Episode 16: Taylor Pohlman

In this episode, we interview Taylor Pohlman, who joined Apple in 1979 and became the Apple /// Product Marketing Manager in 1981, managing the “Reintroduction” of the Apple ///. He is also well known for the series of columns in Softalk magazine (“The Third BASIC”) introducing concepts in Business BASIC programming. Later, he left Apple to found Forethought (the company responsible for FileMaker and PowerPoint), co-founded Regent Systems, managed the development of GS-BASIC for the Apple IIGS, and then returned to Apple from 1986 to 1992, and is currently principal at Rohner & Associates, having worked with Sybase and Autodesk along the way.

We talked with Taylor about the innovations the Apple /// and SOS brought to the computing landscape, the launch at Disneyland, frustrations and missed opportunities with the Apple ///. We also heard about several other things, not specific to the Apple ///, such as the early days at Apple, interactions with Steve Jobs, launching the black Bell & Howell Apple II, using an Apple II to rock a baby cradle triggered by sound, Apple employees storming the Lisa building in Halloween costumes, the short-lived Apple IV, and lots more.

Links:

• Q & A: Taylor Pohlman (Infoworld, Dec 10, 1984).
• NCC ’80 and the Apple III (Compute, Jul/Aug 1980).
• Apple /// Dimensions (“Let Me Reintroduce Myself”).
• Apple “Adam” contest announcement ad.
• “Adam” contest winners (Applesource 14).
• Andy Hertzfeld “Spoiled” on Bandleys 3, 4, Texaco Towers.
• Very early floorplan of Bandley 1.