Original artwork, not a still
Real artists ship.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The point was that an idea you never release is only a hobby: craft counts when it reaches users. It was also a jab at the perfectionism a team can hide behind, and Hertzfeld's account of the January 1984 software push shows the rule at work, with Jobs refusing to let the team slip the deadline. It lives on as a creed in software and design teams.
Context reviewed
In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
Andy Hertzfeld records on folklore.org that Jobs opened the Mac team's January 1983 retreat in Carmel with three "Sayings from Chairman Jobs", meant to inspire the team and set the tone. The first was "Real artists ship"; the second was the pirate saying, and the third was a goal of a Mac in a book by 1986. The retreat came just after the Lisa introduction. Wikiquote also points to Frank Rose's book West of Eden for the epigram.
Sources (2)
- Folklore.org: Pirate Flag, by Andy HertzfeldOpening paragraphs, on the January 1983 Carmel retreatReference checked
- Wikiquote: Steve JobsEntry for 'Real artists ship.'Reference checked
Context reviewed
