It would seem that Steve Jobs was highly motivated in his work at Apple and NEXT by the impact both companies had on education. NEXT was actually built as a company that would provide better tools for students and professors in higher education to push research and other academic efforts further, faster.
In the videos shown in this post:
Watch Steve Jobs brainstorm with the NeXT team in this fascinating video
which are interesting on a number of points, Jobs talks about the impact of NEXT and Apple on education and how important that was to him.
I’ve wrestled a lot with the way Jobs treated those around him, and for that reason do not seek to emulate him in any way, but I do appreciate what he accomplished and am further encouraged by the fact that he derived so much value (far more than the money he earned?) by the impact he had in the educational arena.
Jared Cosulich 
Posted on November 24, 2011
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