Walter Isaacson held back some details about the Apple TV from the biography he wrote about the late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. In an interview that lasted more than two hours with TV Cultura’s Roda Viva in Brazil, Mr. Isaacson said that he was protecting Apple’s interests by not including more information about what Apple and Steve Jobs were working on when it came to an Apple television set.
The interview is a good one (see the note below about the format), and if you are interested in hearing more about Mr. Isaacson, his work with Steve Jobs, how he talked to the people at around the executive, his background, and much more, you will enjoy watching the full video (embedded below).
The exciting bit about TVs came at the 57 minute and 15 second mark. At that point, one of his interrogators asked, “Walter, you already said you’d write an addition to Steve Jobs bio, so what’s missing in it?” (according to TheNextWeb).
In response, Mr. Isaacson said, “My next book is going to be a history of the entire digital revolution. I left a few things out of the book. Not much, but a few things. Like what he thought Apple TV should be. Because Apple hadn’t yet done it and I felt that was maybe unfair to Apple before they produced the TV for me to be reporting what Steve thought it should be.”
He added that he didn’t have any additions to make to the existing Steve Jobs biography.
Apple hasn’t announced an Apple TV, but rumors have been pouring out of Asia saying that Apple is developing its own television set. In addition, Mr. Isaacson reported in his biography that Steve Jobs claimed to have “finally cracked” how to make a simple interface for an Internet-connected TV.
While Apple hasn’t acknowledged the information in the book, it hasn’t denied it, either, and Mr. Isaacson’s hints suggest there was something more for him to have seen while working with Steve Jobs.
In other words, Apple is so totally, definitely, absolutely, working on a television set.
We also wanted to note the creepy and scary format of the interview. Mr. Isaacson is sitting in a white room in a pit surrounded by a star chamber of interrogators throwing questions at him about his book, about working with Steve Jobs, and related topics. It’s a format that seems intended to intimidate the interviewee, rather than engage them. Then again, that’s simply what Roda Viva’s does.
There are more people surrounding him…
Also, the interview is being conducted in both Portuguese and English. The interrogators asked their questions in Portuguese, which Mr. Isaacson is hearing translated in real time through an earpiece. He answered in English, which was presumably translated for the star chamber.
Walter Isaacson Interview
Thanks to Frederico Viticci of MacStories for finding the interview.