See Part One in my 10/11/11 Post

FEBRUARY 1984: After calling the magazine to tell them what has transpired, Jeffrey is on a plane heading to Cupertino, CA. The editor is stunned by the access Jeffrey has been given. Jobs has been notorious for being private and avoiding the media.

For Jeffrey, the magazine assignment becomes much less important than capturing an exciting moment in time, knowing Steve Jobs and his family of co-workers, are creating one of the coolest things he has ever seen: a personal computer that’s small enough to sit on a desk, and one that can be used by anyone, not just scientists, business people, or computer geeks. The drawing and painting capabilities alone have him dazzled, not to mention the the word processing.

Jeffrey spends a week at Apple headquarters and photographs like a fly on the wall. One of Jobs’ colleagues questions why Jeffrey is being allowed into proprietary meetings, but Jobs insists. “He’s my friend and you can trust him, so he’s staying. Now let’s move.”

Photo of Steve Jobs at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, CA, 1984

Steve Jobs leading his team in a meeting at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, CA, 1984. ©Jeffrey Aaronson.

Read the rest of this story and enjoy many rarely-seen photographs of Steve Jobs in our ebook, Steve & i, which is now available on Amazon for Kindle devices. It will also be available for the NOOK, Sony Reader and iPad soon.

THEN: THINK DIFFERENT (Part One)

February 1984: It’s a classic winter day in Aspen. Snow is falling like heavy cotton as photographer Jeffrey Aaronson sits hunched over his light table, editing film. As he lowers his loupe and glances up from his slides for a moment, he suddenly notices a flash of brown amidst all the white outside his window. A UPS truck is pulling up in front of his studio. Jeffrey isn’t expecting a package, so curiosity immediately tickles his frontal lobe.

In a matter of minutes Jeffrey finds himself staring at a large white box sitting on his studio floor. He can do little more than shake his head and smile when he sees the word Macintosh printed on its side, along with its signature design.

Inside the box he finds a brand new Apple Macintosh 128K computer along with a keyboard and a new thing called a mouse. He also finds a hand-written note from Steve Jobs. It simply reads:

“Be a part of the future—Steve”

At that moment, Jeffrey knows he has just opened up more than a computer box; he has opened up his entire world—a world in which anything is possible. Not because of the machine per se, but because of the impact the machine’s creator has had on him. The computer is merely a symbol of all that is possible when a brilliant imagination is supported by hard work and fearlessness.

Jeffrey smiles at the boldness of his friend’s characteristically minimal note, and is stunned by his generosity. But then again, not really. In the past month, Steve Jobs has bowled him over countless times…

Read the rest of this improbable story and see many more rarely-seen photographs of Steve Jobs in our ebook, Steve & i, which is now available on Amazon for Kindle devices. It will be available for the NOOK, Sony Reader and iPad soon.