Parker Ortolani

The Steves That Built Me

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:01:00 -0400

It’s hard to put into words what Apple means to me. I know it’s odd to hear anyone say that a corporation “means” anything to them. But Apple’s not just a company, it’s an idea cooked up by two crazy ones in a garage 50 years ago. It’s been a driving force in my life since I was conscious enough to know what a computer was.

I first experienced the magic of Apple when my dad showed me photoshop on his PowerBook G3 Pismo as a little kid. This seminal moment birthed not just my love for Apple, but my fascination with design and creativity. I’d see multi-colored iMacs in his office, at my cousins' homes, and there were iBooks galore. We’ve been a Mac family since before I was born.

Several years later when I got my first iPod, it was over. I was hooked. Eventually I got my first iPhone and iPad, both of which I spent summers mowing lawns, saving up to buy. I was lucky enough to sit down 1:1 with Woz in high school and have made my way into a few Apple events where I’ve gotten to meet a whole slate of executives that unknowingly shaped my life. My walls are adorned with vintage ads, my shelves hold nearly every book ever written on the company, and I’ve got more white boxes than I know what to do with. Suffice to say, Apple’s never stopped meaning the world to me.

As important as the brand is, it pales in comparison to the impact that Steve Jobs himself had on my psyche and my life. As a kid, I didn’t have prints of actors or athletes, I had prints of Steve. I’d give faux keynotes in front of the family iMac. I dedicated my college essay to him as an analysis and expansion on his iconic 1994 interview, where he said “everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it.” To me, those words were the most important he ever spoke. While I’ll never have the chance to thank him for inspiring me, I hope that continuing to support the brand he built from nothing and by living his ideals, the ones that make Apple, Apple, I can honor him every day.

So here’s to the crazy ones. Here’s to the Steves. Here’s to 50 more years of an idea that’s so much bigger than a computer company. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Visit the microsite I’ve built to celebrate here

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:32:49 -0400

There’s something poetic about the Mac Pro being discontinued as the MacBook Neo takes off like a rocket.

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:36:09 -0400

I remember going with my dad to buy the original Mac Pro in 2006. They had to wheel it out to the car. End of an era.

"We're the last people in this business who give a shit about making great computers."

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 21:55:31 -0400

I already shared this clip on X and Bluesky earlier today, but I wanted to say a little bit more about it. I think that this newly discovered footage of Steve Jobs congratulating Apple employees at an outdoor all-hands meeting at the Infinite Loop campus following MacWorld New York in 1999 is some of the most important that exists of him. It was published by former Apple software engineer Akira Nonaka on YouTube.

It’s awfully rare footage, not just because it’s an internal meeting but because it shows a behind the scenes look at life at Apple in those early days of Steve’s return. The footage also not only shows what he was like internally with staff versus onstage for the public, but he talks about why he came back to Apple. “The reason I came here had nothing to do with turning Apple around because that’s about the company, and I know we all love this company but what we love even more is putting these great products out into the world and seeing people use them.” As Steve says in the clip, he just wanted to make really good products and this was his best chance. He sums it up pretty cleanly: “We’re the last people in this business who give a shit about making great computers.”

When referencing consumers, creatives, and students, Steve also says “These are our customers. It just feels good to me. This is why Apple was put on this earth, to serve these kinds of customers.” It feels prescient given the MacBook Neo’s emergence. Everything he says about the iBook in this video applies.

The 28-minute clip is chock full of quotes that I love, really encapsulates who Steve was, and shows the kind of place Apple still aspires to be. He calls the iMac G3 “lifesavers.” He waxes about the possibility to making Apple great again. And at the end, he delivers the understatement of the century: “I think we’re gonna really be able to rock and roll the next few years.”

Apple Kicks Off its Golden Anniversary with an Unforgettable Concert in Grand Central Station

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:15:27 -0400

On Thursday afternoon, I wandered over to Grand Central to pick up lunch. Immediately after walking into the terminal I noticed that the Apple Store that overlooks the main hall was closed off and now flanked by production lighting equipment. I found that particularly odd given that the day before they had just launched several new products. You don’t close one of your busiest stores for two days unless it’s for something very special. The speculation was on. I heard lots of murmurs about what the event might be and the consensus was that it was likely a concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company. Little did I know, it would be much more than that.

As I was shuttled through parts of Grand Central that I didn’t even know existed, I saw friends, colleagues, artists, and lots of media personalities. Everyone was invited to this thing, whatever it was going to be was going to be big. After spending some time at a cozy bar Apple had rented out for us all, we were escorted through the terminal to the store. As we walked through I spotted Tim Cook, John Ternus, Joz, Deirdre O’Brien, Zane Lowe, and so many other Apple folks. They hauled everyone out. The vibe was electric, this wasn’t a corporate event as much as it was a celebration. Everyone was in a great mood. The screens across the main hall showed the new hand-drawn 50th anniversary logo and stated “50 Years of Thinking Different.” As word spread around the city that there was about to be a surprise concert in Grand Central, the crowd began to grow. The pink piano placed at the top of the main staircase at Apple Grand Central was a clear hint that we were in for a treat. Sure enough, Alicia Keys herself emerged from behind the scenes and absolutely brought the house down.

This wasn’t a quick performance, it was a true Alicia Keys concert with a seven song set list which of course was capped by her iconic New York anthem Empire State of Mind. It was thrilling to be in a concert crowd with Tim and the team who I watched react all throughout the show. It made me immensely happy they decided to honor Apple’s 50th with a proper celebration. The crowd that Apple invited to the store to watch up close was extraordinarily fun to be a part of, but listening to the crowd on the floor at Grand Central just highlighted how special Apple is in its contributions to culture. I loved every minute of it.

After the show ended, me and a few pals from other publications hung around to try to get some face time with a few Apple executives. We watched Tim, Joz, and Ternus give interviews. We ran into folks like iJustine. But then we got to talk with John Ternus for a bit. I wrote last week about how the new Apple is finally emerging and after spending a few minutes with John Ternus I feel even more certain about that. He clearly loves the Mac. He’s so friendly, so easy to talk with, and clearly prepared for the spotlight. We even debated the best MacBook Neo color, spoiler he uses the indigo model. Though I remain faithful to citrus.

This is only the beginning of a multi-week celebration that’s happening all around the world to commemorate Apple’s 50th. I hope that folks elsewhere get to experience the same feeling. But I am thrilled and extraordinarily grateful it started here, in the city that I call home.

50 Years Later, Apple Has Finally Delivered Steve Jobs' Bicycle for the Mind

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:29:05 -0400

The MacBook Neo is the computer that Steve Jobs always wanted to make. It’s the first notebook Apple’s ever shipped that starts at $499 and doesn’t compromise on any of the essential components that make a Mac, a Mac. Bicycles are one of the most accessible forms of transportation on the planet, and if you recall the iconic “bicycle for our minds” line from Steve himself you can begin to put all the pieces together.

Macs have, for the most part, been a luxury product. They’re these incredible machines that let you create practically anything wrapped up in a beautifully designed, carefully considered package. But as a luxury, defining a Mac as a bicycle for the mind was always a bit disingenuous. Macs have always sort of been the Porsche 911 to the PC’s Toyota Corolla. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac that is truly, in every sense of the word, a bicycle for the mind. It’s the first Mac that almost anyone can buy and it’s going to unleash a whole new era of creativity because of it.

If you took a MacBook Neo back to 1984 and showed it Steve Jobs, I would wager he’d see it as exactly the computer he had originally envisioned. A beautiful, fun, powerful, but most importantly accessible machine that can go anywhere, do anything, and help anyone do their best possible work. I think that was 42 years well spent to get to this moment. Thanks to technologies like Apple silicon, deep integration of software and services, an unbelievably robust production infrastructure, and an ever growing user base, they were finally able to pull it off.

During a 2007 post-keynote Q&A, Molly Wood asked Steve Jobs if their goal was to take over as much PC market share as possible. His response said everything you needed to know about who Apple was and who Apple is clearly trying to be again.

Steve said “Our goal is to make the best personal computers in the world and to make products we are proud to sell and would recommend to our family and friends. And we want to do that at the lowest prices we can. But I have to tell you, there’s some stuff in our industry that we wouldn’t be proud to ship, that we wouldn’t be proud to recommend to our family and friends, and we can’t do it. We just can’t ship junk… The difference is, we don’t offer stripped-down, lousy products.”

The MacBook Neo is the culmination of decades of work to make the Mac that he always wanted to build. It’s an uncompromising, true bicycle for the mind. It’s a product I and anyone I know would be happy to recommend to just about anyone. It’s not a stripped-down, lousy product. It’s one of the most important Macs ever made.

Somewhere, I’d like to think, Steve has his signature smirk on knowing that they finally achieved the ideal bicycle for the mind. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Apple’s 50th birthday.

The New Apple Finally Begins to Emerge

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:52:37 -0400

It’s official. Apple’s added Steve Lemay and Molly Anderson to their executive leadership page. After much drama following Alan Dye’s departure, the company has decided to not only elevate the two designers but give them the kind of platform that they deserve. They’re now listed right alongside folks like Tim Cook and John Ternus.

I think it’s no secret that many of us have come to agree that Apple’s been a bit lost the past few years. Between Vision Pro, Apple Intelligence, tone deaf advertisements, and debates over software quality, there’s been a sense that a change needs to happen. I care about Apple holistically, as a living breathing entity not just their products. So who is running the joint matters to me. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the same week we get a radically different kind of Mac, we also see the executive leadership page get a revamp.

Molly Anderson’s already proven herself to be an incredibly talented industrial designer. She’s been at Apple for over a decade, but she recently became the face of ID doing voiceover for the iPhone 17 Pro reveal. If the latest iPhones and the MacBook Neo are the first real fruits of her leadership, that bodes incredibly well for the future. And mind you, she’s also in charge of accessories and packaging. I think she might just turn out to be exactly the kind of person that Apple hardware needs to inject a breath of fresh air.

The same goes for Steve Lemay, who I know so many people are excited to see takeover human interface. Liquid Glass has been so poorly received that knowing a true Apple veteran with deep knowledge of HI is now in charge has been the best kind of whiplash. Lemay has been at Apple for 27 years and has a track record that implies the future of Apple software under his leadership is extraordinarily bright. There’s no question that Apple products are the work of many teams, not just the designers. Johnny Srouji, Craig Federighi, Joz, all of their teams are just as vital to developing these devices. But John Ternus who is clearly being positioned as Tim Cook’s successor having two new designers means that the three of them can redefine Apple’s identity after 15 years under an operations guy.

The MacBook Neo which was announced this week feels like the first fruits of this new collaboration. It has been almost universally well received across the industry. The average user is just as excited as the super nerd. That’s a rare occurrence. So is a $599 Mac notebook. But the product isn’t just new, the marketing is radically different. Apple’s advertising materials for the Neo are a radical departure from their typical work. It’s drawing exactly the kind of attention that they need to. It’s fun, it’s different, and it’s most importantly current. Not just following trends, but taking what makes Apple, Apple and meshing it together with what’s expected of brands in 2026. Even the way they launched the product is new for them. They held simultaneous events around the world with different executives giving on stage mini keynotes. John Ternus unveiled MacBook Neo in New York, Bob Borchers (who you may remember as the face of the original iPhone guided tours) in Shanghai, and Tim Millet in London. They had elaborate set ups for people to create content with the devices, they had beautiful sculptures, and they had hands on areas that while new looked very familiar.

The MacBook Neo is a new kind of product for Apple, unveiled in a new way, with new materials, by an array of fresher faces. These new products being unveiled at the same time the faces of the company are beginning to change feels like a turning point. You could argue Neo is one of, if not the first product of this new Apple. I am far more excited about the future of the company now than I was a year ago. Sure, Apple Intelligence is still a mess. But this week Apple showed what they do best. That they still have a place in this ecosystem. And that they can still surprise and delight even within existing categories.

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:04:07 -0400

Stumbled across an absolutely fantastic new Reddit client, closest thing to Apollo yet I think… apps.apple.com/app/id675…

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:23:38 -0400

Fantastic interview with Tony Fadell. Touches on practically everything. If it doesn’t make you wish he was running Apple… youtu.be/CWdCys0cn…

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:29:16 -0400

I’ve really been completely turned around on Tahoe. Only looks truly good in dark mode, with tinted glass, and a dark wallpaper. Otherwise it’s sort of a mess. I loved it at first but over time really soured on it. Hope macOS 27 peels much of it back, or at least takes steps to refines the changes.

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:47:41 -0500

If you watch anything this week, make sure it’s this interview with Dario Amodei and Demis Hassabis at Davos from earlier today. It’s essential viewing if you have even the slightest interest in AI. The two of them are just captivating. I’m also mildly freaking out that they both have a particular affinity for Contact, which also happens to be my favorite movie ever made. youtu.be/02YLwsCKU…

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:32:38 -0500

I really wish the new Digg had somehow been built on AT or ActivityPub so that it would grow faster, feels quiet even with the doors open

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:29:31 -0500

Cannot believe how much better Claude Code makes vibe coding iOS apps. It’s unbelievable how much more you can do than the inline Xcode chat.

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:26:53 -0500

I’m starting to see a ton of iPhone Airs and it’s making me wonder if the theory that it was going to be a late bloomer might hold water.

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:48:23 -0500

If you’re joining the new Digg for the first time today, you might as well join the new /apple community that I’ve started! techcrunch.com/2026/01/1…

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:57:06 -0500

Why has no one modded an original iPod Shuffle to have a USB-C connector and a zillion gigs of storage? That combo would be an awesome offline gadget. Throw Bluetooth in there too while you’re at it.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:35:21 -0500

Any sort of consternation around the Apple and Google deal for Gemini in Siri is severely misplaced. Apple hasn’t lost. If anything, this is a modern day “Microsoft” moment where they get a much needed boost from their top competitor. They’ll productize Gemini better than anyone else.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:38:51 -0500

The Macintosh iPhone case from Spigen arrived. It is indeed as awesome as it looks online. Sadly doesn’t come in the same kind of Apple-style box that I saw in influencer content though.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:29:23 -0500

It seems like these new icons were designed so that they could form a rainbow marketing image rather than as actual usable, beautiful icons for your dock. Each one has almost entirely lost its identity. Some make no sense at all. These are the first Liquid Glass era designs that I truly dislike.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:47:21 -0500

I’ve wanted Pixelmator Pro on iPad for years. Cannot wait to give this a shot. 9to5mac.com/2026/01/1…

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:20:56 -0500

Can someone please make a clear iPhone case that doesn’t easily accumulate dust and gunk along the edges? Apple’s cases are particularly bad offenders but I’ve yet to find a third-party option that doesn’t also have this issue to some degree!

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:47:22 -0500

My new (old) Pebble Time arrived. Truly the most playful OS ever on a wearable. Still so, so, so good. My unit’s also a kickstarter edition!

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:33:05 -0500

Not sure I’ve ever ordered a phone case as quickly as I did this one. Leave it to Spigen. www.spigen.com/products/…

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:33:55 -0500

I very much want Anthropic to set up a scrappy team for a side project to build a do-it-yourself operating system based entirely around Claude Code and Cowork. claude.com/blog/cowo…

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:40:38 -0500

learning that a lot of people who act like they know things, don’t actually know anything about how Apple’s AI or Gemini work