
Steve Jobs' Not-So-Minimalist Home Office - cwan
http://lifehacker.com/5691151/steve-jobs-not+so+minimalist-home-office
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GHFigs
I don't know who this Jobs character is, but he obviously doesn't know many of
the 24 principles of maximum productivity or the 37 ways to unleash creative
potential. He should probably spend more time reading articles about how to
zen-up his workspace for maximum focus if he wants to get anything done. It
doesn't even look like he owns a Moleskine! How does he do mind-maps!? I mean
seriously, Steve, how do you expect to get Twitter followers with that
cluttered desk?

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chunkbot
I'd like to see <http://steve.jobs.usesthis.com/> (note: link doesn't work).

Anyone know how to get The Setup (usesthis) an interview with Steve Jobs?

The _About_ page evens says: "Despite appearances, the site is not actually
sponsored by Apple - people just seem to like using their tools. We're a fan,
too."

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xenophanes
That office is pretty minimalist!

It only looks busy because of the clutter which is not part of the office
design so much as just some stuff he hasn't found time to clean up.

The clutter is all temporary stuff for work, not permanent features of the
office.

~~~
jonhendry
That clutter was artfully arranged by Japanese craftsmen. It's a mix of fine
handmade rice paper, and paper-thin sheets of perfectly white marble. Possibly
also sheets of tanned fetal unicorn skin.

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prs
Link to the actual picture collection:

[http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/life/2004-2006/08-dianawal...](http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/life/2004-2006/08-dianawalker/lightbox-
iframe.html)

~~~
mtigas
I _love_ the scheming look he has in the last photograph:

[http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/life/2004-2006/08-dianawal...](http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/life/2004-2006/08-dianawalker/original/15.jpg)

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Timothee
Actually his house, as presented on allaboutstevejobs.com, is very rustic and
far away from Apple's clean industrial design. I'm actually surprised to find
that kind of home in Palo Alto: I'd expect this in Normandy, not around here
:)

From that website too: the last picture of this set
[http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/places/paloalto/paloalto.h...](http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/places/paloalto/paloalto.html)
shows that his home office hasn't changed much in many many years based on the
huge laptop he's using.

~~~
jon_hendry
FWIW, I expect he was running OpenStep on that laptop.

Supposedly he kept using OpenStep on an Intel laptop after he returned to
Apple. I suppose he switched once OS X was running on PowerBooks.

~~~
msbarnett
I seem to recall that the rumor was he only ran OpenStep until 10.2 or 10.3.
Before that OS X had been pretty rough around the edges, and kind of slow on
portable hardware.

There may have been some specific functionality he was missing too.

~~~
jon_hendry
Probably he waited for Keynote to be available, and had been using Concurrence
on Openstep.

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percept
But have you seen the outside?

[http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTyTt797GKO90lXFYDON...](http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTyTt797GKO90lXFYDONWjCeGTi7W7pcUeH9AvbSEn9kBEPy1CINQ)

~~~
pingswept
You mean
[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&...](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2101+Waverley+Street,+Palo+Alto,+CA&sll=42.270249,-71.444366&sspn=0.00944,0.015471&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=2101+Waverley+St,+Palo+Alto,+Santa+Clara,+California+94301&ll=37.434931,-122.140707&spn=0.004566,0.015471&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.434932,-122.140702&panoid=ioyYJV_KN4GkZ-
YGyGVsBw&cbp=11,95.18,,0,-0.8)

~~~
Keyframe
Is that a Mac on the floor across the street?

~~~
snsr
No kidding.. there does appear to be a classic Mac in the trash across the
street.

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gacba
Given the effort he puts into simple, minimalist designs for the Mac, it's a
bit surprising that kind of fastidiousness isn't present in his office
organization, too. But it's not in mine either, so I'm no pot and he's no
kettle. Even if it's an old pic, it's still fun to see the human side of a man
so often put on a pedestal.

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jon_hendry
I'm more interested in the pictures of the NeXT factory at
[http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/places/fremont/fremont.htm...](http://allaboutstevejobs.com/pics/places/fremont/fremont.html)

I want the giant-sized NeXT Cube-front wall hanging in picture 4 of the "Steve
at the NeXT Factory" set.

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KeepTalking
Has any one noticed the amazon shipping box in pic - 5 ??

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sudont
Not a big fan of the ranch style, but check out #11, guy's got seriously good
taste in those doors.

~~~
jon_hendry
I like the tudor-esque slate roof.

It's interesting that it's so close to the road. Is it in a gated community?

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KeepTalking
After all , he too is human ! Nice to see a human , softer side to Steve.
Despite the dizzying heights of AAPL Inc , he seems to be a very modest person
privately, compared to his peers.

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danilocampos
One thing that's interesting: Steve dogfooding that single button mouse. Image
was from 2004, but still – figured he'd be using a multi-button mouse like the
rest of us were back then.

~~~
prs
As far as I remember there was no multi-button mouse by Apple in 2004.

~~~
chc
Most people were using third-party multibutton mice. They worked just fine.

~~~
glhaynes
I'd bet against "most", but who knows.

~~~
chc
Nah, I'm sure you're right if you take it literally. There was supposed to be
an implied "among people who gave a crap about their computers."

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anthonycerra
Steve's glamor shots rival those of Jimmy Wales that have commandeered
Wikipedia recently. The pic of Jobs with his legs dangling over the chair is
particularly charming.

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jrockway
The chair looks uncomfortable. I wonder how much sitting and concentrating
someone like Jobs does, though.

~~~
MrFoof
Not all humans sit alike.

At work, I've had an Herman Miller Aeron for about 18 months. It's a solid
chair, as is the Think, the Leap, the Mirra... except for me. I don't sit
completely upright, and I tend to have my posture degrade into a half-slouch
at times. I need a very firm surface. Sometimes I tend to sit on one of my
legs, and that non-uniform pressure eventually forces the thigh support foam
out and onto the floor.

With this in mind, the Aeron, and the other aforementioned chairs, fall short
since I don't fit the intended use case. It'd be like teaching me to "type
correctly" despite being able to type at 90-100wpm with a horrible,
bastardized technique.

I use an Eames molded armchair. It's polyethylene with aluminum wire legs. The
arms are at the perfect height, and provide enough support, but the
polyethylene still has enough flex in it. It shrugs off my shoes. And it's
_much_ cheaper than any of the other chairs, will outlive me, as well as being
better looking and 100% recyclable. If you presented it as an original option,
I wouldn't of even considered it. However after hours and hours of sitting in
chairs, I struggle to think of one that might suit me better.

I also don't have lounge chairs that force an upright posture (van de Rohe's
"Barcelona", and Jacobsen's "Egg" come to mind). Sometimes I want to slouch,
even if I'm talking to you. And when no one's around, I guarantee you I'll be
slouching.

~~~
jrockway
I sit like that too, but tried not sitting like that for a while, and decided
I could get a lot more comfortable if I ignored my desire to fold one leg
under the other.

I've noticed the same thing in bed. My body _wants_ to sleep on its side, but
if I force myself to sleep on my back, I'm much more comfortable and sleep
better. It's very odd.

(I guess it's the same as wanting to drink 24 cans of soda, eat eight pizzas,
and finish it off with a slice of deep-fried chocolate cake. What leads to
short-term pleasure is not necessarily what's best in the long term. brain--.)

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kschua
Huh? No dual screen?

