Steve Jobs: History vs Hollywood

So, did you watch Ashton Kutcher's new movie Jobs? Just how accurate was it? The website History vs Hollywood specializes in fact checking Tinseltown's version of history.

For example:

Was Steve Jobs a fruitarian?

Yes, at one point he was. He always followed strict diets, which varied at different times in his life. He went through phases of being a fruitarian, a vegan, a vegetarian and he often dabbled in fasting. He believed his diets would prevent body odor so he rarely showered. His assumption was incorrect and was a problem for various companies he worked for, including Atari and Apple.

Was he forced to work at night for Atari due to complaints from co-workers about hygiene and attitude?

Yes. After landing the job by simply walking into Atari and refusing to leave until he was hired, a number of complaints came in from his colleagues. In an effort to appease everyone, his boss, Nolan Bushnell, allowed him to work at night instead.

Did Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs build the video game Breakout for Atari?

Yes. In 1975 Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, Inc., envisioned a single player Pong game and he asked Steve Jobs to design it. That game became known as Breakout. Unlike what is shown in the Jobsmovie, Bushnell counted on the fact that Steve Jobs would recruit Steve Wozniak to help him design the game, knowing full well that Wozniak was the better engineer. "I looked at it as a two-for-one thing," recalls Bushnell. -Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The website's "Reel Face" versus "Real Face" is a neat feature:

Check out more over at History vs Hollywood (the one on Lee Daniels' The Butler is also quite nice) - Thanks Kevin!