IDEO Founder David Kelley Talks to 60 Minutes About Steve Jobs, First Apple Mouse and More - MacRumors
Skip to Content

IDEO Founder David Kelley Talks to 60 Minutes About Steve Jobs, First Apple Mouse and More

by

IDEO founder David Kelley had a wide-ranging interview on tonight's 60 Minutes in which he speaks about his relationship with Steve Jobs, the creation of the first Apple Mouse and more. Kelley and his company, IDEO, were integral in Apple's early history and designed the first Apple Mouse, the Lisa and more.

Kelley talks about Jobs and how he was very specific in wanting things, which isn't a surprise as there have been numerous stories of Jobs calling up people in the middle of the night finalizing details for various products. Kelley also talks about their personal relationship and how Jobs advised Kelley to seek western medicine to treat his wife's throat cancer and how Jobs tried to set up an original iPhone for Kelley by calling AT&T.

"The day after the iPhone was announced, he had one for me. You know,  your own iPhone given to you by Steve Jobs the day after it comes out - it was a lovely feeling. So he decides to hook it up for me, so he gets on the phone to AT&T and he's going to hook up my phone and it's not going well.

Eventually he pulls the 'I'm Steve Jobs' card, you know, he says to the guy 'I'm Steve Jobs.' I'm sure the guy on the other end says "yeah buddy, and I'm Napoleon" like get out of here. Yeah, but anyway he never did get it hooked up. No, not that day."


The Steve Jobs and Apple parts are at the 3:00 and 7:42 marks. The rest of the video focuses on Kelley's early life, IDEO's process and his new relationship with Stanford.

Top Rated Comments

drummingcraig Avatar
175 months ago
Oh to have been a fly on the wall while Steve was on the phone with AT&T! :D
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
175 months ago
AT&T: Where even Steve Jobs couldn't get an iPhone to work.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chriscrk Avatar
175 months ago
I love Steve, but seeing the people he worked with is so awesome... The one's who didn't get as much recognition. Great part of them just seem so admirable.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrsir2009 Avatar
175 months ago
Oh to have been a fly on the wall while Steve was on the phone with AT&T! :D

Not even Steve Jobs is a match for phone comapny call centres - Quite possibly the most international places on earth :cool:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SamGabbay Avatar
175 months ago
I was so upset about my iPhone not being activated same day...

Now I don't feel as bad. :o :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Swampthing Avatar
175 months ago
You said the wrong person had cancer....

Please get the story correct!

It was David Kelley who had the cancer NOT HIS WIFE as you say in the article. That's what the 60 minutes segment says. They even talk about how his cancer is now in remission.

Might seem like a minor point to you, but I doubt if he or his family read any of this, they aren't too enthused by the incredible error made by MacRumors...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Tuesday June 9, 2026 11:29 am PDT by
If you pay for extra iCloud storage on your iPhone, beyond the 5GB included for free, you might receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. First, Apple said there will be daily usage limits for some of the new and enhanced Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, including image generation. However, the company noted that "increased access" is available with "most" iCloud+ storage ...
WWDC26 MR Live Coverage Article

WWDC 2026 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 27, Revamped Siri, and More

Monday June 8, 2026 9:15 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements today, headlined by a reset on Apple's push into AI that should see a significant overhaul...
macOS Golden Gate Mac

Apple Announces macOS 27 Golden Gate With New Siri and 'Tons' of Refinements

Monday June 8, 2026 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today announced that macOS 27 is named macOS Golden Gate. Much like Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, Apple said it focused on improving macOS's performance and dozens of underlying technologies this year. Apple says macOS Golden Gate offers quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, improved syncing in the Messages app, better Spotlight search suggestions, and other...