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Full 90-min video of Steve Jobs at All Things Digital 8 posted
The folks at All Things Digital have posted the full-length video of the interview that Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher did with Steve Jobs at D8. As usual, Steve provided several memorable moments. This year, he discussed the tragic situation at Foxconn, where many Apple products are assembled. Several employees have committed suicide since January. He called it "very troubling" and noted that "we're all over this." In fact, Apple has sent investigators to the factory. The group also discussed Apple's position on Adobe and Flash. "You have to pick the right horse to ride, technically, going forward," he said. Steve published his formal thoughts on Flash in April, which brought tensions between Apple and Adobe to a head. Jobs claims that Flash isn't the right tool for the iPhone and iPad, while Adobe claims that Apple is imposing restrictions on developers and consumers. There's much more to the interview, of course, and Swisher and Mossberg did a stellar job of talking with Jobs as usual. The discussion is definitely worth watching, and a good way to bide your time until today's keynote.
Steve Ballmer at D8: the video highlights (updated)
Steve Ballmer didn't say too much at D8 that we haven't heard him or others at Microsoft say in the past, but he's always an entertaining and interesting interview, and All Things Digital is upping the videos of Walt's session with Steve and Ray Ozzie now. Up first is a clip of Steve talking about how Microsoft is getting back into the mobile game and how RIM and Nokia are still formidable competitors, followed by Ray and Steve riffing on the potential of the cloud and how things can get even better for Microsoft. We'll add more as D's video people get them up -- check back!
Coming up live from D8: Steve Ballmer and Ray Ozzie, then Peter Chou from HTC
Hey humans -- listen up. We'll be liveblogging the next D8 session featuring Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Ray Ozzie around 8:00AM PT (we'd like to give you more specific times, but they don't provide them). Then later on in the day, around 11:30AM PT, we'll hear from HTC head Peter Chou. You can check in to the Ballmer liveblog right here, and the Peter Chou liveblog will be right here. See you then!
Flurry agrees to stop device data collection
Steve Jobs said a lot of interesting things on stage at the D8 conference last night (I'm surprised I haven't seen a t-shirt with "My sex life is pretty good" on it yet), but he did put one issue to rest. Third-party agencies like Flurry Analytics and others who use iPhone applications to track device traffic were in a tizzy over a recent change to the iPhone SDK's terms of service which disallowed them from sending out device identifier information without the actual user's knowledge. They all figured that Apple was making this change because Jobs and company had their own analytics plan coming, and they were unhappy at being cut out of the action. But not so, says Jobs -- he just doesn't want information going out without users' knowledge. In his talk last night, he blamed Flurry specifically for logging data from devices inside Apple's campus, and said that wasn't kosher. Maybe Apple will let Flurry do something like that in the future, he admitted, with the user's knowledge and approval, but not right now. And now Flurry has agreed to comply, says AppleInsider. While the company has been working on strengthening its privacy stance, the CEO agrees that Flurry will back off of sharing the data that Apple doesn't want them to share. Of course, Jobs' statements don't preclude the idea that Apple is looking at implementing its own analytics (he's denied working on phones and tablets at past interviews, and we all know how that worked out), but for now, Flurry is backing down.
Kno dual-screen tablet appears at D8, we go hands-on
Kno promised to launch a double-screened Linux-based e-reader designed for students at D8, and the undercover startup didn't disappoint -- believe us when we say it came out in a big way. That's big as in freaking big: the Kno reader features dual 14.1-inch capacitive IPS displays (1440 x 900 each), weighs 5.5 pounds, and offers six to eight hours of battery life, all in a package that's so comically large we thought it was a joke when we first saw the press shots. Kno says it'll offer both pen and touch support, and it'll come with a stylus out of the box. Under the hood, it's running a Tegra 2 chip with 16GB of storage, and the entire experience is essentially a WebKit instance. Yes, it's sort of like the Courier, but larger -- much, much larger. We had a chance to go hands-on with the device as well as speak to some members of the team developing the Kno, and while it's clear that there are major bumps in the UI and user experience, it seems like the company is aware of them. What we saw today was clearly unfinished, with a lot of laggy, stuttery behavior in the interface, a crash or two, and some very inaccurate finger tracking, but Kno says it's hard at work on eradicating those issues. Even with the UI fixes, it's a hard sell at "under $1000," but Kno is putting together partnerships with publishers to make that a little easier to swallow, as they say ultimately it will be less expensive than buying regular old text books. It's an audacious idea, for sure... and we're still completely confused by one of the company's press pics featuring a bunch of dudes running around in their underwear, but we digress. Check out some shots from the demo, PR pics, and our hands-on with the device below. %Gallery-94223% %Gallery-94217% %Gallery-94219%
Project Natal retail unit revealed at D8?
Hey -- you know Microsoft's Project Natal? Well we've just gotten an up close look at what appears to be the retail version (though it's clearly marked a developer unit). We couldn't storm the stage while Walt and Kara (and her son!) were showing it off, but no one seemed to mind that we took a load of these shots for your perusal. Check out gallery below for more pics! %Gallery-94197%
Steve Jobs at D8: Foxconn, iPhone prototype, TVs, and more
In case you hadn't heard, Steve Jobs got downright conversational last night at D8, riffing on questions from Walt, Kara, and the attending audience of elites. You can hit up the entire liveblog for a timestamped play by play, or browse through some of the highlights below. Steve Jobs live from D8 Steve Jobs' D8 interview: the video highlights On TV: 'no one wants to buy a box' On Foxconn: 'We're all over this' On lost iPhone 4G prototype: it's an 'amazing' story iPhone OS 'started on a tablet' 'There might be' advantages to two iPhone carriers in US %Gallery-94186% We put some extra scintillating quotes after the break to shield the eyes of your children. Just a note, however: all of these are paraphrased quotes typed live as Steve was speaking, and not to be construed as the verbatim Word of Steve Jobs, though the gist is certainly there.
Steve Jobs live from D8
The liveblog is happening now -- hit read more and get into it!
Steve Jobs on TV: 'no one wants to buy a box'
Well isn't that a breath of fresh air. With no apologies given to its long-standing hobby, Apple CEO Steve Jobs provided a pretty honest and thorough assessment of what's wrong with the TV set-top box market. "No one wants to buy a box -- ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us... ask Google in a few months" (in the spirit of competition, of course). In Jobs' opinion, "the only way that's going to change is if you tear up the [box], give it a new UI, and get it in front of consumers in a way they're going to want it." Frankly, we're pretty happy how quickly and succinctly he was able to respond in a Q &A session, seems like he's been mulling it over -- and given what we heard about Apple TV's future plans, we're not surprised. All the pertinent quotes, care of our liveblog, after the break.
Steve Jobs live on stage tonight at D8 conference
Steve Jobs is scheduled to appear on stage tonight at D8 in Los Angeles, and Engadget is blogging live from the event. Steve will be on stage live at 6pm Pacific Time (9 Eastern), so if you're around, tune in over there to see what's happening live at the event. We'll have a wrapup back here on TUAW as soon as the event is over, and if anything crazy happens on stage, you'll see it here and/or over on our Twitter account this evening. It's very unlikely that Steve will actually make any product announcements (especially since WWDC is in San Francisco next week, and we're likely going to see the new iPhone there), but if the past interviews at All Things D are any indication, we'll see some frank discussion about Apple and its place in the market, and I'll bet we'll hear some behind-the-scenes information on how the US and International iPad launches went. Stay tuned. Update: Some choice sound bites, courtesy of Engadget's quick fingers, after the break.
Steve Jobs of interviews past
Steve Jobs is going to appear at the latest All Things Digital conference, and to celebrate the rare appearance of the CEO outside of an Apple event, All Things Digital has posted a few historic interviews with Jobs from conferences past. The first is from 2003 (also posted after the break on this post), and Kara Swisher will be posting the others weekly up until the new conference. None of it is new material, obviously, but it's very interesting to see Jobs' thinking a few years ago, knowing what we know today about what Apple was hoping to do with the iPhone and, now, the iPad. If you don't want to wait for Swisher to post the latest ones, you can check out our posts from when the events actually happened. He, of course, denies that Apple is working on a tablet (would the Internet have believed it if he'd told them about the iPad anyway?). However, when he talks about a personal computer as a content hub and how it is "integral to our digital lifestyle," you can see flickers of the vision that he had of us sitting on the couch, receiving the world through this book-sized device. These interviews probably aren't for everyone. For those of you who are interested, not only in what Apple is doing next but also in what they were doing "next" five years ago, they are definitely worth a watch.
Steve Jobs to appear at All Things Digital 8
Kara Swisher announced this week that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will appear on stage at this year's All Things Digital Conference, D8. In fact, Steve will kick things off with an on-stage interview on opening night. Other famous guests will include James Cameron and Steve Ballmer. As Swisher notes, there's much to talk about: The iPad, the iPhone's future, Apple's tense relationship with Google and Adobe...one wonders if the Gizmodo affair will be discussed. Steve has appeared at the All Things D conference several times, most famously aside Bill Gates for an on-stage interview in 2007. It was a great interview, complete with Bill's revelation that he is not Fake Steve Jobs (this was before Daniel Lyons had been revealed). Good luck to all participants and attendees. It should be a great event. [Via Mac User]
Apple pitching "all you can watch for $30 a month" TV to networks
Apple is already the huge name in the music business with the iTunes Store, and they've made continual inroads into the application, video, and movie markets as well. But what if Apple also became the content provider of choice for TV? That idea isn't that far-fetched, according to a blog post by Peter Kafka at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital. Kafka reports that Apple has been pitching the concept of $30 monthly TV subscriptions through iTunes to TV networks. You'll note that I said iTunes. That's the interesting point here -- Apple isn't pushing sending content to a particular device, like the Apple TV that Kafka refers to as "underwhelming" (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) or the fabled Apple tablet / slate / whatever. Instead, the service would be available immediately to the more 100 million iTunes account holders that Apple had as of a year ago. Have a Mac? You're a potential customer. Have a PC? Ditto. There's only one fly in the ointment -- will broadcast and cable programmers buy into this? Kafka thinks the first content provider to jump would be Disney, which of course counts Steve Jobs as its largest shareholder. Cable companies might not like the loss of their usually overpriced monthly packages to an upstart, or having their bandwidth chewed up by hordes of people streaming HD video. And there's always the question of whether current cable TV subscribers would make the jump to streaming content. Kafka ends his post with a quote from an unnamed TV executive, who says of Apple's subscription plan "I think they might get it right this time." What's your take, TUAW readers? Do you think the world is ready to purchase all of its video content from Apple? Leave your comments below.
Uncle Walt says "Apple's built-in software still has the edge"
Walt Mossberg, the curmudgeonly, smooth-pated personal technology blogger at The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital, has released his fall computer-buying guide. And when Walt talks, people listen. Mossberg is usually very kind to Apple products, which probably explains why he gets the latest and greatest equipment sent to him by the guys in Cupertino prior to release, and we don't. In his latest guide, he says some surprisingly nice things about Windows PCs. That's mostly due to the progress in usability and friendliness brought about by the recent release of Windows 7. But he also goes on to say some very interesting things in his lead-in post, titled "Operating Systems Provide New Choices in PC Shopping." While Walt points out the obvious -- that Windows PCs are usually less expensive than Macs and that Windows 7 has closed the gap between the operating systems in terms of user-friendliness -- he also goes on to say some very nice things about Macs: But Apple's hardware is stylish and sturdy, and, in my tests, Macs usually boot faster than Windows machines. Plus, Apple's chain of retail stores offers a better buying experience and strong post-purchase support. Also, in my view, Apple's built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs. Some PC makers have restored some or all of these in certain models, although I consider Apple's counterparts better. Another huge plus: The Mac isn't susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware. That's high praise again from the Prince of Personal Tech, and a list of good arguments for us "Apple Fanboys" to bring up when we're faced with Windows-lovers.
A Kafkaesque announcement of an Apple keynote the week of September 7th
Kafkaesque is defined as "characteristic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of Franz Kafka's fictional world." That's the way Wall Street Journal All Things Digital blogger Peter Kafka (no relation as far as I know) must be feeling. Music industry sources are telling him that Apple is planning one of their classic September keynotes, but they're not giving him a date other than "the week of September 7th", and have no idea what exactly Apple is planning on revealing. That sounds nightmarish to me... So, he fired up the Apple rumor machine this morning and wrote a post about the upcoming event. Kafka feels that the event will probably be used to announce something about music (duh!), most likely "Cocktail", which is Apple's rumored album format that adds cover art, liner notes, and other interactive goodies. Kafka also notes that unless Apple announces the legendary iTablet at the event, Apple faithful are likely to be very disappointed (My personal feeling? Turn on the tears, folks). The September event is often used to announce new iPods, and there have been rumors of a camera-enabled iPod nano, so we might hear more about that. Whatever happens, it would be nice to see Steve Jobs on the stage again, especially if the mythical iPad is finally announced. Any reader comments on this announcement of an Apple event with no set date or concrete topic will be greatly appreciated. Update: While Gizmodo's Brian Lam is adding fuel to the iTablet fire with a recounting of a phone call with a reputable source, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple is categorically contradicting any suggestions that the September event will include the tablet device -- it's going to be a pure music announcement, he says.
iTunes support confirmed for Palm Pre
We'd already heard through the gravevine that iTunes support would be baked into Palm's forthcoming Pre, but now it's official. During Palm's D7 keynote today in Carlsbad, Paul Cousino showed attendees that non-DRM music, photos and videos could be synced with the Pre via iTunes (on Mac and Windows, naturally). In his words: "It shows up in iTunes just like a regular device." Update: So, Palm has issued an official press release detailing the new webOS features shown today at All Things Digital. The so-called media sync feature is straight up designed to "synchronize seamlessly with iTunes," giving users the ability to use Apple's media management software for transferring all non-DRM media. Furthermore, the Pre is engineered to act as a "mass storage drive," letting users side-load content on the fly. The full release also details the App Catalog and Twitter in Universal Search.
Activision's Bobby Kotick speaks at All Things Digital
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, took the stage at the All Things Digital conference, and spoke a little more about the Activision Blizzard deal. Kotick fesses up that a lot of the merger was about Blizzard's people. While a pessimist might read this as "we can't compete with them, so join 'em," what I see is a deep level of respect for Blizzard and its creation. Kotick said, "the merger is really our mechanism to get access to Blizzard's talent, capability and infrastructure." This isn't really a surprise, and reinforces what Kotick's had to say about being considerate of Blizzard's culture. As has been said before, Kotick doesn't seem like a bad guy. What he's doing is acknowledging the good work Blizzard's done in the past. He straight out says that, "I've never seen anything quite like World of Warcraft, not just as a gaming experience, but as a social experience, as a business." That's not the kind of sentiment issued by someone who doesn't like what they just bought (Ed: But would someone who just spent $18.8 billion on anything not like it?). While Kotick doesn't say directly much about the future of Blizzard, things are still looking good for our favorite Blue team.
PS3 was on 'life support,' admits Sony CEO
Walt Mossberg managed to pull a mighty fun quote from Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer. During an on-stage interview at D6, Stringer said that the PlayStation 3 "was on life support for awhile," a pretty honest statement from the top executive of a multibillion dollar corporation about one of its flagship products. Of course, that bit of honesty was just a preface to how the PS3 is in good shape now, with special kudos given to Grand Theft Auto IV and upcoming games sure to give the console a boost (Snake, you there?). Somewhat peripheral to gaming, but our favorite line from the writeup is when Stringer "notes that if it had lost the format war, his gravestone would have read "Betamax 2." Video of Sir Stringer's interview after the break.
Guitar Hero: World Tour on stage debut
At Wall Street Journal's D6 All Things Digital event yesterday, Activision CEO Robert Kotick took the opprotunity to showoff Guitar Hero: World Tour. In the midst of introducing the upcoming game Kotick started to describe World Tour as, "the first time you'll have multiple instruments," before D6 co-host Kara Swisher quickly shot back "it's called Rock Band I think," which sent the crowd into a frenzy of laughter.Whether Kotick meant it was the first time Guitar Hero would have the peripherals or if he was trying to pull a fast one on an audience he expected to have limited gaming knowledge is unknown. What we do know is the people playing the game for the demo, including skateboarder Tony Hawk, could not look more bored.Come on people. You're rocking out! A little passion please.
Windows 7 to be revealed tonight by Gates and Ballmer, we'll be there
Gates and Ballmer are down at the WSJ's All Things Digital conference to talk tech with Mossberg and Swisher, and it looks like tonight they'll be unveiling the first (official) glimpses of Vista's successor, currently known as Windows 7. We'll be posting live from the event, so be sure to check back at 6:15pm PT (9:15 Eastern) as things kick off.
