This is a picture of an IBM hard drive being loaded onto an airplane in 1956. According to @HistoricalPics, which tweeted the picture, it’s a 5 mega-byte drive, and it weighed more than 2,000 pounds.
To put that in context, 55 years later, the weakest iPhone 5S has a 16 gigabyte drive, about 3,200-times as big. And it weighs a quarter of a pound. The IBM hard drive could have stored exactly one iPhone picture, and nothing more.
The year was 1983, and 28-year-old Steve Jobs was hosting an Apple event for his employees.
Jobs invited three software guys: Frank Gibbons of Software Publishing Co., Mitch Kapor of Lotus, and none other than Bill Gates of Microsoft.
All of the men are in their geek-chic uniform of khakis and polo shirts (the hoodies of yesteryear), to answer questions about their company’s relationship with Apple, all in the style of “The Dating Game”.
In the video below, you’ll hear only Gates’ answers, but those, of course, are the most interesting. The two seem almost chummy, and the crowd is completely entertained.
Jobs and Gates didn’t meet onstage again for almost 25 years after this event.
You’ll see that Bill Gates is really trying win that “date” in this game, but who does Jobs pick in the end? Watch and find out.
A speaker at a yearly hacking conference in Germany has claimed the ability to recreate someone’s fingerprints using just photographs of their fingers, as reported by the BBC.
This capability would highlight the compromised nature of replacing passwords with fingerprints, which is already seen by experts as far from fully secure.
In his talk at the Chaos Computer Club – Europe’s largest hacker organization – Jan Krissler said he used a high-profile target for his attempt: German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen.
Krissler, also known by the pseudonym “Starbug,” used several close-range photos from a “standard photo camera” of von der Leyen’s hand from a few angles before creating an image of her thumbprint via VeriFinger, a software program used to read fingerprints. (more…)
On not giving up: “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”
On past mistakes from “the dark days at Alibaba”: “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.”
On teamwork: “If we are a good team and known what we want to do, one of us can defeat ten of them.”
On having a larger mission: “It doesn’t matter if I failed. At least I passed the concept on to others. Even if I don’t succeed, someone will succeed.”
On perseverance: “We will make it because we are young and we will never, never give up.”
On work: “If we go to work at 8 a.m. and go home at 5 p.m., this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-to-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else.”
On competition: “You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die.”
On Alibaba.com’s 2007 IPO: “Alibaba is not just a job. It’s a dream. It’s a cause. Let the Wall Street investors curse us if they want.”
On starting a company: “If you want to grow, find a good opportunity. Today, if you want to be a great company, think about what social problem you could solve.”
On the benefits of his technological ineptitude: “Intelligent people need a fool to lead them. When the team’s all a bunch of scientists, it is best to have a peasant lead the way. His way of thinking is different. It’s easier to win if you have people seeing things from different perspectives.”
On growth: “In carrying out e-commerce, the most important thing is to keep doing what you are doing right now with passion, to keep it up.”
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
– Calvin Coolidge
Persistence is the fifth and final pillar of self-discipline.
What Is Persistence?
Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting.
When you work on any big goal, your motivation will wax and wane like waves hitting the shore. Sometimes you’ll feel motivated; sometimes you won’t. But it’s not your motivation that will produce results — it’s your action. Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don’t feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results.
Persistence will ultimately provide its own motivation. If you simply keep taking action, you’ll eventually get results, and results can be very motivating. (more…)
The latest biography of the legendary tech-guru, Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution Of a Reckless Upstart Into a Visionary Leader, covers the different key phases of Steve Jobs’ life. Written by Brent Schlender and Fast Company executive editor Rick Tetzeli, the book also offers insights into Jobs’ closest friendships, epitomized by a heart-warming anecdote about his relationship with successor, Tim Cook.
Excerpts released from the book revealed that Cook, upset by his mentor’s struggle with cancer, offered him part of his liver in 2009. Although Jobs was terminally ill from a rare pancreatic cancer, he vehemently rejected the offer.
“He cut me off at the legs, almost before the words were out of my mouth,” Cook recalled. “‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ll never let you do that. I’ll never let you do that.'”
The incident, according to Cook, was a true testament to Jobs’ selfless nature. (more…)
