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Woz, Kottke, Hertzfeld discuss the 'Jobs' movie
John Vink, who was an Apple engineer between 1996 and 2012, managed to grab three of the people portrayed in the 2013 movie Jobs for a long discussion about the movie and Steve Jobs. It's an episode of John Wants Answers with Daniel Kottke, Andy Hertzfeld and Steve Wozniak. Kottke was a friend of Jobs from Reed College who traveled to India with the Apple co-founder, and later became an early Apple employee and Macintosh team member. Hertzfeld wrote much of the original Macintosh operating system software and later went on to co-found three companies, and Wozniak needs no introduction. The team tells some fascinating stories about Apple and Jobs, and it's well worth your time to watch the video for an Apple history lesson. [via The Mac Observer]
Former Apple CEO John Sculley: Tim Cook doing a terrific job
Former Apple CEO John Sculley recently told CNBC Asia that he thinks Tim Cook is doing a fine job. "I think Cook is doing a terrific job. He's not trying to be Steve Jobs; only one person could be Steve Jobs and that was Steve," he said. Sculley was the CEO of Apple from 1983-1993 and Jobs' initial successor, once Jobs was ousted from the company. Many believe that Sculley fired Jobs in 1983, which he denies. "I was never the person who fired Jobs, that was a myth," he said. Today, Sculley has praise for Cook and Apple's current lineup of products: "Steve could make the big creative leaps. What Tim is doing is continuing the Apple philosophy of no compromise and quality of their products and great styling. I think people are giving Apple a bum rap on what is still a great company with great products," he said.
Original iPhone team recalls its stressful development
The New York Times last week provided a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what it was like working on the original iPhone development team. Much of the article is sourced from Andy Grignon, a former Apple engineer who helped work on the wireless components for the iPhone. Needless to say, working on the first iteration of the iPhone was an exhilarating and harrowing experience. Grignon recalls working seven days a week and relays that he gained about 50 pounds during the two or so years the original iPhone was in development. What's particularly interesting is that the iPhone was still a wonky beta product at the time Steve Jobs introduced it during Macworld 2007. The iPhone could play a section of a song or a video, but it couldn't play an entire clip reliably without crashing. It worked fine if you sent an email and then surfed the web. If you did those things in reverse, however, it might not. Hours of trial and error had helped the iPhone team develop what engineers called "the golden path," a specific set of tasks, performed in a specific way and order, that made the phone look as if it worked. But even when Jobs stayed on the golden path, all manner of last-minute workarounds were required to make the iPhone functional. On announcement day, the software that ran Grignon's radios still had bugs. So, too, did the software that managed the iPhone's memory. And no one knew whether the extra electronics Jobs demanded the demo phones include would make these problems worse. Of course, the iPhone introduction went off without a hitch, and was arguably Jobs' finest product introduction. One piece of previously undisclosed information revealed by Grignon is that the iPhone demoed by Jobs on stage was configured to always display five bars. Then, with Jobs' approval, they preprogrammed the phone's display to always show five bars of signal strength regardless of its true strength. The chances of the radio's crashing during the few minutes that Jobs would use it to make a call were small, but the chances of its crashing at some point during the 90-minute presentation were high. "If the radio crashed and restarted, as we suspected it might, we didn't want people in the audience to see that," Grignon says. "So we just hard-coded it to always show five bars." Overall, the article provides amazing behind-the-scenes tidbits detailing the tremendous amount of work that went into getting the iPhone to market. What's more, the article reminds us that Apple working on a phone in the first place was itself a risky undertaking that was only made possible by teams of engineers working upwards of 80 hours a week, often in compartmentalized and secretive teams. Even then, there was no guarantee that the device would go onto become the iconic and successful device that it did. The full article is rather lengthy, but well worth reading in its entirety for anyone with even a passing interest in Apple history. For a trip down memory lane, check out Jobs' full iPhone introduction below.
Jean-Louis Gassée: Doomsayers will save Apple
Former Apple executive -- and the man who took over Steve Jobs' position of head of Macintosh development when Jobs was forced out of Apple -- Jean-Louis Gassée has written an enlightening op-ed for The Guardian today lamenting over all the "Apple is doomed" commentary from internet and tech pundits we see all the time. In the op-ed, Gassée points out a number of common "Apple is doomed" arguments and then refutes them with quotes pulled from John Gruber and Philip Ellmer-DeWitt, among others. While those bits are entertaining to read, it's the central theme of Gassée's piece that is enlightening about the "Apple is doomed" narrative: "This is something I heard 33 years ago when I signed up to start Apple France in 1980, and I've heard it constantly since then... I recently experienced a small epiphany: I think the never-ending worry about Apple's future is a good thing for the company. Look at what happened to those who were on top and became comfortable with their place under the sun: Palm, BlackBerry, Nokia ... In ancient Rome, victorious generals marched in triumph to the Capitol. Lest the occasion go to the army commander's head, a slave would march behind the victor, murmuring in his ear, memento mori, "remember you're mortal." With that in mind, one can almost appreciate the doomsayers -- well, some of them. They might very well save Apple from becoming inebriated with their prestige and, instead, force the company to remember, two years later and counting, how they won it." Gassée is currently a venture partner at Allegis Capital.
Tim Cook emails Apple employees about anniversary of Jobs' death
Tomorrow, October 5, will be the second anniversary of Steve Jobs' passing. To mark the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a heartfelt email to the company's employees. It reads, in part: "I think of him often and find enormous strength in memories of his friendship, vision and leadership. He left behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple." The company held a private ceremony to remember the late co-founder two weeks after his passing. In reading Cook's email, it's clear that Steve's memory is still very much alive in Cupertino. 9to5 has published Tim Cook's entire message if you'd like to read it.
Siri's voice, Susan Bennett
Atlanta's Susan Bennett has announced that hers is the original voice of Siri (though Apple won't confirm it). She has been doing voice work since the '70s and can be heard on GPS devices, automated phone systems and even the Delta airport terminals. But it was her gig as Siri's female voice that's added a bit of notoriety. Bennett notes that she first heard her voice coming from an Apple iPhone when a friend contacted her and asked, "Isn't this you?" She didn't have a Siri-capable iPhone at the time, so she visited Apple.com to get her first listen. She also notes that she and the recording team spent four hours a day recording Siri's voice, every day for a month straight. Back then, she didn't know where those particular recordings would end up. Today, Susan says, "[Siri] and I are friends." Also: Happy birthday Siri!
Cupertino Planning Commission approves Apple's 'spaceship' campus
The countdown has started and the new Apple "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, Calif., is one step closer to launch. Last night, the Cupertino Planning Commission approved Apple's plans for the campus. Tuesday evening, the company provided a slick video presentation to the commission and the public featuring lead architect Norman Foster and others who have had leading roles in the design of the circular structure. On October 15, the Cupertino city council will put the new campus to a vote, with a final vote expected on November 19. The project has grown in scope since first being announced by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2011, growing from initially housing 6,000 employees to the current 14,000 employees. The campus is expected to cost close to US$5 billion at completion, much of that going into premium construction materials including six square kilometers of curved glass, stone-infused floors and ceilings made of polished concrete. [via MacRumors]
Apple must pay $3 million in damages for iPod dispute in Japan
The fact that Apple is on the receiving end of more lawsuits than any other company in tech is hardly surprising. In contrast, the fact that patent disputes pertaining to the iPod are still being litigated is somewhat surprising. Kyodo News is reporting that Apple recently found itself on the losing end of a US$3 million judgment for patent infringement. Specifically, the Tokyo District Court found that the click wheel on Apple's now iconic iPod infringes upon patents owned by a man named Norihiko Saito. Engadget adds: Saito's damages come more than five years after he filed the patent lawsuit, during which time he demanded damages of ¥10 billion ($101 million), based partly on the number of iPods Apple had sold during that period. Fortunately for Apple, the final figure was substantially less than Saito's demand and it'll only have to sell a few more iPhones to cover the cost. The judgment comes after a few rounds of settlement negotiations between Saito and Apple fell through.
Childhood home of Steve Jobs may become historical landmark
CNN reported earlier today that Steve Jobs' childhood home in Palo Alto, Calif., may soon become a historical site. Jobs' childhood home, if you recall, houses the garage where he and Woz worked to put together the first Apple I computers. The family home where a young Steve Jobs built the first Apple computer may soon become a protected historical site. The seven-member Los Altos Historical Commission has scheduled a "historic property evaluation" for the single-story, ranch-style house on Monday. If the designation is ultimately approved, then the house on 2066 Crist Drive in Los Altos, California, will have to be preserved. Driving the push for the evaluation, commission member Sapna Marfatia explained the historical significance of the house. Steve Jobs is considered a genius who blended technology and creativity to invent and market a product which dramatically changed six industries -- personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing. His influence is expected to be felt by multiple generations forthcoming. It's hard to argue with that, and we'll certainly keep you posted as to how the attempt to mark the house as a historical landmark proceeds. On a related note, SFBay.ca reports that Jobs' stepmom -- Marilyn Jobs -- still lives in the three-bedroom home. She told the online publication that hundreds of Apple fans stop by the house every week to take their picture by the historic house.
Siri finally says goodbye to the 'Beta' tag
When Siri first launched alongside the iPhone 4S back in October of 2011, the software came draped with an unusual characteristic -- a "Beta" tag. For a company that avoids discussing pre-release hardware and software like the plague, it was highly unusual for Apple to release a piece of software that may simply not have been ready for prime time. Of course, the flip side of that argument is that the very nature of how Siri operates necessitates that it "learn on the go." Put differently, a natural language-based app like Siri demands real-world usage to improve. The training wheels are now coming off. Apple has added a plethora of functionality (not to mention language support) to Siri over the past two years and it's now being promoted to the big leagues. Writing for 9to5Mac, Mark Gurman reports that Apple late last week updated its Siri page and removed all "beta" references in the process. Whereas the old informational page for Siri indicated that the feature was "available in beta" for a number of iOS devices, the new informational page reads as follows: Siri is available on iPhone 4s or later, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation) and requires internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply. Not a mention of "beta" in sight. With iOS 7 set for release on September 18, iOS users can expect a more refined Siri experience. Some new features include a revamped interface, a more natural sound to the Siri voice and, for the first time, an option to choose between a male and female voice.
Conspicuously absent from Apple's media event -- new iPods
Apple's media event on Tuesday was chock-full of important announcements; new iPhone designs, enhanced camera functionality, a fingerprint-authorization sensor and more. What we didn't hear was any mention of Apple's revered iPod. Indeed, this marks just the second time in eight years that Apple hasn't used a special media event in September to introduce a refreshed iPod of any kind. The last time we went through a September without a new iPod to speak of was in 2011, and before that, 2004. That's not to say that Apple didn't make any changes to its iPod lineup this year. On the contrary, Apple introduced a "Space Gray" color option for the iPod touch, nano and shuffle. A minor, if not insignificant change for what was once an extremely profitable and significant anchor for Apple's bottom line. These days, Apple continues to rake in money hand over fist, but it's on the strength of jaw-dropping iPhone and iPad sales. With each passing quarter, iPod sales continue their slow and steady decline, comprising an increasingly marginal percentage of Apple's quarterly revenue. I took a look at Apple's December quarter over the past few years to track the decline of iPod sales during Apple's busiest quarter. Here's what the data looks like. Q4 2012 - 12.7 million units Q4 2011 - 15.4 million units Q4 2010 - 19.45 million units Q4 2009 - 21 million units Q4 2008 - 22.7 million units Driving the point home, iPod related revenue accounted for just 2.2 percent of Apple's quarterly revenue during the March quarter of 2013. Apple's media event yesterday is simply more proof (not that much is needed) that when it comes to the iPod, the writing is on the wall. The once-proud iPod is fast becoming a relic, not even worthy of a mention during a September media event that, in previous years, was laser-focused on all things iPod.
Apple designers discuss their iconic work in web series and e-book
Much has been said about Apple's attention to design. Now FastCoDesign.com has packaged an exhaustive oral history of Apple design in a series of six articles, four of which have been published as of today. The full oral history is also available in a book by Max Chafkin titled Design Crazy, available in the iTunes Store or on Amazon for US$1.99 It's a great look at some of the designers who have worked or still work at the company, and also offers more amusing / infuriating anecdotes about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Here are some highlights so far: Cordell Ratzlaff (manager, Mac OS human interface group; now a user experience director at Google): "We'd meet with Steve on Tuesday afternoons. He would come up with the craziest ideas. At one point, Steve wanted to do all of our error messages as haikus. He would leave, and we would all think, What is he smoking?" Don Lindsay (design director, Mac OS user experience group; now VP of user experience at BlackBerry): "Shortly before the unveiling of the iMac, Steve turned his attention to the user experience on the Mac OS X. He hauled the entire software design team into a room, and in typical Steve style, he just declared everybody in the room to be an idiot." Tim Kobe (cofounder, Eight Inc., an architecture firm that worked on display designs at Macworld conferences; now works on the design of the Apple Stores): "For the first two or three years, people didn't talk about the stores; they talked about the experience in the stores. Because the people who worked there were so different, and the way you engaged with technology was so different." Dan Walker (chief talent officer; now an HR consultant): "I'd like to tell you the iPod was because of some deep skunk works R&D operation, but it didn't happen that way. It started because Jon Rubinstein was at the Toshiba factory in Japan. They had these tiny hard drives, and Ruby saw the potential." Matt Rogers (firmware engineer, iPod division; now cofounder at Nest): "Before we launched at Macworld in January 2007, I was sitting in the bathroom using one of the devices, and I was like, this is revolution. I'm checking email in the bathroom. That was the moment when I realized this is a totally different kind of device."
Judge prevents Apple from setting prices with e-book partners (Update: Apple to appeal)
Well Apple's ongoing saga with the DOJ has finally come to an end*. Judge Denise Cote today laid out her punishment for Apple after finding that the company had indeed colluded with a number of publishing companies to collectively raise the price of e-books. Specifically, Cote issued an injunction which effectively precludes Apple from including a "most favored nation clause" in any contract it strikes with publishers for a period of five years. Previously, that "most favored nation clause" in Apple's contracts ensured that no other book retailer would be able to price e-books below Apple. While Apple can't be happy about that, it is undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief after Cote chose not to follow the DOJ's recommendation that Apple be forced to change the manner in which it operates in-app purchases. The DOJ previously proposed that competitors like Amazon be allowed to include links within their own iOS apps that would whisk users away from the App Store in order to make purchases, thereby avoiding having to pay Apple a 30 percent cut. Indeed, Cote previously noted that she wants Apple's "injunction to rest as lightly as possible on how Apple runs its business." Returning back to Apple's punishment, Cote also ruled that Apple would have to stagger future contract negotiations with the publishers involved. Further, Apple will be subject to a court-appointed external monitor who will keep an eye on Apple's activities to ensure that they don't run afoul of antitrust laws going forward. Apple will also be subject to an annual antitrust compliance audit. *Update: Apple will appeal. Engadget also adds: The final injunction prevents Apple from setting prices with any of its partners for terms of between two and four years, with the exact term depending on which publisher it's working with and how long they originally took to settle with the DoJ -- which means Apple's relationship with Macmillan faces the harshest restriction. The full ruling from Judge Cote can be read in its entirety below: US v. Apple Injunction
Former Levi Strauss & Co. executive Enrique Atienza joins Apple's retail team
9to5Mac is reporting that Apple recently poached former Levi Strauss executive Enrique Atienza to join its retail team. Atienza will reportedly join Apple as a director for the company's US retail operations. A source says that Atienza will be the director of all retail matters for many regions within the West Coast of the United States, and this role is one of the highest ranking retail positions inside of Apple. Several internal and external candidates were considered for the position, but the external Atienza is said to have been the best fit. While Atienza has already signed on with Apple, he is yet to actually begin his management role. He will officially start in October. Bear in mind that this is not the Senior VP of Retail position originally held by Ron Johnson and later by John Browett. That search remains ongoing, and last we heard, Apple is looking to hire someone with a tremendous amount of retail experience at the international level. As for Atienza, he spent the last three years at Levi Strauss after a nearly 10-year stint at Walt Disney where he held a number of retail-oriented positions. During Atienza's tenure at Levi Strauss, his position was that of "Senior Vice President Retail Americas and Global Store Operations and Training COE." According to Atienza's LinkedIn profile -- which confirms that he now works for Apple -- his responsibilities at Levi encompassed the following: Leads the retail strategic development and execution to ensure that revenue, productivity, level 1 profitability and customer experience goals are achieved within the Americas region. Leads company own stores and franchise management for the Americas region, and asset/execution controls for license & distributorships. Develop strategic direction and lead pan brand stores, store operations, training, maintenance, construction, real estate and merchandising in the Americas region. With rumors pointing to Apple to shipping two new iPhone models this fall, Atienza will likely have to hit the ground running, especially in light of reports that Apple is hoping to increase the percentage of iPhone sales that occur at Apple retail stores.
How Steve Jobs was able to negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement with AT&T
Forbes has an extremely interesting article detailing how the negotiating prowess of Steve Jobs helped Apple secure, for a short time, a revenue-sharing agreement with AT&T along with a host of other perks that carriers had previously been staunchly opposed to. The following Steve Jobs anecdotes come courtesy of Raj Aggarwal, a telecommunications consultant who, in the months preceding the iPhone announcement, met with Steve Jobs twice a week. Aggarwal relays that Jobs was able to secure terms that other handset manufacturers couldn't because he was obsessively involved with every detail surrounding the iPhone launch. In conjunction with that, Jobs, in classic fashion, made grandiose demands and never wavered from his commitment to deliver his vision of an ideal user experience. Aggarwal was impressed by the way Jobs was willing to take a risk to realize his vision. "In one meeting in the conference room with Jobs, he was annoyed that AT&T was spending too much time worrying about the risks of the deal. So he said, 'You know what we should do to stop them from complaining? We should write AT&T a check for $1 billion and if the deal doesn't work out, they can keep the money. Let's give them the $1 billion [Apple had $5 billion in cash at the time] and shut them the hell up,'" Aggarwal recounted. Although Jobs did not actually offer AT&T the cash, his willingness to do so made an impression on Aggarwal. Aggarwal also found Jobs unique in his outrageous demands. As he explained, "Jobs said, '$50 a month unlimited voice, data, and SMS plan - that's our mission. We should ask for and go after something unreasonable that no one has been willing to accept.' He would come up with these outrageous demands and fight for them - getting much more than he otherwise would have." All in all, this is vintage Jobs. You might recall a post from a few days ago where we detailed some of the colorful examples highlighting Steve Jobs' famous, and again, obsessive attention to detail. There's no question that Jobs was not one to be deterred, and as a result, he certainly rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. The end result, however, was always beneficial for the consumer. Say what you will about the iPhone and Android, but there's no denying that the lengths Apple went to deliver the type of iPhone experience it did fundamentally changed the smartphone landscape while wrestling back a bit of control from the carriers in the process. Thanks to Jobs and his seemingly outrageous demands, iPhone users have thankfully never had to contend with pre-installed crapware and AT&T logos emblazoned everywhere -- or Intel logos for that matter.
Norwegian government bans Apple from capturing 3D Flyover Maps data in Oslo
The Norwegian government has banned Apple from capturing 3D Flyover Maps imagry of Oslo, reports Aftenposten (via 9to5Mac). Apparently the Norwegian National Security Authority has instituted the ban because it is concerned that the small aircraft Apple uses, which has advanced 3D photography systems on board, could map confidential buildings and other security infrastructure in the city. Apple is now working with the United States Embassy in Norway to help resolve the issue. Oslo's mayor Fabian Stang has come out in support of Apple saying its 3D maps can not only help those that live in the capital, but also increase tourist interest as they can view the city from afar. As Stang told the Aftenposten newspaper: I think the new apps is very exciting – and they are also relevant for tourists, both those who are here and those who are considering going here. I have therefore asked the minister to look into the possibility of achieving this, while maintaining the security measures but me must consider. A semi-obvious answer to this problem would be for Apple to work with the Norwegian government in identifying imagery that is suitable to be shown to users. Google and other mapping services in the past have worked with various governments around the world in identifying security structures and not making photography of such structures available to the public.
Behind the music: the backstory of Marimba 158, the iPhone text tone
In a fascinating post from Kelly Jacklin, the long time Apple software engineer details how he helped create the default text alert sound on the iPhone -- now known as the "Tri-tone" alert. The history of the the pleasant chime we've all come to know and love stretches all the way back to 1998, nearly 10 years before the iPhone ever hit store shelves. Back in 1998, Jeff Robbin, Bill Kincaid and Dave Heller began working on an MP3 player for the Mac called SoundJam MP. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, it's because Apple famously acquired SoundJam MP in 2000 and quickly repurposed it into the first version of iTunes. But in 1999, before an Apple acquisition was on the horizon, Jeff Robbin asked Jacklin if he could come up with a sound to alert a user when a CD burning session was complete. Being a hobbyist musician, Jacklin was up to the task, and he got to work experimenting with various sounds. I was looking for something "simple" that would grab the user's attention. I thought a simple sequence of notes, played with a clean-sounding instrument, would cut through the clutter of noise in a home or office. So I had two tasks: pick an instrument, and pick a sequence of notes. Simple, right? Yeah, says you; everyone's an armchair musician... I was really into the sound of marimbas and kalimbas at the time, so I thought I'd try both of those. I also went through bank (after bank) of sounds built into the SW1000XG, auditioning instrument sounds, and found three other instrument sounds that I liked: a harp, a koto (Japanese zither), and a pizzicato string sound (that's the sound a violinist makes when plucking the string, rather than bowing it). Jacklin recalls that he wanted a simple sound, which meant that many of the sounds he experimented with were just three of four notes long. For all you music buffs out there, Jacklin also mentions that he wanted the sound to have a happy vibe, so he particularly experimented with "notes from the major scale, focusing on I, III, IV, V, and VIII" octaves. If you'd like the full nitty-gritty as to how Jacklin came up with a plethora of note permutations to choose from, the full article is a must read. But suffice it to say, Jacklin ultimately settled upon a winner, a sound file he called 158-marimba.aiff. As initially intended, the sound did indeed become the default sound when a disc burning session in Soundjam MP concluded. When Apple transformed Soundjam MP into iTunes, the sound remained part of the app. Jumping ahead a few years to the iPhone's release in 2007, Jacklin was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that the sound he created many years earlier continued to live on, this time in the form of the default text alert. So imagine my surprise when the iPhone ships, and the default text message tone is... "158-marimba", now going by the clever (and not actually accurate, from a music theory perspective) name "Tri-Tone". Time goes by, and this sound becomes iconic, showing up in TV shows and movies, and becoming international short-hand for "you have a text message"... Wow! Who'd have thought? Indeed, I myself have noticed, while watching TV with friends, that when the "Tri-tone" sound happens to be played in a scene, a number of people reach for their pockets to see if they have a message. Again, Jacklin's full write-up is worth checking out. As an added and extremely interesting bonus, Jacklin's post includes an audio file comprised of sounds he experimented with that didn't quite make the cut. [Ed. note: It has come to our attention that blockquotes are not working on the mobile version of the site (m.tuaw.com) and may distort this story, particularly for those reading on the iPad via the Facebook app. We are working on a fix and apologize for the inconvenience.]
A gallery of Apple's tower computers
The new Mac Pro has an innovative design by many standards. Though it may push the envelope with its tube-shaped design, it's not the only Mac tower that has a striking appearance. Previous Mac desktop towers had a look of their own that set them apart from the boring beige plastic of most comparable PCs. You can check out a gallery of these Mac beauties over at Macworld in its "Towers of Power" slideshow.
Siskel and Ebert review vintage Apple ads
This weekend we reported on an eclectic and extensive collection of vintage 1980s Apple commercials that were uploaded to the ever growing YouTube channel EveryAppleAds. Apple's older commercials are rather amusing to watch. They're cheesy, fun, and clearly represent a time when manufacturers really had to make a case explaining why anyone might want a computer in the first place. Put differently, watching vintage 80s Apple commercials is great. But you know what's even better? Watching film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review Apple's advertising efforts with the same rigor, insight, and humor they famously applied to their film critiques. MacRumors writes: The video appears to have been recorded at a special Apple event in 1986, as indicated by the Apple podium that Siskel stands behind. The two famous critics use the format of their then-popular film review show "Siskel & Ebert At The Movies", minus the "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down" rating system, to critique some of Apple's mid-80s commercials. The video is highly entertaining and well worth checking out. Highlighting just how old the video is, note the prominence of the typewriter in the opening sequence. Further, I myself noted Siskel praising one commercial in particular for "humanizing the computer", which back in 1986 was a rather important thing to do.
Jobs was interested in the phone industry as early as the 80's
Former Apple CEO John Sculley spoke recently during Young Turks Conclave 2013 and shared his thoughts on Steve Jobs, Apple's future and India's entrepreneurs. His conversation was reprinted by YourStory.in, a website dedicated to India's startup scene. Speaking about Steve Jobs, Sculley shared that He and Jobs were working on Mac phones as early as 1984. "I remember we were working on Mac phones back in late 1984. Steve was thinking about those kinds of products back then. He used to say, the most important things are not the things you build but also the things you don't build. He was rigorous in the discipline of simplifying." As noted by The Mac Observer, these phones likely were not mobile phones like the iPhone, but a Mac-based landline phones. It probably was an idea hatched by engineers at Apple and eventually killed by Jobs Many of Jobs' visions for Apple continue today under the leadership of Tim Cook. Cook, Sculley believes, will lead Apple into the next game-changing product, which will likely involve televisions or wearable technology. "Apple is like BMW, and BMW doesn't compete with the lowest price brands. I think Apple will do just fine. Tim Cook has done a terrific job of setting up the stage for some exciting products next year. I don't think there would be a creative leap in the smartphone industry, and the industry is maturing and is stabilizing right now. But I am sure we will see a creative leap from Apple maybe a TV or a wearable." Sculley also shares some anecdotal stories about the friendly, yet competitive relationship between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Sculley's comments on YourStory.in are worth a read for those interested in Apple history. [Via The Mac Observer]
