Hidden Dimensions - An Alternate Universe Interview with Philip W. Schiller

by John Martellaro
August 15th, 2006

The Mysteries of Science

It's a mystery. I just don't know how it happened. It defies the laws of physics. As I write these Hidden Dimension columns, I create a new folder for each one that contains all its resources -- the text, URLs, etc. But this morning, when I started to create HD#17, it was already there! I mean, the article was already written! The only thing I can figure out is that in an alternate M-brane, the data leaked across space and somehow deposited itself on my hard disk. The way I see it, it can only be an interview from another time-line.

So rather than write this week's column, I'm just going to save myself some time and publish what I found in that multi-dimensional folder. It's a fascinating look at Apple in an alternate universe.

The Phil Schiller Interview

Marty. Mister Schiller, thank you for being here with us this morning.

Phil. Please. Call me Phil.

Marty. Phil, the question we're all dying to ask is, is Steve OK?

Phil. Of course, of course! He's in great shape. You know he's been traveling a lot, not sitting around gaining weight. Steve is basically the architect of Apple's future, so he's working very hard behind the scenes, negotiating with movie studio executives, cell phone companies. That's work! It's not just about technology anymore.

Marty. What do you mean?

Phil. There was a time in the computer industry, back in the days of the Apple II, when nothing existed and the future was what you made it. Literally. Today, however, high tech companies have created tangled webs of IP and patent management, created favorable partnerships to lock out competition, and lobbied the government to protect their revenue sources. If you want to break new ground, you have to work with a lot of people, grease their palms so to speak, and make sure you can develop a new technology that can survive and even flourish amidst the competition and vested interests. It's grueling work. Takes time.

Marty. But clearly, Apple's future depends on this.

Phil. Absolutely. For example, Steve's been traveling so much that he didn't even have time to rehearse for large sections of the WWDC Keynote. So while he was gone, we just got together and practiced without him. When Steve got back and looked at our rehearsals, he just said "Keep on doing what you're doing" and immediately got back on his brand new cell phone.

Marty. So you weren't training successors?

Phil. Ha! Are you kidding? Scott looked like a deer in headlights, and no one could even understand Bertrand. I'm just there for comic relief.

Marty. So Steve had planned to deliver Bertrand's part?

Phil. Of course. We want to make sure the developers realize that even though X-Star runs on our hardware now, actually developing code for X-Star is a waste of time. Bertrand got the point across.

Marty. Some have said that was childish.

Phil. Hey, the developers laughed. We all had a good time. They just wanna have fun at WWDC. Have you seen any other companies have this much fun lately?

Marty. Not really. Phil, a lot of people expected to see new MacBook Pros with the Core 2 Duo. What happened?

Phil. Hewlett Packard got the jump on us and sucked up all the Merom chips. So we negotiated to get most of the Woodcrest chips. It was a tradeoff. Besides, getting the Mac Pro in the hands of our creative professionals was more important than pissing off all the customers who just bought MacBook Pros.

Marty. By the way, I noticed when you demoed iChat Theatre, you had a Keynote presentation of an analysis of the Amazon rain forest.

Phil. Yeah, that was a subtle homage to the Knowledge Navigator video. I expected more people to catch on to that.

Marty. Me too. Anyway, Lynx looks like it has some great new features. Tell us about the new Lynx Finder.

Phil. You know, when we first released Mac OS X, we had 100% of our user base on Mac OS 8 and 9. In order to get them to move away from an outdated and technologically limited OS, we had to make sure that a new OS, a Unix OS, didn't scare the hell out of our customers. So Bertrand and Scott decided that the Mac OS X Finder, the most visible feature of this new OS, would be "as simple as possible but no simpler."

Marty. Quoting Einstein. What took you so long?

Phil. We decided that there were lots of things that we had to accomplish before we tackled a new Finder. Things only we could do. We had to get rid of Netinfo. Convert over to Xcode. Plan for a 64-bit OS. Finish the Core technologies. Introduce meta data into the file system. In every meeting we had, writing a new Finder always seemed to slip to the bottom of the priority list. But now, in Lynx, it's time to do it right.

Marty. Can you give us any hints about what it'll be like?

Phil. Not yet. We're waiting to see how Gatesware handles the revised release of X-Star version 10.

Marty. You mean after the terrorist attack and shutdown of the federal government forced them to re-write almost half of the OS code?

Phil. Right.

Marty. But don't you really live in two different worlds? Is X-Star really a competitor?

Phil. Well, we each have about half the market share. Gatesware, as you know, owns most of the business world and we own the education and home markets. What that means is that we can introduce really cool consumer features that drives Gatesware crazy. For example, we put cameras in our computers, play up the features of iChat Theatre, allow one user to operate another computer remotely for training, collaboration, and AppleCare support. But these are all horrendous security violations in the business world, so Bill finds it hard to keep up with us. He burns a lot of R&D money trying to figure out how to integrate consumer features into a business OS. Just like Steve said. It's just money down the drain that he could be spending to compete with us. So that's why we do it.

Marty. I see. Hey, you mentioned Steve's new cell phone a minute ago. Would that be the much-talked-about iPhone?

Phil. Did I say that?

Marty. Yes sir.

Phil. Umm. It's his new Nokia 8801. Just another new toy. [Winks.]

Marty. Tell us about the future of Apple. Where do you want to be in five years?

Phil. Well, remember, not too many years ago, Apple was a much smaller company. One hundred percent of our efforts first went into saving the company after Guy Suzuki drove it into the ground. Then we had to re-build the developer community for our new OS. We had our giant posters of Jane Goodall and Richard Feynman everywhere at WWDC, suggesting to the developers that they could change the world. Nowadays, however, a significant fraction of our revenue comes from the iPod and that's the product that has to change the most rapidly to keep us competitive. And yet, it's the part of our business that's most vulnerable to competition and subject to global politics. So what Steve is doing, and it's exhausting work, is laying the foundation for the next five years. Sure, we want to sell a lot of computers, but we also have to branch out into consumer products and services that can sustain our growth in the long run.

Marty. Like what?

Phil. Well, you could see in the WWDC Keynote some of the pieces we're putting into place. Front Row in every Mac. A second optical bay in the Mac Pro for emerging HD formats. Steve promised an eventual media center Mac that will exploit the products created on those Mac Pros. Enhanced iChat. Consumer HD video, TV, movie rentals, interactive games, and support for all the new communications technologies....

Marty. Like, maybe, hybrid cell phones, WiFi and Cell, with video and audio connections?

Phil. Sshhh. But you know, [brushes his hair back and smiles] I always thought the camera in those cell phones is facing the wrong way.

Marty. So does Steve's limited participation in the WWDC Keynote mean that WWDC will be playing a smaller role in Apple's future?

Phil. Not at all. You know, we love our developers. They're the life-blood of our company. And we try to open new markets for them whenever we can. Frankly, when we shipped the first iPod, we never envisioned Podcasting and all its supporting technologies. I'll tell you one thing -- we learned our lesson. If we were to do a phone, and I'm not making any announcements here, you can bet that it'll be a platform not a toy. Apple always integrates its technologies, because without seamless integration, scaling to the future, and great user interfaces, gadgets become toys that get stuck in a drawer. So we've changed the way we bring these products to market. And Steve will always give the WWDC keynote.

Marty. Not like Guy.

Phil. Don't even bring that up! [Referring to the time Mr. Suzuki had his six minute Keynote address filmed on the beach at St. Croix with a Chocolate Rum in his hand.]

Marty. Well, Phil, we're out of time here. The Mac Observer would like to thank you for chatting with us. Any last words?

Phil. Yeah. Steve told me last night at dinner he wants me to set up a big Lynx gala at The Stick [Monster Park] when it ships. He wants me to jump out of a helicopter at two thousand feet, parachute into the packed stadium with a real live Lynx under my arm, and land on the fifty yard line. Then I'll pull a box from my backpack and hand deliver Mac OS X 10.5 to Steve. I'll take the mike and say, "Lynx has pounced!" The Stick will rock!

Marty. Gonna do it?

Phil. Yeah. Sure. Maybe. I dunno. I doubt it. Could be cool though, huh?

John Martellaro is a senior scientist and author. A former U.S. Air Force officer,he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple Computer. During his five years at Apple, he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager for science and technology, Federal Account Executive, and High Performance Computing Manager. His interests include alpine skiing, SciFi, astronomy, and Perl. John lives in Denver, Colorado.

Send polite comments to , or post your comments below.

Most Recent Columns From Hidden Dimensions

• Apple's Values and the Movie Moguls - September 11th
• My Tour of Duty at Apple, Part II - August 30th
• Apple, The Cluetrain and The Money - August 22nd

Hidden Dimensions Archives