In February 1982, Chris Espinosa, who was Apple employee #8, encountered a challenge that many might recognize: incessant critiques from Steve Jobs on the design of a calculator for the Macintosh. As a 21-year-old programmer at Apple, Espinosa had to undergo multiple revision cycles under Jobs' scrutiny. To tackle this, he ingeniously developed what he dubbed the “Steve Jobs Roll Your Own Calculator Construction Set,” enabling Jobs to design the calculator himself.
This captivating story is sourced from Andy Hertzfeld’s Folklore.org, a well-regarded tech history website that documents the development of the original Macintosh, released in January 1984. Recently revisiting this tale, it stood out as an entertaining example of creativity surfacing in an era where prominent software designs frequently emerge from collaborative efforts.
Design by Menu
Espinosa began his journey at Apple at the age of 14 in 1976, making him the youngest employee at the time. By 1981, Jobs persuaded him to leave UC Berkeley and join the Macintosh team full-time. Remarkably, Espinosa remains at Apple, holding the record as its longest-tenured employee. However, in those days, as the documentation manager for the Macintosh, he opted to write a demo program utilizing Bill Atkinson’s QuickDraw, the Mac's graphics system, to enhance his understanding of its workings. Among the planned “desk ornaments,” or utility programs to be shipped with the Mac, he decided to create a calculator, which were later renamed as “desk accessories.”
Initially confident in his calculator design, Espinosa faced criticism from Jobs, as recounted by Hertzfeld: “Well, it’s a start,” Steve remarked, “but basically, it stinks. The background color is too dark, some lines are the wrong thickness, and the buttons are too big.”
For several days, Espinosa adapted based on Jobs’s feedback, only for Jobs to identify new imperfections with each new version. Although it resembled “design by committee,” this endeavor was driven by one exceptionally particular individual whose satisfaction seemed unattainable.