I suppose it’s fair to say I know Steve Jobs; at least more than most people know him. I’ve been in meetings with him, I’ve been chewed out by him (more than once), I’ve had lunch with him, and I’ve even been in his house. But it was all ‘in the line of duty’, and didn’t give me the kind of insight into how he thinks that I wish I had today. (more…)
Archive for the ‘The Book - Jobs Ive Known’ Category
I Really Wish I Knew Steve Jobs Better
Friday, September 7th, 2007iSpy – Is Apple Watching You?
Thursday, July 6th, 2006I was catching up on the Apple-related news yesterday (after returning from the long weekend) and learned about an unwelcome new feature that came along with the 10.4.7 update. 
Apparently there is a new component of the Dashboard which ‘phones home’ to Apple on a regular basis. Ostensibly, this is to check the installed versions of your Dashboard widgets against the ‘official’ versions to make sure they have not been modified.
It sounded like a reasonable explanation to me; perhaps it’s a preemptive strike against malware that might masquerade as a widget*. Reflecting on the pros and cons of such a system reminded me of a conversation about similar things in the Apple boardroom several years ago.
The iApps Review Meetings
During the big push that led up to the new products being released at MacWorld, there would be a regularly scheduled weekly meeting where Steve would review the progress on the ‘i-apps’. It was held in the Apple boardroom and usually attended by the product managers and engineering lead on each of the applications. Senior execs, like Avie Tevenian, Eddie Cue, or Phil Schiller would also attend if there were particularly important things to review. Each product group would bring a Mac configured with latest build of their software so Steve could check it out. (more…)
Apple’s Big Apple
Friday, May 19th, 2006
Five year ago, some people thought Steve Jobs was crazy to open Apple-branded retail stores. I’m sure those people are ‘thinking different’ today. As usual, Apple’s managed to create a media frenzy over its snazzy new store in New York, and looking at the photos, it’s easy to get caught up in it even from here.
I figured the stores would work out well. The existing Apple resellers (especially in the US) were not doing the best job of reaching non-Mac users. If you found Macs at all, they were being ‘explained’ by the same 18 year old kid who was selling car stereos and washing machines two aisles over. Who better than Apple to tell the Apple story to the uninitiated? Besides, if Windows users had a chance to actually see and touch a Mac, they are much more likely to ultimately buy one.
The Minnesota Connection
But there was another reason I knew the stores would succeed…the guy who Steve chose to run them: Ron Johnson. Ron came from Target, where he helped them achieve their incredible success. It was obvious to me that Apple was serious about the stores if they they put someone like this in charge. (more…)
Steve Hangs Out Before Tokyo Show – Video Clip
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
I was reviewing some video of the crowd coming into the auditorium for the Tokyo Macworld keynote in 2001, when I found a short clip of Steve Jobs hanging out before the show. I had forgotten all about it. (more…)
