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Shanzhai Steve Jobs makes a special appearance in Hong Kong (video)
You know, we've had all sorts of KIRFtastic encounters while visiting China, but take this four-letter word to a whole new level and you get this: a Chinese clone of Steve Jobs. What's actually happening here is Hong Kong MTR launching the latest release of its iOS subway app (which does augmented reality!), and to mark this special occasion, the company invited local celebrity Law Kar-ying to recreate Apple's notorious reality distortion field. That said, unlike the real Slim Stevie, this dude was also giving away iPhone 4s to a few lucky audience members -- just goes to show that not all clones are bad, mmkay. Video after the break.P.S. This isn't the first time that a renowned CEO's been portrayed by a celebrity from the Far East -- Taiwanese news anchor Jeffrey Mindich unintentionally played Bill Gates a little while back. Let us know if you have a good candidate for Steve Ballmer.
In defense of Dan: Why Lyons has a strong point about the Mac
Chris Rawson and I like to tag-team, and this time I pulled the counterpoint to his "Mac ain't dead" point. I'm going to enter into this conversation delicately because, like Dan Lyons, I don't think the Mac is dead. Yes, you read that correctly, I agree with Lyons when he writes, "To be sure, Apple won't kill off the Mac."[1] And that's because both Lyons and I recognize that the Mac has an important role both internal and external to Apple. You need a Mac to compile (unless you're into serious jailbreak mojo -- which Apple is not) with Apple's internal IDE and tool creation suite. You need a Mac to create professional graphics and video suites. You need a Mac for high-end publishing and so forth. So all of us agree: The Mac lives and OS X for the desktop is not imperiled.
Apple played favorites with iPad access
Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza has an insightful look at something that no one's really noticed yet: Apple definitely played favorites when it came to sharing the iPad. Here's the list of outlets and writers that got access to the iPad for an early review. You'll note that Boing Boing is on there, as is PC Magazine. Engadget and Gizmodo (along with TUAW, though we got one anyway) are not. Time is on there, Newsweek is not. Clearly, Apple's being careful about who's given access, and there's no one reason why an outlet might be on the list or not. And it might be even more confusing than that -- Fake Steve Jobs (a.k.a. writer Dan Lyons) tells a story about how Apple sent word out that they were unhappy about Newsweek officially hiring him after the FSJ reveal. Apple isn't just controlling access -- they're doing their best to control the entire media perception of the company. One thing that Beschizza doesn't mention (he goes on to gloat a little about Boing Boing's history with Apple) is that, in those first few days of iPad app reveals, it was pretty clear which developers had gotten an iPad early. Firemint, PopCap, MLB, EA -- there are hundreds of thousands of developers on the App Store, and Apple came to only a few to offer them a development iPad to play with early. Unfortunately, again, we'll never know the criteria for selection there other than Apple's whims (and I presume the whole thing is wrapped so tightly in an NDA that we won't even know when and how the offers were made), so we don't have a full picture of what access was offered and how. But there's no question that Apple made specific choices about how and where to send the iPad -- some people and companies got in, lots didn't.
Epix TV network to deliver real pilot based on a fake Steve Jobs
It looks like our old friend, the Fake Steve Jobs, is doing pretty well for himself. A popular blog, a well-received book, and now -- with any luck, at least -- a new TV series. Currently the Epix network (still only available on FiOS TV) is teaming up with the money men at Media Rights Capital to deliver a pilot called iCON. Featuring a character named Tom Rhodes, "a composite of Jobs and other Silicon Valley titans," the story is described as "a savage satire, a study of ego, power and greed." The man behind it all is none other than Larry Charles (of Borat, Bruno, and Seinfeld fame) who will direct the thing and oversee the script being written by Dan Lyons (Fake Steve Jobs himself). As you might have guessed, the announcement is pretty nutty: "We are attempting to do nothing less than a modern Citizen Kane," Charles said. "A scabrous satire of Silicon Valley and its most famous citizen. We needed a bold environment to nurture such a vision. One that was free of pre-conceived ideas. And Epix made it clear they were that place. They asked us to make their home our home. And we have." Since no one we know has actually seen Citizen Kane, we can't tell you if that's a good thing or not. But if it turns out to be anything like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, we love it already! PR after the break.
Fake Steve Jobs to be a TV show
Dan Lyons, better known as blogger Fake Steve Jobs, has apparently signed a deal with Seinfeld writer Larry Charles to create a half-hour, single camera, satirical TV show about a Silicon Valley hotshot. As of now, Lyons is only writing the pilot script for the series, but since it's called "iCON," there will probably be plenty of FSJ's humor and voice in the series itself. It's set to air on Epix, which is a premium cable channel run by Viacom. The show centers around Tom Rhodes, a Silicon Vally big shot who's designed to be a composite of Steve Jobs and a few other big tech company names, and the "savage satire" is supposed to be "a study of ego, power and greed." That sounds like fun! Since "iCON" and the Facebook movie are both scheduled to begin production, it certainly looks like Hollywood is interested in digging into the recent Silicon Valley past for a little humor and drama. [via Apple Insider]
Fake Steve Jobs: "Stand down!"
Wow. What a roller coaster ride! First, Fake Steve Jobs ordered Operation Chokehold. Then AT&T struck back. That's right around the time when a group of rebels joined the battle with Operation Cuckoo. Now, the original mastermind is telling everyone to stand down: "I really don't want to cause any actual harm to my fellow AT&T users. Quite the opposite - I feel as if we're all caught in the same horrible prison, suffering alongside one another. The point is, I'm not sure we can stop this thing." He goes on to list several alternate ideas including: "Another idea and perhaps the best one: Let's form actual flash mobs outside AT&T stores and put duct tape over their mouths. Anyone up for this? Like, in San Francisco? The media is already all over this protest. They're loving it. They know how badly AT&T sucks and apparently they want to join us in our struggle. So making this into a physical demonstration is the best way to ratchet it up another notch." Chickening out or being responsible? That's your call. Let us know in the comments! Via iPhoneSavior
Operation Cuckoo to oppose Operation Chokehold
In what sounds like the title of the worst Bruce Willis movie ever, a group of pro-AT&T Facebook users are up in arms about Operation Chokehold. Let's start from the beginning. Earlier this week, AT&T's chief executive of Mobility, Ralph de la Vega stated that he wants iPhone users to limit their data usage. Customers became literally furious with rage and, encouraged by Fake Steve Jobs, vowed to do the polar opposite: simultaneously run the most data-hungry apps on Friday, December 18th. Thus, Operation Chokehold was born. There's even a Facebook event for it. Now, some other Facebook users with Stockholm Syndrome have formed a counter-group called Operation Cuckoo. From their manifesto: "... you don't urge AT&T to improve its network and terms by attempting to bring it down or violating your contract with the entity. Much the same as you don't put out a fire with a gasoline shower." Yes, Fake Steve's little stunt is childish and in all likelihood not to be taken seriously (though AT&T is not amused). But if my own iPhone is rendered AT&T-free on Friday because of this bit of nonsense, I'll be pissed. [Via iPhone Savior]
UPDATE: AT&T "unimpressed" with "irresponsible" Operation Chokehold
I posted earlier today about Fake Steve Jobs' Operation Chokehold. Well, AT&T has just told Cult of Mac they're not impressed: "We understand that fakesteve.net is primarily a satirical forum, but there is nothing amusing about advocating that customers attempt to deliberately degrade service on a network that provides critical communications services for more than 80 million customers. We know that the vast majority of customers will see this action for what it is: an irresponsible and pointless scheme to draw attention to a blog." So, the battle lines are drawn. Where do you stand?
Watch out AT&T: Operation Chokehold is coming
After Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, stated earlier this week that he wants iPhone users to limit their data usage the web exploded with anger. The New York Times sided with AT&T, but others thought that was bogus. Now Fake Steve Jobs is getting in on the action. Fake Steve is telling iPhone users to go crazy with their data usage this Friday, December 18, to teach De La Vega a lesson in for trying to stifle his customers contract-given-rights for unlimited data usage. Subject: Operation Chokehold On Friday, December 18, at noon Pacific time, we will attempt to overwhelm the AT&T data network and bring it to its knees. The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network and sick of their abusive comments. The idea is we'll create a digital flash mob. We're calling it in Operation Chokehold. Join us and speak truth to power! I'm in the UK where we have multiple providers to choose from (as many countries do), but I can understand the frustration US users have with being limited to only one carrier with poor network performance and then being lectured about their data usage. So TUAW readers. What's it gonna be? You going to do a little choking come Friday?
TUAW Interview: Fake Steve Jobs
We got a chance to sit down (virtually) with the unofficial version of everyone's favorite iCEO, via his alter ego & consigliere Dan Lyons. Fake Steve's perspective is always unique and sometimes astonishing; read on. TUAW: Fake Steve, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me. Before we begin this, I'd like to start off by saying that, on behalf of everyone, it is wonderful to see you in good health and back at the helm of Apple. Phil Schiller did a fine job in your absence, but the man has no stage presence. And Tim Cook's droning voice could put even sugar-fed hyperactive children to sleep -- what a snoozer. First question: Let's talk about Microsoft. The company recently released its newest operating system, Windows 7, and with it an experimental chain of branded retail stores that largely copy Apple's own concept, right down to the inclusion of in-store support centers, called Guru bars. Your thoughts? FSJ: Microsoft still hasn't realized that its copycat business model (also known as a "close follower" strategy) doesn't work anymore. For 20 or 25 years this company just waited for others to innovate, then copied the innovation and sold it for less - and this worked great for them. But this stopped working right around 2000 or so. The rest of the world just moves too fast now. Look, they're still trying to catch Google in search, and they've got what -- one percent market share? Same thing for Zune, right? Well, keep fighting the good fight on that one, you morons. As for the stores, well, they look nice enough, since they copied ours. But in terms of how well they'll do? Come on. Their stores are a joke and they've arrived too late. The whole point of being a close follower is you have to follow closely. We opened our first store in 2001 and we've got something like four thousand of them in the United States alone. I know you're going to tell me I'm a bit off on that number, and, well, maybe so. But I still say we've got four thousand stores and if I say it enough times, people will believe me. Anyway, the other thing Microsoft seems not to understand is that it's not enough just to open a store -- you need to have something cool to put in that store. That might be a problem for them. TUAW: Their mobile strategy has fallen flat on its face. Windows Mobile, now renamed Windows Phone, is clearly way behind OSX iPhone. Windows Mobile 6.5 is a stopgap measure at best. Windows Mobile 7 is another year away from shipping on devices. And with the recent Danger debacle, the future looks bleak for Microsoft. Do they stand a snowball's chance in hell of ever competing with you? Do you even care? FSJ: Wait a minute. Microsoft makes mobile phone software? I didn't know that. Are you serious? TUAW: Speaking of companies that are universally despised. Your contract with AT&T, as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, is due to expire soon. Tell me you don't plan to continue shackling iPhone to this single carrier? FSJ: If it is the last thing I do, I will get us off AT&T. By Grabthar's hammer, by the sons of Worvan, this shall be done. Look for news on this early next year. TUAW: Moving on to Google. With the introduction of Android 2.0 and increasing product introductions like the recent Verizon Droid, Google is slowly gaining traction in the market. How badly do you want to drive hat pins into Eric Schmidt's testicles? FSJ: Well, very badly, except that Eric Schmidt does not have testicles. Lot of people don't know that. But if he did have them, yes, I would want to harm them. A lot. The guy sat here in our board meetings and listened to all of our product plans and then just stole all of our ideas. I mean he sat here -- right here -- talking to me, asking me questions. I'm sorry. This just gets me really upset. Sniff. Can we move on?
'Fake Steve' chides CNBC's Goldman in source foofaraw
Dan Lyons, who once wrote the "Fake Steve Jobs" blog, criticized Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman for withholding information from sources inside Apple about Steve Jobs' health. The sparks fly in this video around the 3:30 mark. Lyons, on CNBC Reports, said Goldman had become the kind of reporter that gets "played and punked" by Apple, and that he should have released the information he knew on Monday, before Apple's announcement yesterday. Lyons also demanded that Goldman apologize to Gizmodo, for criticizing their December 30 story about Jobs' declining health. Goldman said that he had contacted two individuals on Monday who have personal contact with Jobs, but don't know the intimate details about his medical treatment. Goldman wrote yesterday: What struck me was that both felt compelled to come to me to tell me that they had "serious misgivings" about the state of Jobs' health. One said, based on his contact with Jobs personally, that he was in "serious denial" about just how bad the circumstances had become. The other explained to me that he was "deeply concerned" about Jobs, and the sudden lack of communication, the non-return of emails, ignoring chat requests, unreturned phone calls was a strong indication to him that Jobs was in "dire" shape. According to Silicon Alley Insider, a source close to the matter said that Lyons had been banned from appearing on CNBC again, though CNBC spokesman Kevin Goldman (no relation) said "Real Dan" had not been banned. In related news, Joe Nocera, the New York Times journalist who Steve Jobs called a "slime bucket" in an off-the-record phone interview about his health, said that the medical problem Jobs confessed to in the call is different from the "hormone imbalance" mentioned in Apple's press release just before Macworld. Nocera called for greater transparency from Apple about how it discusses Steve's health. [Via MacDailyNews.] On a personal and editorial note, I wish Mr. Jobs and his family all the best, and this is the last story I'll be writing about yesterday's announcement for the foreseeable future. I was conflicted about even writing this, because Jobs deserves his time to recuperate, free from the spread of rumors and half-truths. Perhaps the less I write about it, the healthier he'll get. In theory. Maybe. We can hope. - RP
Is Fake Steve returning, real Steve ill?
First the good news. Dan Lyons, the man behind Fake Steve Jobs, has suggested that his fictional alter-ego may be ready for a return. Earlier in the summer, Dan left his job at Forbes for Newsweek, and stopped writing as Fake Steve in the process.However, this week he starts that Newsweek job, and told Mac Soda that Fake Steve is to be a part of that. Which is great, as Fake Steve is very insightful and funny.Now the bad news. In the same interview, Dan says that Steve Jobs is ill. Speculation over Steve's health has been a topic of discussion this summer, while Apple has been quiet and respectful of Steve's privacy. We expect to see Steve during next week's press event. We hope he's doing well.
Fake Steve leaving Forbes for Newsweek
Dan Lyons, the real Fake Steve Jobs, is leaving his editor's job at Forbes to join the staff of Newsweek, where he'll take over for outgoing columnist Steven Levy. (Levy left Newsweek for Wired in April.) Lyons is leaving Forbes on good terms, with associate managing editor Bruce Upbin writing, "Saying we wish him well is an understatement." No details surrounding the financial aspects of the transition were immediately available. Since Lyons owns the FSJ property himself, Silicon Alley Insider says he'll be bringing El Stevo with him, but it remains unclear what will change about the vast FSJ media empire. Fake Steve, I honor the place where your funny and my bone become one. Namaste. [Via Daring Fireball.]
Fake Steve Jobs gets takedown letters from Apple. Or not?
Seems like a lot of the noise being made today is coming out of Fake Steve's camp, where the man behind the curtain, Dan Lyons, has dropped the act to pen a few fairly disturbing posts. According to Lyons, Apple is riding him to shut down the blog, and sending him all manner of C&Ds and even legal documents outlining his personal finances, which they're threatening should he not comply. Sucks a ton for the dude if true -- he's something of a chum 'round here, and always has a kind word for Engadget -- but before you grab your pitchfork and torch you ought to know that something doesn't sit quite right with us.First, and most obviously, the site is complete satire, and unlike this week's Think Secret shutdown, there are no possible or probable trade secrets published that would get Apple lawyers up in arms. Sure, Real Steve Jobs may have grown tired of the FSJ act, but as far as we know, constitutionally there's not a lot he or anyone else can do until Dan Lyons actually exits satire and enters the wonderful world of libel.Second, this isn't the first time Fake Steve has accused Apple of trying to shut down the site -- Lyons later admitted that faux shutdown was a hoax he perpetuated while he was still anonymous so he could quit doing Fake Steve before his editors at Forbes found out it was him.Finally, FSJ is clearly labeled "A Forbes Site" and is known to be such, and its author, Dan Lyons, is a full-time Forbes editor. Meaning all the hullabaloo about Apple threatening Dan's personal finances and whatnot seem kind of moot since he shouldn't have personal legal liability in this case. In other words, lawsuits and C&Ds should go to Forbes's legal team, not to Dan directly -- just like the billions of C&Ds Engadget is sent all go to Weblogs, Inc.'s legal team, not to Ryan Block.Look, we'll apologize in advance if that's not the case and Apple is really going after Dan, but right now we're just not buying it. What say you, Stevetards?P.S. -Yes, we've hit up Dan for comment, but have yet to hear back.Read - FSJ gets "an offer" from AppleRead - Dan Lyons has his personal finances threatenedRead - Dan talks more about the legal predicament
Wallstrip interviews Fake Steve Jobs
Those stock obsessed folks at Wallstrip, the daily video blog about all things Wall Street, have posted a short interview with the man behind Fake Steve Jobs. If you don't want the illusion of FSJ to be shattered you shouldn't watch this video, but it is very entertaining.You'll find out why FSJ started blogging, what he thinks of the real Steve Jobs, and his thoughts on the Big Dig.Thanks, Dave S.
Poll: still reading Fake Steve?
Since the Times unmasked the fake Valley's most notorious fake rockstar CEO, many thought that without the mystery, interest in FSJ would fizzle. Not unlike a really good, impossible magic trick handed over to Penn and Teller. So, are you still reading?%Poll-2571%
Our pal Fake Steve revealed - Daniel Lyons of Forbes
Looks like the New York Times found out who our pal Fake Steve is: Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes. Wow, how anticlimactic. It's ok Dan, they may have found you but they can't kill the idea of FSJ, disappointing though it may be that the mystery's been solved.[Thanks, Randall]Read - NYT pieceRead - Lyons's blogRead - Lyons's other blog
Found Footage: PC is Steve Jobs, WWDC 2007 edition
You're a busy person, we here at TUAW know that. You don't have time to sit through the whole stream of this year's WWDC keynote (and judging by the reaction it might not be worth it). There is one thing that everyone in attendance agreed on though, the video that started the keynote is well worth a watch. Check it out for yourself (either embedded in this post, or on YouTube). Watch as 'Steve Jobs' shares some important news.Thanks, Karim.[via Long Zheng]
Fake Steve Jobs' real ThinkPad Reserve
It's only 2 days from launch and already the mighty El Jobso himself is toting a ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop. That'd be Fake Steve Jobs supposedly carrying the "Chinese uber laptop" delivered (and engraved) personally by Fake Larry Ellison. Too funny. Oddly enough, the TRE (minus the engraving) looks to be the real deal in that photo which makes the true identity of FSJ all the more intriguing. [Thanks, Emil P.]
Real interview with Fake Steve Jobs
We got a precious few minutes to sit down and talk to the man himself. That's right, we landed a real interview with Fake Steve Jobs. In it, "El Jobso" reminisces about his drug-addled youth, what he does to the traitorous wretches that leak Apple products before they're launched, the questions they ask you when you apply for a job at Apple, and even how he really feels about my girlfriend. Not to be missed!So, thanks for the interview, Steve.You're most welcome. Namaste.So, what's the hardest thing about being Steve Jobs?The constant pressure and sh*tstorm of a million distractions. Eurotards, Microtards, longhairs. Not to mention the SEC and US Attorney's office. Oh and Greenpeace. I hate Greenpeace. Really -- a lot.What about people that ask you for tech support? Do you get that very often? Because my shuffle has been acting up...Yes all the time. Luckily, however, I actually know almost nothing about computers. And people who know me know that. So they don't ask. But yes, strangers come up to me all the time.Do they ever confuse you for the character actors that portray you on SNL and now Mad TV?Yes and it drives me nuts. Or people will go, You know, you look a lot like Steve Jobs. But honestly, usually people do know who I am, and they get all weird and nervous around me, which i have to admit, never gets old. I love it.I was really into NeXT, whatever happened with that?Well, we had some issues around pricing. Like, we figured out what the product should cost, and then we multiplied that by four and set our prices that way. Turns out we were over-overpricing. When I returned to Apple we figured out how to overprice correctly. About 50% more than the reasonable price is about what people are wiling to pay to get a product that makes them cooler than everyone else. So now instedad of over-overpricing, we're just overpricing. And as our results indicate, it's working.
