Apple(US:AAPL) 3 6 Ke·2025-11-13 03:02Core Insights - The article narrates a story about Apple's early team designing the Mac calculator, highlighting Steve Jobs' demanding nature and the innovative solution proposed by Chris Espinosa to meet his expectations [1][4][10] Group 1: Background of Chris Espinosa - Chris Espinosa was one of Apple's earliest and youngest employees, joining at the age of 14 during the mid-1970s when Apple was a small startup [4] - He left Apple to attend the University of California, Berkeley, but was persuaded by Jobs to drop out and rejoin the company to work on the Macintosh project [4][6] Group 2: The Design Challenge - Espinosa faced continuous criticism from Jobs regarding the design of a calculator program for the Macintosh, leading to multiple revisions that failed to satisfy Jobs [6][7] - The team was under pressure to create technical documentation and tools for third-party developers, with QuickDraw being a core component of the Mac system [6][7] Group 3: Innovative Solution - To address Jobs' dissatisfaction, Espinosa created a "Steve Jobs Self-Made Calculator Kit," allowing Jobs to directly manipulate design parameters instead of providing verbal feedback [8][9] - This approach proved effective, as Jobs was able to quickly create a design he was satisfied with, which was later implemented by the engineering team [9][10] Group 4: Impact and Legacy - The calculator design, which emerged from this innovative process, became a staple of the Macintosh operating system, remaining in use for nearly 20 years until the introduction of Mac OS X in 2001 [9][12] - The story illustrates a unique aspect of Jobs' management style, emphasizing hands-on experience over traditional presentations, which has influenced software design practices [12][13]