Mia: Okay, so picture this: you're this fresh-faced Systems Engineer at NeXT back in '91, right? And somehow, like, *somehow* you accidentally snag Steve Jobs' email address. Crazy, right? We're diving into My NeXT Adventure: Accidentally Stealing Steve Jobs' Email & Getting His Reply! So, speaker2, set the scene for us. What was NeXT even *like* back then?
Mars: Oh, man, NeXT in '91 was... it was like this super tight-knit group, maybe 400 people. Steve had just, you know, bailed from Apple and built this place that felt like, I don't know, part garage band, part sci-fi lab. Black box computers, sleek keyboards… way ahead of its time.
Mia: Garage band meets sci-fi lab—I love that. But you weren't hired to, like, *steal* emails, right? You were a newbie. What brought you to NeXT?
Mars: Exactly! So, I was a Systems Engineer. And NeXTMail was a big deal, right? Multimedia emails, fonts, embedded sounds, even attachments. Can you imagine getting an email and hearing a greeting from Steve Jobs himself? He actually sent every new hire an audio file called Lip Service.
Mia: Hold on. Steve Jobs recorded a *voicemail* for every new user? That's like... like Jeff Bezos sending you a personally signed PDF after you start at Amazon!
Mars: Yeah, it was both nuts and amazing. So, I'm poking around the system, and I notice the alias steve@next.com was unclaimed. I thought, Nobody's crazy enough to use that, right? Spoiler alert: *everyone* was emailing Steve there.
Mia: Oh, no! Did you realize right away?
Mars: Not at first. I request it, the system grants it, and bam! Day one, I'm getting a *flood* of messages meant for Jobs. People talking contracts, supplier issues, even a love letter or two! Total chaos.
Mia: A *love letter* to Steve Jobs? That's priceless! So, then panic mode kicks in, right?
Mars: Totally! My heart's racing. I swap the alias to sjobs@next.com, forward it, and fire off an email to Steve, something like, Hey Steve, sorry I hijacked your mail—here's the fix. And I hit send!
Mia: I'd be sweating bullets! Then what? Radio silence?
Mars: You'd think so. But a little while later, *ding*—Steve replies: Great idea, thank you. Just that. No sass, no lecture.
Mia: That is *so* Jobs—blunt, to the point. But Great idea? What idea?
Mars: Right? I still puzzle over that. Was he complimenting the alias switch? The foresight? Hard to say. But I framed that email, and I hung it on my wall.
Mia: That's the best trophy ever! And you said your career was bookended by emails from two Apple CEOs?
Mars: Exactly—started with Steve's Lip Service and ended with a note from Tim Cook years later. Talk about full circle!
Mia: Wow, what a ride! So, biggest takeaway for anyone diving into a new gig?
Mars: Always check the aliases before you click request. And, hey, sometimes mistakes lead to the coolest stories.
Mia: Couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing that legendary NeXT moment! Folks, next time you're poking around system settings, watch out—you might just steal a legend's email.
