Michal Ždanský Founder of the Wolfram Research Company, Steven Wolfram, responsible for the search engine Wolfram | Alpha and the Mathematica program, in their blog he remembers working with Steve Jobs and how much he contributed to his life's projects, which are closely linked to Apple's most successful products.
It was really sad for me when I heard about the death of Steve Jobs in the evening along with millions of people. I have learned many things from him over the past quarter of a century and was proud to count him as a friend. He has greatly contributed in various ways to my three major life projects: Mathematica, A New Kind of Science a Tungsten | alpha
I first met Steve Jobs in 1987 when he was quietly building his first NeXT computer and I was quietly working on the first version Mathematica. We were introduced by a mutual friend and Steve Jobs told me in no uncertain terms that he planned to build the best possible computer for higher education and that he wanted it to be Mathematica part of it. I don't remember the exact details of that meeting, but eventually Steve gave me his business card, which I still have in my files.
In the months since our first meeting, I have had various communications with Steve about my program Mathematica. It used to be Mathematica it didn't name it at all, and the name itself was one of the big topics of our discussions. First it was Omega, later PolyMath. According to Steve, they were stupid names. I gave him the entire list of title candidates and asked for his opinion. After some time, one day he said to me: “You should call it Mathematica".
I considered that name, but then rejected it. I asked Steve why Mathematica and he explained to me his theory of names. First you need to start with a general term and then embellish it. His favorite example was the Sony Trinitron. It took a while, but I finally agreed Mathematica is a really good name. And now I've been using it for almost 24 years.
As development continued, we showed our results to Steve quite often. He always claimed he didn't understand how the whole calculation worked. But how many times did he come up with some suggestions to make it simpler in terms of interface and documentation. In June of 1988, I was ready Mathematics release. But NeXT had not yet introduced its computer. Steve was hardly seen in public and rumors of what NeXT was up to were gaining momentum. So when Steve Jobs agreed to appear on our press release, it meant a lot to us.
He gave a wonderful speech, talking about how he expects computers to be used in more and more industries and that they will need services Mathematica, which its algorithms provide. With this, he clearly expressed his vision, which has also been fulfilled over the years. (And I was pleased to hear that a lot of important iPhone algorithms were developed with Mathematica.)
Some time later, the new NeXT computers were announced and Mathematica was part of every new machine. Although not a significant commercial success, Steve's decision to pack Mathematics to every computer turned out to be a good idea, and how many times it was the main reason people bought a NeXT computer. A few years later I learned that several of these computers were purchased by the Swiss CERN to run Mathematica on them. These were the computers on which the beginning of the web was developed.
Steve and I saw each other regularly then. I once visited him at his new NeXT headquarters in Redwood City. In part, I wanted to discuss the options with him Mathematica as a computer language. Steve always preferred UI over languages, but he tried to help me. Our conversation continued, however he told me that he could not go to dinner with me. Actually, his mind was diverted because he was supposed to have a date that evening - and the date wasn't some Friday.
He told me that he had only met her a few days ago and was quite nervous about the meeting. The great Steve Jobs - a self-confident entrepreneur and technologist - went all soft and asked me for some advice about the date, not that I'm some famous adviser in the field. As it turned out, the date apparently went well, and within 18 months the woman became his wife, who remained with him until his death.
My direct interaction with Steve Jobs declined considerably during the decade I was diligently working on the book A New Kind of Science. It was the NeXT computer that I used most of the time I was awake. I actually made all the major discoveries on it. And when the book was finished, Steve asked me for a pre-release copy, which I gladly sent him.
At the time, a lot of people advised me to put a quote on the back of the book. So I asked Steve Jobs if he could give me some advice. He got back to me with a few questions, but finally said, "Isaac Newton didn't need a quote on the back, what do you need one for?" And so is my book A New Kind of Science it ended without any quote, just an elegant photo collage on the back. Another credit from Steve Jobs that I remember whenever I look at my thick book.
I have been lucky in my life to work with a lot of talented people. Steve's strength for me was his clear ideas. He always grasped a complex problem, understood its essence, and used what he found to make a major step, often in a completely unexpected direction. I myself have spent a lot of my time in science and technology trying to work in a similar way. And trying to create the best possible.
So it was extremely inspiring for me and our entire company to watch Steve Jobs' achievements, and Apple's achievements in recent years. It confirmed many of the methods I have believed in for so long. And it spurred me on to push them even harder.
In my opinion, it is for Mathematics the great honor of being the only major software system available when NeXT computers were announced in 1988. When Apple started making iPods and iPhones, I wasn't sure how these products could relate to what I had created so far. But when he came Tungsten | alpha, we began to realize how important our computer knowledge was to this new platform that Steve Jobs had created. And when the iPad came along, my colleague Theodore Gray insisted that we had to create something fundamental for it. The result was the publication of Gray's interactive eBook for the iPad - Elements, which we presented at last year's Touch Press. Thanks to Steve's creation called the iPad, there were completely new possibilities and a new direction.
It is not easy tonight to remember everything that Steve Jobs has supported and encouraged us with over the years. In things big and small. Looking at my archive, I almost forgot how many detailed problems he went into to solve them. From small problems in the first versions NEXT STEP until a recent personal phone call where he assured me that if we port Mathematics on iOS, so it won't be rejected.
I am grateful to Steve Jobs for many things. But tragically, his greatest contribution to my latest life project— Tungsten | alpha – happened only yesterday, October 5, 2011, when it was announced that Tungsten | alpha will be used in Siri on the iPhone 4S.
This move is typical of Steve Jobs. Realizing that people want direct access to knowledge and action on their phone. Without all the extra steps that people automatically expect.
I am proud that we are in a position to deliver an important component to this vision – Wolfram | Alpha. What's coming now is just the beginning, and I look forward to seeing what we and Apple can do in the future. I'm just sorry that Steve Jobs is not involved.
When I met Steve Jobs nearly 25 years ago, I was blown away when he explained that NeXt was what he wanted to do in his thirties. It struck me then that it was quite daring to plan my next 10 years in this way. And it's incredibly inspiring, especially for those who have spent a large part of their lives working on big projects, to see what Steve Jobs accomplished in the few decades of his life, which to my sadness ended today.
Thank you Steve, thank you for everything.
Excellent article. Again, I learned about a few things that I didn't know about before, and that Steve gave us.
That's right, Jablíčkář is getting better and better.
Beauty. Thank you
Another wonderful article. Warm thanks. I hope it continues like this ;)