Although most of the ON24 streaming video interview is dedicated to Mr. Sculleyis personal venture capital strategies, at the end of the interview, Mr. Sculley congratulates Steve Jobs for the good work he has accomplished since his return and talks about Appleis business.
Mr. Sculley emphasized that broadband and wireless handheld technologies are about to change the world the way the PC did in the last 15 years. Cell phone and PDA technologies are at the same evolutionary stage the PC industry was at in 1985, he said.
Mr. Sculley apparently believes the best hope for Appleis future is to expand its product line into the nascent networked PDA market.
"When Steve came back he literally picked up exactly where he left off in 1985 and what he did was brilliant," said Mr. Sculley. "The challenge he has today is that the PC industry is largely a commodity industry..."
Finally, Mr. Sculley offered what is sure to be received as a controversial piece of advice:
"My sense is Apple ought to look seriously at even merging with a company, like 3Com, that is starting with a much more network-centric understanding of the world —where they have a platform with the Palm OS...If you combine Steveis extraordinary insight into industrial design and marketing with the platform technologies and network-centric know how that 3Com has you might find a bright future for both of them going forward."
3Com is currently trading at a new 52-week low today at 9 7/16. Appleis stock is slightly higher at 16 13/16.