What is Steve Jobs good at? I like to think of him as Tyler Durden
incarnate – like the voice of the computer industry’s inner psyche -
but really, what is Steve Jobs good at? Let that question simmer for a
minute while we discuss the possibilities of the iPad in terms of
market, reach and audience.
Who will buy the iPad? Geeks, even the hardcore Apple followers, have
lamented the iPad’s lack of openness; plus it’s lack of support for
Flash, and support for background applications. Geeks – those of us
who twitter, blog, update our facebook once an hour – are already
writing it off. Geeks have never been Apple’s target. If you don’t
know that, you haven’t been paying attention. But why are we concerned
with what Steve Jobs is good at? Because it factors directly into
Steve Jobs’ vision for the iPad.
Back when I worked for dialup/DSL ISP Mindspring in 2000, we were
gobbled up by (read: “merged with”) Earthlink. I had rarely used a
Macintosh then. Sure, I had played Oregon Trail on an Apple ][e in the
library at Joy Bright Hancock Elementary (damn my dysentery) in the
early 1980's, but Steve Job's efforts to saturate the market still had
not come to fruition. He had targed educational institutions, but it
did not have the intended halo effect he achieved with the iPod much
later. In 1985, even Apple didn't realize what they had in Steve Jobs
as he was fired.
I worked phone support at Mindspring and when the time came, they put
me through a week long Mac Boot camp. It was a lot of fun. The Mac bug
had bitten a couple of my coworkers, and some gushed about the user
experience while others enjoyed just talking about them with others in
the community. I wasn't sure what to make of the Mac users yet. I
figured they were just geeking out, like they did over other geek
norms, such as Everquest.
Then Mindspring/Earthlink threw me into the fire supporting Apple users. I was afraid; very afraid. I'd provided basic Linux email & dialup support during my communications days in the US Army, and had gotten earfuls from lieutenants and captains wondering why they
couldn't dial in. I had imagined Apple OS support would be similar. But it wasn't. Not in the least.
OS X Beta was out before Windows XP. Microsoft flat out stole some UI design features, such as the mouse drag rectangle
During Steve Job’s hiatus as Apple CEO, something wonderful came out of the ashes – OS X Beta in September 2000 (maybe you’ve heard of it -
it’s the operating system that runs on Macs nowadays). It was based on the NeXT operating system which had been developed by the company NeXT between 1985 until Steve Job’s return to Apple. It is the reason Steve Jobs was welcomed back into the fold, as the Apple Operating System
was not competing very well with what was a horribly inept, but user friendly operating system created by Microsoft. It should have been
stomping Windows 95 into the ground, but was locked into hardware that nobody wanted, while Microsoft Windows ran on any IBM compatible at more affordable prices.
With Steve back in control, Apple began development work on using NeXT as the base for OS X. The last iteration of the legacy Apple operating
system was OS 9. Steve Jobs was starting to get people excited about using Macs with OS 9. It had floundered a bit with TCP/IP problems,
software problems, and general user headaches. Getting on the Internet required some pretty handy knowledge of networking. Some of this was
resolved in OS 9. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked well. On the hardware front, Steve Jobs had gotten rid of confusing product lines,
and put a good number of eggs into the basket that was the iMac G3 – the original, colorful “all-in-one” Macs that caught the attention of
the industry. Who else would think to hire designer such as Jonathan Ive? It hadn’t been done on the IBM PC front – they were all that horrible shade of beige.
After I had finished Mac Boot Camp, I was put into the customer phone support queue at the Internet ISP. I found that alot of Mac users were graphic designers or worked with multimedia. Why? The hardware worked well for their needs. Maybe some were a little artsy. Some thought their computers were cute. I also found a lot of little old grannies loved it. Having one mouse button to click was appreciated by some – per Steve Jobs thinking, a two button mouse a programmer’s kludge.
Then there were the Apple fan boys. But were these people hardcore geeks? Generally, no. Maybe it was just because geeks don’t generally
call for support – but I got a lot of geeks on the Windows side of things, so I think it was more because of Steve Job’s mantra – which
you can Google and Apple will be the first result – “it just works”. I would hear people editing video for movies over the phone. Beck was
actually a customer of ours, and a teammate of mine supported him directly via his assistant. He made his music on his iMac. There were
many musicians that did, and still do. You can see Macbooks prominently used by artists such as Girl Talk, and DJ’s such as DJ Johnny D from
95.5 when he spins records at the events I shoot photographs for. Photographers also use Macs. They’re not generally geeky, are they?
But what is it that Steve Jobs is good at? He didn’t design the Apple computer. Much of that can be attributed to Steve Wozniak. He didn’t
create the Apple operating system. He didn’t create Objective-c, the language used for the Next Operating System since the 80’s ( and this
programming language designed for NeXT OS is now in version 2.0, which is used to code Apple, iPhone/iPad applications). He didn’t
design the iMac or OS X. So why does he get all the credit?
Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway amongst powerful people such as Jeff Bezos & Steve Jobs
In 2002, patent holder Dean Kamen was meeting behind closed doors with a select group of people including investors, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and
Steve Jobs. The topic was the “greatest invention of all time” which was yet to be unveiled to the public, but these select few were
gathered to discuss. Dean Kamen had brought two devices in, assembled them, and let people ride his invention around the conference room. It
was code named “Ginger” but would eventually be revealed as the underwhelming Segway.
Steve Jobs gave his opinion early on in the discussion. To quote the book, “Code Name Ginger“:
“I see a big problem here,” said Jobs. “I was thinking about it all night. I couldn’t sleep after [Segway inventor] Dean [Kamen] came
over.” There were notes scribbled on the palm of his hand. He explained his experience with the iMac, how there were four models now
but he had launched with just one color to give his designers, salespeople, and the public an absolute focus. He had waited seven
months to introduce the other models. Bezos and Doerr nodded as he spoke.”
“What does everyone think about the design?” asked Doerr, switching subjects.
“What do you think?” said Jobs to [Segway CEO] Tim. It was a challenge, not a question.
“I think it’s coming along,” said Tim, “though we expect—” “I think it sucks!” said Jobs.
His vehemence made Tim pause. “Why?” he asked, a bit stiffly.
“It just does.”
“In what sense?” said Tim, getting his feet back under him. “Give me a clue.”
“Its shape is not innovative, it’s not elegant, it doesn’t feel anthropomorphic,” said Jobs, ticking off three of his design mantras.
Where is the Segway now? Nowhere, but in the garages of eco-friendly individuals, security guards, and tour guides.
The Segway did not change the world, as promised. It just gave us another reason to laugh at cops.
So, now you’re probably thinking the iPad does not meet Jobs’ own criteria. It may be elegant, anthropomorphic (whatever that is!) – but
it’s not innovative. Are you sure? Are you really sure? How would you know – because you have an iPhone?
People fail to realize the internet is moving towards Internet2 – the Internet traffic routing hardware will not be there for a long time, but 2010 is the year HD will get off the ground and invade the home unlike before with immersive media on the PC, and inexpensive internet-connected Blu-Ray players by Christmas. We are really living in the digital age more every day. Bleeps and bloops of yesterday are being sent to us in DAQ 5 audio quality with H.264 video encoding. Consumers are demanding more from their Internet experience, and want it more closely tied into their living room. While Internet 2 is still a long ways away, HTML 5 is not and it is a big part of the upcoming Internet experience our children will know.
Google's Chrome OS
Google has banked on a web operating system. That’s silly, you’re thinking. In today’s environment, yes it is. In tomorrow’s world, no
it is not. Google Chrome OS is banking on HTML5 with applications that do not run on the devices, but on a web server. The Apple iPad
supports HTML5, and controls the user experience, much like a Google ChromeOS device would; so in effect Apple has beat Google to the
punch. Why do we use Google and Microsoft products? Out of necessity. Apple products; because we want to.
I would venture to say Steve Jobs is going to drag us, kicking and screaming to the new Internet age, and while the iPad may seem like “a
large iPod touch” it will be the beginning of a new experience: one where we don’t neeed applications to fully run on our computer – they
will run on the Internet using HTML 5. An Internet/Internet2 experience where we don’t need propietary video players such as Flash
to watch Youtube, you will see videos in HTML 5. Those glaringly obvious missing Flash videos were deliberate; even the New York Times
realizes this and wrote a followup article to the iPad unveiling demo.
There will be companies realizing the possibilities of the iPad. Microsoft is considering Office for the iPad, IBM is considering
porting Lotus Notes. Hulu is considering ditching Flash, and the price of TV shows is dropping in iTunes to $1 an episode if Apple has their
way.
Youtube has an open HTML5 beta. A small survey of physicians reported 22% of the doctors plan on buying an iPad.
Sites now on the HTML 5 bandwagon: Vimeo, Youtube, Flickr & Brightcove
Vimeo now supports HTML 5, along with other major video sites
So what is Steve Jobs really good at? Providing a good user experience. And he integrates it with our lives, work, and play in a way that Bill Gates, Google, and others just cannot seem to – he makes it all come together so “it just works”. He’s already infiltrated our homes with the halo effect of the iPod, where he put a thousand songs in our pockets. The iPad already had a halo effect on Apples other products as reported by eXelate’s market trends report for February 2010 for three days after the iPad announcement. Write the halo effect off as hype if you will, but while the iPad may not be accepted by geeks, tech lovers, and Apple fanboys, it will most definitely user in a new era of technology in our everday living.
Steve Jobs didn’t just stumble here. His choices were deliberate. This is not your average E-reader like the Nook, or nice niche product like the Amazon Kindle. It’s not just an oversized iPod. The iPad is ushering in Internet 2.
Bet on it, whether you buy an iPad or not.