Over the years, there's been accusations that Steve Jobs stole the mouse and personal computer from Xerox. We've recently come across a brief video where Jobs sets the record straight:
What Jobs is talking about is really innovation — taking a technology that's already been discovered and making it better. As he puts it, exposing yourself to the best of everything that has come before and finding ways to transform it into the next big innovation. That's what Jobs did when he encountered Xerox's mouse and personal computer in 1979— you can read the entire saga here.
Jobs saw what Xerox had developed, and couldn't believe that the company wasn't doing anything with the technology. He saw opportunities they missed. He knew how to improve it. He was inspired to do what Xerox hadn't. That's innovation, not theft.