AppleTell » Steve Jobs

Bill Gates discuses his last meeting with Steve Jobs

Jonathan Pena — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:08:17 +0000

Bill Gates the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, sat down for an interview with “Nightline” ABC News in which he discussed several topics about his private life and the moments he shared with Steve Jobs. Gates talked in detail about his last meeting he had with Steve Jobs at his house a few days prior to his death, and how his passing affected him.

It’s clearly visible in the interview that aside from decades of conflicts, there was a deeper friendship that many people could have never imagined. Gates said the two were comfortable with one another by the time Jobs became gravely ill late last year. Gates said, “There was no peace to make. We were not at war.”

Although Jobs and Gates weren’t always on the best set of terms, we have witnessed both of these entrepreneurs forming business partnerships at various times, as well as competing against and challenging one another. Yet somehow there was sense of mutual respect between them which in many ways helped shape the landscape of tech-world.

Gates also revealed during the interview that he wrote a a letter to Jobs which reportedly he kept at his bedside during his final days. He even received a call from Steve Job’s wife, Laurene, just moments after his death.

Check out the video below to see Gates talk about Jobs and how his death reflected on his own mortality.

Via [ABC News]

Steve Jobs doll won’t be sold after all

Erica Marceau — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:19:05 +0000

The incredibly realistic Steve Jobs doll won’t get made after all because In Icons has decided to halt production after “immense pressure from the lawyers of Apple and Steve Jobs family.”

The Steve Jobs doll was going to sell for $99.99 with a number of accessories, including different hand styles, a bar stool, removable glasses, two apples, and a backdrop with “One more thing…” printed on it. The doll was also flexible enough for it to be placed in a variety of poses that you can see by looking at the gallery at In Icons web site.

The following statement from In Icons explains the reasoning behind making the doll and why they decided to not sell it.

On 5th October 2011 Steve Jobs, the genius, great inventor and visionary, passed away. For the past 25 years I have been a big fan of Steve Jobs following his achievements religiously and using Apple products. His passing left me with emptiness, sadness and a feeling of great personal loss. (I am sure that these sentiments are felt by all of his fans) Four years ago I created a single figurine of Steve which I placed on my desk next to my Mac. I decided to share this memento with the rest of his fans as a commemoration to Steve. The figurine, especially his facial features, was adjusted countless times to achieve his likeness in my memory. I strove to perfect the figurine with the spirit of Steve Jobs because only this will properly reflect my respect and admiration of him.
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the original intention for creating the figurine was driven by a fan’s admiration of Steve. We respect copyright and trade mark rights and therefore indicated on our site that we were not providing any Mac, iPhone and iPad models with the figurine. Further, we haven’t used any Apple related brands. Unfortunately we have received immense pressure from the lawyers of Apple and Steve Jobs family. Regardless of the pressure, I am still Steve’s fan, I fully respect Steve, and his family, and it is definitely not my wish or intention that they be upset. Though we still believe that we have not overstepped any legal boundaries, we have decided to completely stop the offer, production and sale of the Steve Jobs figurine out of our heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs family.
We understand that this decision will cause many of the fans’ disappointment, but please forgive us as there is no other alternative unless to have the blessing from Steve Jobs family… We will aim to have full refund to the fans who have pre-ordered.
Lastly, we wish to thank everyone for their admiration and appreciation of the figurine, and again we offer our sincere apologies to affected fans.

Via [In Icons]

Apple has an Education Announcement on January 19th

Erica Marceau — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:38:18 +0000

On Thursday, January 19th at 10 a.m. EST, Apple will hold an event at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City to make an education announcement.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue will likely announce new iBook or textbook products or services. This makes sense since Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson he wanted to disrupt the school textbook industry.

He held meetings with major publishers about partnering with Apple, the book says. If textbooks were given away free on iPads he thought the publishers could get around the state certification of textbooks. Mr. Isaacson said Mr. Jobs believed that states would struggle with a weak economy for at least a decade. “We can give them an opportunity to circumvent that whole process and save money,” he told Mr. Isaacson.

Via [9 to 5 Mac]

BBC 2 documentary “Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy” now viewable online

Jonathan Pena — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:25:57 +0000

Last Wednesday, BBC 2 aired a documentary about the life of Steve Jobs, titled “Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy.” The documentary was hosted by Evan Davis, and is now available online. The show featured special appearances from many insiders who knew jobs personally and professionally, with exclusive interviews from Steve Wozniak, John Sculley and Avie Tevanian. Walter Isaacson was scheduled to make a special appearance, but decided to exclude himself.

The hour-long documentary touched several aspects of Jobs’ beginnings and how he made such an historic mark through innovation he brought the world of technology. According to Telegraph, the documentary also presents a more “ruthless image of Jobs,” showing the negative sides of his personality through the treatment to his Apple employees and the people he dealt with at the company.

For those who missed the premiere or don’t have access to BBC 2, the documentary is now online for everyone to see.

Walter Isaacson plans to update Steve Jobs Biography.

Jonathan Pena — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:35:32 +0000

Walter Isaacson, speaking at an event hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California on Dec 14th, revealed plans for an update of his biography of Steve Jobs. Isaacson shared with the crowd that he plans to revise his book to incorporate the numerous anecdotes about the two years he spent talking to the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. According to the report, “One possibility is doing an extensively annotated version with additional information to the story. Another is writing an addendum that addresses the period surrounding Jobs’ death in early October.” Isaacson believes that the story he wrote of Steve Jobs will be told for decades or a century to come. “This is the first or second draft,” he said, referring to his book’s role in documenting Jobs’ life. “It’s not the final draft.”

At the event, Isaacson recounted the moments when he was discussing the book’s cover with Steve Jobs. Jobs threatened Isaacson about quitting the interviews if he wasn’t allowed to offer input on both the cover and title of the book. Isaacson stated, “It took me about one and a half seconds to say, ‘Sure!’ I mean this is one of the greatest design eyes of our time.”

Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs recently became Amazon’s best-selling book in 2011, and was also named the best-selling new release of 2011 for combined print and digital sales.

Via [Fortune]

Steve Jobs documentary “One Last Thing” available in iTunes, free on PBS

Jonathan Pena — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:42:57 +0000

The PBS documentary “One Last Thing,” which aired on November 2nd (a few weeks after the death of Steve Jobs) is now available in the iTunes Store. The 60 minute program featured a never-seen before interview with Steve Jobs from the NeXT years (1994), as well as multiple interviews with several personalities such as Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne, Walt Mossberg and Dean Hovey. Those who missed the PBS premiere now have another chance to rent or buy the documentary directly from the iTunes store for $3.99 and $9.99 respectively.

It’s also available for free instant streaming from the PBS website, and it’s also on sale in DVD format at Amazon for $ $22.49.

Product [One Last Thing]

Steve Jobs biography is Amazon’s best-selling book of 2011

Jonathan Pena — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:00:53 +0000

The book “Steve Jobs,” written by Walter Isaacson, has in just a couple short months positioned itself at top of Amazon’s list of best sellers for 2011. It also ranked No. 3 on the Kindle charts. Amazon spokeswoman Brittany Turner issued a statement weeks ago predicting, “The way things are trending, it could very likely be our top-selling book of the year.” On its first day of sales, data from BookScan US revealed that “Steve Jobs” sold a total of 379,000 copies in its first weeks in the U.S.

The book was released on Sunday, October 23rd, just a couple of weeks after the passing of Steve Jobs on October 5th from pancreatic cancer.

Steve Jobs is available for digital purchase at Apple’s iBookstore and Amazon, and the hardcover edition is available in local bookstores.

Via [MacRumors]

Aaron Sorkin still considering Steve Jobs movie

Jonathan Pena — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:39:46 +0000

Word spread throughout Hollywood that Sony Studios was buying the rights from Walter Isaacson to make a film based on his biography based on Steve Jobs life. Allegedly, the movie was going to be produced by Mark Gordon, and Aaron Sorkin was the strongest contender to write the script. Though Sony has neither denied or confirmed the story, E! Online managed to get an official confirmation from Sorkin himself that, indeed, Sony approached him to write the film, which he’s considering.
“Right now I’m just in the thinking-about-it stages,” said Sorkin. “It’s a really big movie and it’s going to be a great movie no matter who writes it.” He said words of respect towards Steve Jobs’ achievements throughout his career, stating, “He was a great entrepreneur, he was a great artist, a great thinker.”
At the moment, Sorkin is said to be doing research on Steve Jobs by reading Walter Isaacson’s biography. That certainly indicates a decision may soon be underway, and that sometime next year Sorkin could officially make the announcement. More rumors have surfaced that Sony could be considering for George Clooney or Noah Wyle to play Steve Jobs, with some saying Mr. Wyle might be the best choice since he already played jobs once in the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley.”
Via [E! Online]

Isaacson: Steve Jobs wanted to reinvent TV and photography

Jonathan Pena — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:19:32 +0000

Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson recently sat down for a personal interview with Nick Bilton of the New York Times. The interview gives us a deeper insight into Isaacson’s biographical process and into the very goals Jobs had in mind for every product he envisioned. Isaacson reveals that Jobs had several ideas in mind on how to revolutionize television, photography and textbooks. Steve Jobs had on several occasions talked to him about Apple’s upcoming products, although Isaacson doesn’t reveal much about the details discovered.
When he discusses his future, what were the next products he was planning?
He had three things that he wanted to reinvent: the television, textbooks and photography. He really wanted to take these on. He did talk about the television. He told me he’d “licked it” and once said, “There’s no reason you should have all these complicated remote controls, ‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ he told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. ”
There have several rumors about the next generation AppleTV, with some suggesting Siri integration to control certain functions of AppleTV with voice commands. Weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that the original creator of iTunes, Jeff Robbin, is allegedly working on Apple’s upcoming TV set.
Isaacson also gives his own personal opinion of the future of Apple without the presence of Steve Jobs. As we know, Jobs was the biggest propeller within the company. Many people worry that Tim Cook doesn’t have the charisma to follow in Steve Jobs’ footsteps, as Cook is mainly said to be a “supply chain whiz” and not a visionary leader that could deliver innovative and best-selling products. Walter Isaacson noted that the top people within Apple—such as Jonathan Ive and Scott Forstall—will help the company maintain its momentum.
Isaacson also shared his personal thoughts on Steve Jobs:
The main thing is this: his petulance was not just some isolated thing. It was part of his passion for perfection. I think he truly knew that by being demanding, he was being inspiring. He created incredibly loyal teams. He convinced people that they could do the impossible. They would walk through walls for him. As a result, Apple continually made great products. Everything he did was a resolution between the misfit and the businessman, the romantic and the rational. These ended up tying together in every case. The two sides, and the fact that he is able to join them, made an amazing product: Steve Jobs.
Via [The New York Times]

Jobs wanted Wi-Fi spectrum for Apple’s first iPhone

Jonathan Pena — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:42:27 +0000

Steve Jobs revolutionized the cellphone industry with the release of the iPhone in 2007. But according to comments made by John Stanton, Jobs originally wanted to change the entire idea of the how world interacts with mobile carriers. At the Law Seminars International event in Seattle this week, operator chief turned venture capitalist John Stanton stated that Apple was exploring alternatives for creating a network by only using Wi-Fi-based spectrum as a way to bypass carriers with their mobile plans. That idea was discussed when Stanton worked with Steve Jobs from 2005 to 2007. At that time, Mr Stanton was heading VoiceStream Wireless, now known as T-Mobile.
Stanton stated, “He wanted to replace carriers. He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision. Jobs hoped to create his own network with the unlicensed spectrum that Wi-Fi uses rather than work with the mobile operators.”
Jobs eventually moved on from the idea, and instead signed a deal with AT&T as the first mobile provider for the iPhone. Stanton noted that even after Apple signing the deal with AT&T, Jobs managed to leave his own mark across wireless industry with the iPhone. Apple acquired complete control of the user experience with the iPhone, along with software updates, apps and even hardware release dates. Stanton said, “If I were a carrier, I’d be concerned about the dramatic shift in power that occurred… Companies like Apple and Google, which develops Android, sell a variety of software and services that capture revenue streams that might have otherwise gone to the operators.”
Analyst Peter Jarich with Current Analysis, weighed in on the idea of Wi-Fi as a alternative network. “It’s not out of the question to develop a network that’s solely Wi-Fi, but it’s tough.” While favoring Jobs’ idea of change toward Wi-Fi networks and away from cell carriers, he warns that lack of available open Wi-Fi hotspots and reliability of service hinder the ability to rely on those networks.
Via [ComputerWorld]