What better way to celebrate the 45th birthday of Steve Jobs than by taking a fascinating glimpse into what the man does behind closed corporate doors? We all know the public Steve Jobs, Master of Keynotes-- Mr. Reality Distortion Field who could sell those free AOL CD-ROMS at ten bucks a pop to a crowd of Steve Case clones. We get fewer chances to revel in Uncle Steve's more "mercurial" side, though. Sure, we all know it's there, and we've all heard the stories; he makes people cry during job interviews, shouts at his underlings, throws things, etc. But it's not the side of Steve that makes it into the press very often.

That's why we're giddy like schoolgirls at Wired's article titled "Fear and Trembling in Silicon Valley," first mentioned to us by faithful viewer Matthew Guerrieri. The focus of the article is the "Redmond Justice" case, including the behind-the-scenes events that led up to the filing of the suit. Even if that were all the article did, we'd be happy-- especially since the early days of "Redmond Justice" were the best. But what really makes this Wired piece special is the nice little peek we get into Uncle Steve's role in the events that played out. Drama, conflict, big bucks, naughty language-- it's all here, folks.

Following from the premise that "without [Microsoft] Office, Apple is dead," Wired examines how Steve has had to bow to Bill Gates's wishes in order to keep the Mac platform alive; remember that "deal" in 1997? Microsoft continues to make Office for the Mac provided that Internet Explorer replaces Netscape Navigator as the Mac's default web browser. We imagine that kind of strongarming doesn't sit well with someone like Steve, so it's no particular surprise that when a government lawyer met with him in the spring of 1998 to discuss the possibility of filing an antitrust lawsuit, Jobs reportedly blew up. "The government is bullsh*t! The government is bullsh*t!" he exclaimed. (Pardon the censorship, but while the AtAT staff cusses like a pack of sailors with Tourette's Syndrome off-camera, this is still a family show.) "You guys have done nothing, you haven't figured it out, you've been too slow, you'll never change anything."

Then, following a long tirade about how Microsoft was "chilling innovation" and "poisoning" the industry, Steve dropped the bombshell: if the government would file suit and try to break up Microsoft, he would personally donate ten million dollars to help them pull it off. How about that? Steve actually put a price on Bill's head, and the Justice Department's the hired gun. Zowie...

The rest of the article focuses primarily on Steve's reluctance to attach himself publicly to the trial; for instance, he didn't testify personally, but sent Avie Tevanian instead. Hey, the man's no fool; who hires a high-priced hit man and then involves himself personally in the act of murder? All we can say is, we've got a whole new appreciation for "Redmond Justice" after getting this little glimpse into Steve's part in setting the stage. Happy Birthday, Steve-- and thanks for a rollicking great story.