Steve Jobs Designs Mac Calculator in 10 Minutes with Customized Construction Set

Apple employee Chris Espinosa found an innovative solution to placate Steve Jobs' relentless design critiques for the Macintosh calculator in 1982. Espinosa built a "Steve Jobs Roll Your Own Calculator Construction Set" and allowed Jobs to design the calculator himself for a period of ten minutes. This approach led to the calculator's original design, which was released with the Macintosh computer in January 1984. According to Andy Hertzfeld's Folklore.org, a tech history site chronicling the development of the original Macintosh, Espinosa, then 21 years old, had been working on the calculator design for days. Frustrated by Jobs' constant critiques, Espinosa decided to give Jobs control of the design process, albeit temporarily. The result was a calculator design that would become iconic in the world of personal computing. Espinosa, who joined Apple at the age of 14 in 1976 as the company's youngest employee, had been working on the Macintosh team full-time since 1981, when Jobs convinced him to drop out of UC Berkeley to join the project. Espinosa still works at Apple as its longest-serving employee. The approach Espinosa used to placate Jobs' design critiques may seem unconventional today, but it highlights the importance of user input and design flexibility in software development. "Design by menu" was a novel approach at the time, allowing users to customize the calculator's design to their liking. This approach has since become a staple in software development, with many companies incorporating user feedback and design flexibility into their products. The Macintosh calculator's original design has had a lasting impact on the industry, influencing the development of user interfaces and design principles in software development. Today, companies like Apple continue to prioritize user experience and design flexibility, often incorporating user feedback and design input into their products. As for Espinosa, he remains at Apple, continuing to work on innovative projects and designs. His experience with the Macintosh calculator design serves as a testament to the importance of user input and design flexibility in software development.