man, we build these big machines. >> ibm did not realize it was essentially handing all this power to this little nerd. >> if you had stayed at harvard a few more years, would this computer revolution have passed you by? >> perhaps. things move very quickly in the industry, and it was really the urgency to get out there and be the first one to put a basic on the microcomputer that caused me to drop out. >> if you don't have one, you will be amazed what these little gadgets can do. >> the idea was that ordinary people might have a use for computers. now, it took a while to figure out what those uses might be. >> the main thing was spreadsheets and word processing. the computer was the best typewriter you could ever have. it gave you a new way to write. you could change things around. and check your spelling. it would always look perfect. >> my dad had the large ledger sheets, done them all by hand, and i remember taking a computer to show him the spreadsheet. and suddenly, he understood the value of a personal computer.