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1997 WWDC Steve Jobs closing keynote
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... How long can Apple keep its focus without Steve. That I know the answer to. For a while, but, not forever. Ten years max. The bean counters and marketers will take over, the pursuit of security will ensue over and Apple will fall into line with the other guys ...
As an AAPL investor, this para is most valuable. Thanks.
I’ll call B.S. on this one. No one can know the answer to this. There isn’t any secret sauce taking place here nor will any be needed in the future other than picking the future they want and continuing to develop for it. Will the ‘market’ want or value that future? Once again, no one can say but I continue to vote with my dollars that Apple is the most likely provider. I’d love to see others join the quest as my portfolio could use some diversification.
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I don’t mind being wrong…,I just hate being wrong so FAST!
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... How long can Apple keep its focus without Steve. That I know the answer to. For a while, but, not forever. Ten years max. The bean counters and marketers will take over, the pursuit of security will ensue over and Apple will fall into line with the other guys ...
As an AAPL investor, this para is most valuable. Thanks.
I’ll call B.S. on this one. No one can know the answer to this. There isn’t any secret sauce taking place here nor will any be needed in the future other than picking the future they want and continuing to develop for it. Will the ‘market’ want or value that future? Once again, no one can say but I continue to vote with my dollars that Apple is the most likely provider. I’d love to see others join the quest as my portfolio could use some diversification.
The real Bill speaks. You are too black and white
, is obviously an opinion. Did you say you’re a teacher or accountant :innocent:?Signature
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. - Steve Jobs
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The real Bill speaks. You are too black and white
, is obviously an opinion. Did you say you’re a teacher or accountant :innocent:?architect/sales/business owner but you’re right. Hit a button.
The crazy thing about this company is that the next iteration could be even stronger than this one. The current slate of competitors clearly isn’t up to the task and a credible threat isn’t in my field of view. The young ones (from what I’ve been hearing) are as amped as they can be.
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I don’t mind being wrong…,I just hate being wrong so FAST!
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John Gruber just posted this, HERE:
Paul Thurrott, quoting Steve Ballmer at, of all places, a meeting of the Seattle Rotary Club:
?If you cut me open and saw what was inside,? he continued, ?[It?s] Windows. Windows. Windows. Windows. Our company was born on the back of Windows. Windows underpins a huge percentage of all of our success, all of our profitability, all of the important things that we do. So, how important is it? ?Very? would be a very fair answer.?
In response, John Siricusa re-tweeted the following:
If you cut Steve Jobs open you would find none of his past projects, only future ones.
There used to be a time when Microsoft’s mantra was “Microsoft Everywhere”. Then somehow, somewhere, sometime, it got subtly, but crucially, corrupted to mean “Windows Everywhere”. There is a big, big difference between those two things.
If it’s “Microsoft Everywhere”, then it’s not a question of which product, only which Microsoft product will fit the bill and solve the problem at hand or meet the opportunity presented. But if it’s “Windows Everywhere” - well, when all you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail. Microsoft tries to revolve EVERYTHING around Windows. And there’s no better example of this than their upcoming tablet. Microsoft didn’t say: “What’s the best operating system to use in a tablet?” No, they said: “How can we get Windows into a tablet?” The form of the question determines the nature and scope of the answer.
I’m not sure what kinds of questions Steve Jobs asks, but I’ll bet that they are both surprisingly simple, yet surprisingly profound.
Does he ask how to make the most profit? Doubt it.
Does he ask how how a new product will improve Apple? Doubt it.
Does he ask how to use iOS or OS X to solve a problem? Doubt it.
Does he ask how to make the best iPod, iPhone, iPad or Mac? Doubt it. It seems to me that Jobs never focuses on the product, but instead focuses on the category. He doesn’t want to make a better iPod, iPhone, iPad or Mac. He wants to make a better MP3 player, a better portable computer, a better computer, a better tool. By asking the question in this way, Jobs permits himself to destroy the old - even if he just created the old - in order to make way for the new and the better.
Or perhaps the questions Steve Jobs asks are even simpler and even more profound. Does Jobs focus on the category or does he simply focus on what could be, then, having answered that question to his satisfaction, sets out to make it happen.
Or maybe it’s even simpler than that. Maybe Steve Jobs just asks himself: “What would I like to have?” Then he makes it.
[ Edited: 02 July 2011 08:57 AM by FalKirk ] -
It seems to me that Jobs never focuses on the product, but instead focuses on the category. He doesn’t want to make a better iPod, iPhone, iPad or Mac. He wants to make a better MP3 player, a better portable computer, a better computer, a better tool. By asking the question in this way, Jobs permits himself to destroy the old - even if he just created the old - in order to make way for the new and the better…Or maybe it’s even simpler than that. Maybe Steve Jobs just asks himself: “What would I like to have?” Then he makes it.
Well said.
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What a great way to get into all things Apple. (I was out for a month). Watched this and watched this year’s WWDC presentation right after. The links between Steve’s dreams of “networked life” and iCloud are fantastic. It also really shows that real technological progress is extremely slow. Steve in 1997:
About 8 years ago, we had high-speed networking connected to our now obsolete Next hardware (we were running Next at the time)... And you know, in the last 7 years, you know how many times I have lost any personal data? Zero. Do you know how many times I back up my computer? Zero. I have computers at Apple, at Next, at Pixar and at home. I walk up to any of them and log in as myself. It goes over the network, finds my home directory on the server, and I?ve got my stuff, wherever I am.
Add the 14 years it took to implement iCloud “for the rest of us”, and there’s a 22-year time difference (!) between the vision Steve saw and it’s first tangible incarnation, finally, today… err, tomorrow (when iCloud rolls out)
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MacManus - You lived history. I’m glad you had a different take then, there was tangible frustration in the room at times, even from the grainy video (including a pretty arrogant question from of the developers who was too stuck in the narrow vision of OpenDoc). It makes it all the more clear to you—and to us through your remarks—just how prescient Steve’s vision is.
FalKirk - Yes, a genius. But he’s always seemed the most human (and humane) genius possible, not a Zeus or god-like creature, and the arrogance disappeared decades ago. I love Steve’s sense of humor. From the 1997 piece at hand (on Ellison):
There?s lots of comments one could make about Larry Ellison. I?ve never dated Larry, so that excludes a bunch of them… (laughter)
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Oh, nearly forgot, here’s a full transcript (sorry if it’s been linked to already)
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Oh, nearly forgot, here’s a full transcript (sorry if it’s been linked to already)
Thanks ever so much for that link.
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John Gruber just posted this, HERE:
Paul Thurrott, quoting Steve Ballmer at, of all places, a meeting of the Seattle Rotary Club:
?If you cut me open and saw what was inside,? he continued, ?[It?s] Windows. Windows. Windows. Windows. Our company was born on the back of Windows. Windows underpins a huge percentage of all of our success, all of our profitability, all of the important things that we do. So, how important is it? ?Very? would be a very fair answer.?
In response, John Siricusa re-tweeted the following:
If you cut Steve Jobs open you would find none of his past projects, only future ones.
There used to be a time when Microsoft’s mantra was “Microsoft Everywhere”. Then somehow, somewhere sometime, it go subtly, but crucially, corrupted to mean “Windows Everywhere”. There a big, big difference between those two things.
If it’s “Microsoft Everywhere”, then it’s not a question of which product, only which Microsoft product will fit the bill and solve the problem at hand or meet the opportunity presented. But if it’s “Windows Everywhere” - well, when all you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail. Microsoft tries to revolve EVERYTHING around Windows. And there’s no better example of this than their upcoming tablet. Microsoft didn’t say: “What’s the best operating system to use in a tablet?” No, they said: “How can we get Windows into a tablet?” The form of the question determines the nature and scope of the answer.
I’m not sure what kinds of questions Steve Jobs asks, but I’ll bet that they are both surprisingly simple, yet surprisingly profound.
Does he ask how to make the most profit? Doubt it.
Does he ask how how a new product will improve Apple? Doubt it.
Does he ask how to use iOS or OS X to solve a problem? Doubt it.
Does he ask how to make the best iPod, iPhone, iPad or Mac? Doubt it. It seems to me that Jobs never focuses on the product, but instead focuses on the category. He doesn’t want to make a better iPod, iPhone, iPad or Mac. He wants to make a better MP3 player, a better portable computer, a better computer, a better tool. By asking the question in this way, Jobs permits himself to destroy the old - even if he just created the old - in order to make way for the new and the better.
Or perhaps the questions Steve Jobs asks are even simpler and even more profound. Does Jobs focus on the category or does he simply focus on what could be, then, having answered that question to his satisfaction, sets out to make it happen.
Or maybe it’s even simpler than that. Maybe Steve Jobs just asks himself: “What would I like to have?” Then he makes it.
Falkirk, you seem to be at your best around midnight. Thanks for a great and insightful post. Great reading before breakfast.
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The measure of the worth of a product is how much people are willing to pay for it, not how many people will buy it if the price is low enough.
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Falkirk, you seem to be at your best around midnight. Thanks for a great and insightful post. Great reading before breakfast.
My sincere thanks.
I’m sure the rest of the AFB would join with you in wishing that I post nothing until after midnight.
