment when Steve Jobs brought Bill Gates up on the screen The Cult of Macintosh Jered and booed him he was reviled as a monopolist as a bully they hated Windows they hated PCS and they hated Bill Gates despite initial backlash Microsoft invests $150 million in

35:03 apple and jobs waste no time turning Apple around Steve just takes massive control and he makes sure that the products are just relentlessly beautiful like the original iMac with its translucent colors and that rabbit shaped design 7 minutes to load a song in 2001 Steve Jobs pushes Beyond computers the MP3 player that ruined my day into entirely new products like the iPod may be something better nobody knew we needed a th000 songs in our pocket we all had MP3 players but Steve said no I'm going to

35:50 create something that's so great people don't know they want it but once they see it they're going to want it everybody says that's great but Steve says no somebody's going to be smart enough to put this on a telephone and we'll be left out so he comes up with the iPhone in 2007 fans wait in line is long is over 100 hours to buy what would become Steve Jobs signature Marvel the iPhone and Apple is on its way to becoming one of the most profitable companies in the world the concept of that you could carry around and hold these supercomputers in your hands and do all kinds of things

36:36 with them and interact with the world is a big idea you had to pick one person who impacted technology more than anyone in this era it would have to be Steve Jobs [Music] while Steve job's reputation Soares Bill Gates has an image [Music] problem and if we can get him up on stage right [Music]

37:22 now he wanted to be beloved and he wanted his name to go down in history in the pantheon of Great Men in an effort to redeem his legacy Bill Gates one of the wealthiest men in the world turns to philanthropy he was motivated to become a philanthropist not only to make the world a better place but to rehabilitate His Image the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation becomes the largest private foundation in the world Gates now is is very compassionate very wise and just come around to the

38:08 thinking that we all are on the same team he's going to leave the world a better [Music] place for years Steve Jobs has been downplaying the news that he's suffering from pancreatic cancer by 2011 his health problems forced jobs to resign as Apple's CEO maybe he didn't know he was dying but he knew he had limited time on this planet death became an important motivator for him and if you think about it everything that he did that people

38:55 remember him for today were when he was dying his death is MN the world over by Legions of fans as devoted to the man as they are to his machines in the year following his death Apple would become the most valuable company on Earth the relationship between Steve jobs in Bill Gates was very complex they were like brothers in a way they were with each other every step of the way sometimes Rivals sometimes friends they were mean to each other but eventually

39:41 reconciled because they were the two Pioneers that built the industry

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