4 ms·

My one question for Steve Jobs in 2000

152 points by jonathanberger 15y ago

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
boredguy8 15y ago
I like the friend's response. Almost always, the only wrong response to a "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" situation is to stall.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- RobAtticus 15y ago
  I was really expecting there to be a twist like the "friend" was actually Bill Gates. Imagining that, it made the "friend's" response even more humorous.
  - chaostheory 15y ago
    Given the tone of language, it's most likely Larry Ellison; Oracle's head honcho. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/Larry_Ellison_Discusses_Steve_Jobs_In_Interview/ http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/Larry_Ellison_Discuss... "Q: Another person who has a certain mythology about him is your friend Steve Jobs. Everybody seems to believe they know the book on Jobs: heis brilliant but hard-driving, overly sensitive. Do you and he ever talk about that? A: We almost decided to wear T-shirts: 'The Mercurial Steve Jobs' and 'The Arrogant Larry Ellison.' Steve Jobs is my best friend, and I love him dearly, and heis one of the most remarkable people on this planet. You watch him create Apple, then in one of the worst human-resources mistakes in the history of Silicon Valley -- the only thing worse was when the French fired Napoleon -- they fire Steve Jobs and Apple almost completely disintegrates. Then he comes back and he saves a company that was on life support. I never see this quoted about Steve, but they once asked Andy Grove who he most admired in the PC industry, and he said, "One guy: Steve Jobs. He invented the PC industry." You know, we live in a very egalitarian world. We donit like heroes. And Steve is one of these heroic guys whose accomplishments are of such epic proportions, and it gnaws away at our egalitarian sense of the world."
    - jonathanberger 15y ago
      This was my guess exactly, actually.
cbs 15y ago
"Is Apple ever going to go after the enterprise market?" (Steve's response, a refreshing "If you're interested in that, you're probably at the wrong company.") You like our software enough to want to use it at work and/or want others to get to use it? Yeah, fuck that.
- mgkimsal 15y ago
  I thought that at first too, but I think it could be interpreted a couple other ways too. What we've seen over the last 10 years or so is the increased consumerization of the enterprise. Essentially, large IT depts have been forced to accommodate iPhones and iPads, due to large numbers of people buying them then saying "I want to use this at work", rather than Apple having to accomodate "enterprise" needs (and thereby perpetuating often antiquated or just poor ways of doing things). I'm generalizing here a bit, but that's another way I'd read it. It probably would have been difficult for people in the late 90s to foresee how much consumerization of IT we'd see 10-15 years in the future
  - tommi 15y ago
    Also the needs of consumer and a enterprise have converged. Everybody expects to able to read email on their phone. Many people expect their consumer laptops to be able to encrypt their hard drive (at least Apple users) just like the enterprise IT department. The difference between enterprise and consumer as an IT user has become smaller.
  - cbs 15y ago
    rather than Apple having to accomodate "enterprise" needs (and thereby perpetuating often antiquated or just poor ways of doing things). Thats kind of a plastering over of the reality though. iOS plays nice with ActiveSync, right there thats Apple accommodating enterprise needs. I can hit up exchange to remote wipe any employee's iPhone right now. Its not that IT departments are forced to accommodate iPhones, they're forced to accommodate yet another smartphone.
    - mgkimsal 15y ago
olalonde 15y ago
TLDR: Steve Jobs decided to go back to Apple after his friend told him he didn't give a fuck about Apple.
aneth 15y ago
'Steve, look. I don't give a fuck about Apple. Just make up your mind' I need friends like that. Glad to know indecision has good company.
lostbit 15y ago
I remember watching "Pirates of the Silicon Valley" some time ago. It was nice to see the battles between Gates and Jobs in the beginning of the PC era. That movie ended even before Apple's re-birth.
kleiba 15y ago
The more posts like this I read, the more they sound like obituaries. The man might be sick, but he's not dead! He just stepped down from being CEO, that's all.
vziard 15y ago
Why is this on HN? Who the fuck cares about Apple?

152 points by jonathanberger 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

I like the friend's response. Almost always, the only wrong response to a "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" situation is to stall.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
RobAtticus 15y ago
I was really expecting there to be a twist like the "friend" was actually Bill Gates. Imagining that, it made the "friend's" response even more humorous.
- chaostheory 15y ago
  Given the tone of language, it's most likely Larry Ellison; Oracle's head honcho. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/Larry_Ellison_Discusses_Steve_Jobs_In_Interview/ http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/Larry_Ellison_Discuss... "Q: Another person who has a certain mythology about him is your friend Steve Jobs. Everybody seems to believe they know the book on Jobs: heis brilliant but hard-driving, overly sensitive. Do you and he ever talk about that? A: We almost decided to wear T-shirts: 'The Mercurial Steve Jobs' and 'The Arrogant Larry Ellison.' Steve Jobs is my best friend, and I love him dearly, and heis one of the most remarkable people on this planet. You watch him create Apple, then in one of the worst human-resources mistakes in the history of Silicon Valley -- the only thing worse was when the French fired Napoleon -- they fire Steve Jobs and Apple almost completely disintegrates. Then he comes back and he saves a company that was on life support. I never see this quoted about Steve, but they once asked Andy Grove who he most admired in the PC industry, and he said, "One guy: Steve Jobs. He invented the PC industry." You know, we live in a very egalitarian world. We donit like heroes. And Steve is one of these heroic guys whose accomplishments are of such epic proportions, and it gnaws away at our egalitarian sense of the world."
  - jonathanberger 15y ago
    This was my guess exactly, actually.

cbs 15y ago

"Is Apple ever going to go after the enterprise market?" (Steve's response, a refreshing "If you're interested in that, you're probably at the wrong company.") You like our software enough to want to use it at work and/or want others to get to use it? Yeah, fuck that.

mgkimsal 15y ago
I thought that at first too, but I think it could be interpreted a couple other ways too. What we've seen over the last 10 years or so is the increased consumerization of the enterprise. Essentially, large IT depts have been forced to accommodate iPhones and iPads, due to large numbers of people buying them then saying "I want to use this at work", rather than Apple having to accomodate "enterprise" needs (and thereby perpetuating often antiquated or just poor ways of doing things). I'm generalizing here a bit, but that's another way I'd read it. It probably would have been difficult for people in the late 90s to foresee how much consumerization of IT we'd see 10-15 years in the future
- tommi 15y ago
  Also the needs of consumer and a enterprise have converged. Everybody expects to able to read email on their phone. Many people expect their consumer laptops to be able to encrypt their hard drive (at least Apple users) just like the enterprise IT department. The difference between enterprise and consumer as an IT user has become smaller.
- cbs 15y ago
  rather than Apple having to accomodate "enterprise" needs (and thereby perpetuating often antiquated or just poor ways of doing things). Thats kind of a plastering over of the reality though. iOS plays nice with ActiveSync, right there thats Apple accommodating enterprise needs. I can hit up exchange to remote wipe any employee's iPhone right now. Its not that IT departments are forced to accommodate iPhones, they're forced to accommodate yet another smartphone.
  - mgkimsal 15y ago

olalonde 15y ago

TLDR: Steve Jobs decided to go back to Apple after his friend told him he didn't give a fuck about Apple.

aneth 15y ago

'Steve, look. I don't give a fuck about Apple. Just make up your mind' I need friends like that. Glad to know indecision has good company.

lostbit 15y ago

I remember watching "Pirates of the Silicon Valley" some time ago. It was nice to see the battles between Gates and Jobs in the beginning of the PC era. That movie ended even before Apple's re-birth.

kleiba 15y ago

The more posts like this I read, the more they sound like obituaries. The man might be sick, but he's not dead! He just stepped down from being CEO, that's all.

vziard 15y ago

Why is this on HN? Who the fuck cares about Apple?