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Andy Hertzfeld

Andy Hertzfeld Quotes

Computer Scientist

Andy Hertzfeld is a renowned computer scientist known for his contributions to Apple Inc. He was instrumental in the early design and development of the Macintosh personal computer and launched the revolutionary Macintosh 128K in 1984. Hertzfeld is respected in the computer industry for his innovative spirit and exceptional technical contributions.

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Famous Andy Hertzfeld Quotes

“I left General Magic in 1996 to become an Internet hobbyist - got a T-1 line to my house. At one point I had all four food banks of the Bay Area hosted from this house here.”

House Left Lines Four Magic Internet Areas Bay Area Food Banks

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I left Apple in April of 1984, pretty soon after the introduction of the Mac.”

Left Apples Introduction April Macs

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“But I think Steve's main contribution besides just the pure leadership is his passion for excellence. He's a perfectionist. Good enough isn't good enough. And also his creative spirit. You know he really, really wants to do something great.”

Thinking Knows Want Enough Spirit Passion Leadership Creative Pure Perfection Excellence Contribution Good Enough Perfectionist Creative Spirit Passion For Excellence

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“People who work on the user interface side need to have empathy as a key characteristic. But if you are writing device drivers you don't really need to understand humans so well.”

People Ifs Needs Writing Humans Wells Sides Keys Empathy Characteristics Devices Drivers Users Interfaces User Interface

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“A lot of people thought Steve Jobs was a CEO of Apple but he never was until he came back to Apple in 1997.”

People Jobs Apples Ceo

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“Apple was our benefactor at starting General Magic, but about a year later decided they would rather BE General Magic and tried to make us blink out of existence... which we eventually did, but it took a few years.”

Years Existence Magic Decided Starting Apples Blink Benefactors

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“Being idealistic really helps you overcome some of the many obstacles put in your path.”

Helping Path Overcoming Obstacles Idealistic

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“As you know, Microsoft eventually kind of grabbed the gold ring out of Apple's hands, I guess.”

Knows Kind Hands Gold Rings Apples Microsoft

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I developed some unique software to public it on the web that I call the Folklore Project.”

Projects Unique Software Folklore

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I did some products for the Apple II, most notably the first small low cost thermal printer, the Silent Type.”

Firsts Products Type Cost Lows Silent Apples Printer Thermal

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“But typically for a project like the Mac, the size we had was pretty good. And it has different stages. The team grows as you have to write manuals and do testing... though the Mac had no formal testing.”

Writing Different Grows Team Stage Projects Size Formal Testing Manuals Macs

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I knew the Apple II was great when I bought it, but as I dug into the details it just completely blew me away the creative artistic approach that the designers had taken.”

Creative Taken Approach Details Artistic Designer Apples Creative Art

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I started working at Apple about 18 months after I bought my Apple II”

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I was a grad student at UC Berkeley when I bought my Apple II and it suddenly because a lot more interesting than school”

School Interesting Students Apples Berkeley Grad Uc Berkeley

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“The Apple II was not designed like an ordinary product. It used crazy tricks everywhere”

Used Crazy Products Ordinary Madness Tricks Apples

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“The Macintosh having shipped, his next agenda was to turn the rest of Apple into the Mac group. He had perceived the rest of Apple wasn't as creative or motivated as the Mac team, and what you need to take over the company are managers, not innovators or technical people”

People Needs Turns Next Company Creative Groups Team Managers Apples Agendas Motivated Macs Innovators Macintosh

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“Part of Steve's job was to drum into us how important what we were doing actually would be to the world”

World Important Would Be Jobs

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“In fact when I first got my Apple II the first thing I did was turn it on and off, on and off, just because I had the power to do so, which I'd never had on a computer before”

Firsts Facts Turns Computer Apples And Off

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“I'm the kind of developer who likes to throw lightning rods around. To make a great program there's got to be at least one person at the center who is breathing life into it. In a ferocious way.”

Way Kind Persons Program Likes Breathing Lightning Developers Breathing Life

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“It's [programming] the only job I can think of where I get to be both an engineer and an artist. There's an incredible, rigorous, technical element to it, which I like because you have to do very precise thinking. On the other hand, it has a wildly creative side where the boundaries of imagination are the only real limitation.”

“I got bitten by the free software bug in February of 1998 around the time of the Mozilla announcement.”

Software Bugs February Announcements Mozilla

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“We were developing an innovative Personal Information Manager called Chandler but a couple years ago I took off from that to do a project writing down my memoirs essentially, reminiscing about the development of the Macintosh.”

Writing Years Information Development Couple Projects Years Ago Memoir Managers Developing Innovative Reminiscing Macintosh Personal Information

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“Scotty heard that I was thinking about quitting Apple because of his actions, so he called me into his office and asked what it would take for me to stay? I said, maybe if I could work on the Mac project, which Steve had just taken over from Jef Raskin.”

Ifs Thinking Said Action Taken Heard Office Projects Quitting Apples If I Could Macs Scotty

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

“You show me a great program and I'll show you a passionate individual somewhere behind it.”

Shows Passion Individual Behinds Program Passionate Show Me

Author:Andy Hertzfeld

About the Author

Born: April 6, 1953
Known for: Computer Scientist
Quotes: 24

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