Please enjoy these recordings (scroll down to find them, Parts 1 and 2) of special guest Daniel Kottke, computer engineer, pioneer and entrepreneur, and myself, Jeremy Sutton, for Episode 9 of The Portrait Conversation, a live Zoom portrait in words and paint.

Part 1 (October 3, 2020) – 1 hour, 27 minutes
From childhood escape into science fiction and studying calligraphy at Reed College and music at Columbia; to traveling in India with Steve Jobs and putting together Apple Is in Steve’s garage and testing and fixing Apple IIIs before they shipped. Join us next week for Part 2 (date and time TBC) when Daniel shares his experience working on the prototype Macintosh and LAA (Life-After-Apple).

The same evening as this Part 1 was recorded, Daniel participated in a fascinating Apple reunion called “Global Digicon Salon 004_ Bill Fernandez”, hosted by Bill Fernandez, where many former Apple employees shared memories of Steve Jobs. Click here to view the recording (2 hours, 25 minutes) on YouTube.

Part 2 (October 10, 2020) – 1 hour, 46 minutes
What it was like working inside the Macintosh group up to launch, and his life since then, including exciting projects he is currently working on for using technology to help people with disabilities and in care homes.

Daniel Kottke with an Apple /// Motherboard on CNN

Daniel Kottke was a friend of Steve Jobs’s at Reed College, meeting him there in 1972, and the two made a pilgrimage together to India in 1974. Mr. Kottke was one of those who helped assemble and test circuit boards in the Jobs family garage before Apple’s founding in 1976, and was eventually hired as employee #12 to be a full time tester. He subsequently worked on the development of the first Macintosh computer prototype. After leaving Apple in 1985 Daniel has remained actively involved in technology and innovation, working on many fascinating projects. For more background I recommend:
Rick Chapman’s written interview with Daniel Kottke, the Man Who Built Some of Steve Jobs’ First Macintoshes
and
Leo Laporte’s Triangulation 31 interview with Daniel Kottke (1 hour).

 

Please click on these wingtips to support the creation and sharing of art, entertainment and inspiration on this site. Besides donation, another way to support is by joining PaintboxTV.com which gives you access to hundreds of tutorial videos, custom digital art extras and participation in member-only online courses. The shoes shown in this photo were amongst my first dance shoes when I started Lindy Hop swing dancing and were signed by two of my dance inspirational heroes: Frankie Manning and Norma Miller.