Steve Jobs - page 36

I predict Steve Jobs will introduce a multitouch mousepad at WWDC tomorrow morning — and that finger input will be one of the “top secret” features of Leopard.

The multitouch pad will look like a standard mousepad, but it’ll be finger sensitive, like the touchpads on most notebooks. But instead of one finger, it’ll be sensitive to multi-finger gestures and commands, like the iPhone.

The pad will completely replace the mouse, allowing users to control the Mac with their fingers — moving the cursor, selecting files and double clicking with a quick double tap of the index finger.

The pad will also respond to a whole new vocabulary of gestures, like Mouse Gestures in Firefox, which execute common commands (backwards, forwards, reload) with a sweep of the mouse. Using your fingers, you’ll open files by twisting to the left, as though turning an imaginary dial. Twist your fingers to the right to close the file.

The pad will be USB powered, and will have “soft buttons” for common commands like cut and paste, and delete.

Jobs will unveil multitouch at WWDC to give Mac programmers time to incorporate gesture commands into their software before Leopard’s release in October.

Of course, this is pure speculation. I’ve no evidence whatsoever this is going to happen. I’ve no idea if it’s even realistic. Can developers incorporate an entirely new UI into their software in a few months? Will people even want it? Don’t forget, the QWERTY keyboard is still around. People don’t like whacky new interfaces.

Still, Jobs made a big deal of the multitouch finger interface of the iPhone, proclaiming it the third great “revolutionary” interface after the mouse and the scroll wheel. It seems natural we should be using our fingers to interact with computers.

Others are doing it. Microsoft has it’s Surface table, and I saw a new HP TouchSmart PC at the weekend, which is controlled by a large touch screen. A woman was playing Solitaire on the screen with her fingers, and it worked really well. I was quite impressed.

Apple is already making moves towards gesture interfaces. The touchpads on MacBooks support two finger scrolling. And there’s the iPhone.

Part of the iPhone’s multitouch interface is based on the work of two University of Delaware professors, John Elias and Wayne Westerman. Elias and Westerman owned a company called FingerWorks that sold a multitouch Touchstream keyboard and an iGesture Numeric Keypad, which worked like the multitouch mousepad described above.

Apple bought FingerWorks in early 2005, along with the professors’ patents, which look like an entire platform for finger-based interfaces.
For one thing, using your finger seems to help with RSI, according to FingerWorks’ testimonials:

“I’ve been a LP user for about 8 months. It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me in the world of computers. I’m a mechanical engineer and I use it for 2D and 3D CAD drafting, as well as ‘normal’ office type use. Also, I’m a Linux and Windows user, and I love how it works easily in both environments.

I have RSI in both my left and right forearms and wrists. Since using the Touchstream, I’ve reduced pain considerably, and I am able to do work with much less pain.”

Today’s D: All Things Digital conference has been quite interesting, from the introduction of Palm’s ludicrous Foleo device to Microsoft’s over-the-top (literally) Surface computing initiative and Apple’s more modest but interesting announcements of YouTube for AppleTV, iTunes Plus and the Big AppleTV upgrade.
Nothing, however, compares to the currently rolling Steve Jobs and Bill Gates chat on stage together. They’re mostly looking back with humor on their linked history. It’s hilarious stuff, from Engadget’s liveblog of it:

Steve: Gil (Amelio) had a saying, “Apple is like a ship with holes in the bottom leaking water. My job is to get that ship pointed in the right direction.”

No, no. I’m not crying. It’s just been raining…on my face!

Technorati Tags: bill gates, Steve Jobs

At the D Conference today, Steve Jobs admitted he likes the Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.

Walt Mossberg asked: Do you read the Fake Steve Jobs blog?

Jobs: I have read a few of the FSJ things recently, but I thought it was pretty funny!

Steve Jobs is a reverse switcher! He’s switched back to New Balance sneakers after a couple of token months wearing Nike. Could his Nike + iPod deal be in trouble?

Via Engadget.

Image by Mina Ramzy
His Steveness was in prime form during last week’s Apple Shareholders meeting, and AppleInsider’s got the goods. The iCEO dissed Microsoft, acknowledged interest in 3rd-party iPhone apps and mocked the people of the developing world. He’s so predictable that way:

“I wish developing great products was as easy as writing a check,” he said. “If that were the case, then Microsoft would have great products.”

…

When asked about the iPhone’s closed development platform and whether the company recognized the need of large institutions to build their own applications for the handset, Jobs replied that Apple was “wrestling” to balance the requirements for security and stability with the desire for custom application development.

…

During the shareholders meeting, Jobs also entertained the suggestion that Apple could mimic Microsoft’s strategy of offering developing nations Windows Starter Edition — a low cost version of Windows XP as an alternative to the much more expensive Windows Vista. “Do you think we should offer Mac OS 9?” Jobs quipped in response.

“I think Apple could sell the developing world Tiger while selling Leopard here,” the attendee replied. Jobs paused for a moment and said that could be an option.

Nice one, Steve! You just looked like a big ol’ jerk. We’re keenly aware that you’re not interested in being perceived as a major philanthropist, but you could at least pretend some times… There’s much more at the AI story.
Apple’s Jobs addresses critics, new product directions [AppleInsider]

Technorati Tags: iphone, OS 9, Steve Jobs

Technorati Tags: iphone, OS 9, Steve Jobs

Weight Recycled as % of Past Sales. Credit: Apple

In a case of life imitating art, the Real Steve Jobs is following the Fake Steve Jobs’ green lead.

On Wed. April 11, Fake Steve wrote:

By the end of this year I want Apple to be known as the greenest company in the world — not just in tech but in everything. If we’ve got to make hydrogen-powered computers and iPods that run on solar energy, so be it. Let’s get this done.

On Tue. May 2, Real Steve wrote:

Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas.

Apple loves to make big announcements on Tuesday mornings. Today, they reminded us that not all big announcements are created equal. Apple PR informed the world that — brace for it — none other than Apple CEO Steve Jobs will kick off the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, June 11.

Don’t all of you wet your pants with excitement at once.

Apple did confirm that Jobs would show off a feature-complete version of Mac OS X Leopard, including whatever mystery functions got left out of the 2006 showcase, and the company will will distribute a beta to all in attendance. And that’s something to get worked up over.

Steve Jobs to Kick Off WWDC 2007

Technorati Tags: leopard, wwdc, Steve Jobs

I don’t know where we in the Mac game would be without Fake Steve Jobs, the anonymous blogger who pretends to be Apple’s CEO so we don’t have to. Today, he tackles the continued resistance to the iCEO’s attempts to demolish his historic mansion, the Jackling house. And if you think Fake Steve is cowed by the California Supreme Court’s rejection of his request, you don’t know Steve:

These nuts got a court to say that I can’t destroy my own house and instead have to find a way to move the house from the location. But they can’t come up with any money to move the house. Or a place to put it. Or something.

Gold.

Technorati Tags: fake steve

Just in case you’re wondering if Steve Jobs has changed his mind about offering music on the iTunes Store in any form other than purchased downloads, here’s a reality check, courtesy of Reuters:
Not gonna happen.

“Never say never, but customers don’t seem to be interested
in it,” Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported
blow-out quarterly results. “The subscription model has failed
so far.”

Are you sure Steve? I mean, mayb…

“People want to own their music,” he said.

Cool. We hear you. I do think Steve is basically right, of course, as I’ll explain after the jump. 

Technorati Tags: itunes, Steve Jobs, steve jobs

In the Times, reporters John Markoff and Matt Richtel cast about for the motives behind Fred Andeson’s statement on Tuesday that he warned Steve Jobs about the legal and accounting ramifications of the controversial 2001 “executive team” options grants.

Markoff and Richtel say the statement against Jobs was “an extraordinarily sharp elbow” and a “shot heard round Silicon Valley.” Speaking to various analysts and observers, they speculate that Anderson may be contributing to the “legal cloud remaining over Jobs.”

There’s a couple of interesting tidbits. It reveals that Anderson, when serving on Apple’s board, volunteered to conduct an internal investigation into how the company handled options when the SEC first started investigating widespread backdating practices. He “did so at the time not because Apple was suspected of having a problem but because many major companies were trying to understand their practices in case they did face scrutiny or accusations,” the Times says.

Irish rock star Bono, a co-founder with Anderson of Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm, said: “He is a man to whom you would give the keys to your life and know it would be calmer, tidier and better organized every day he was in it.”

Another Elevation colleague, said Anderson had been” deeply hurt by insinuations from Apple that he was responsible for the option accounting problems.”

He said the comments by Mr. Anderson’s lawyer were an attempt to clear Mr. Anderson’s name and “set the record straight in a way that has not been possible because of the pending legal action.”

From Jack000’s photostream: My submission to the 7th ipod give-away at mike inudstries: movie poster with Steve Jobs in it. More here.

Apple’s board issued a statement of total support of Steve Jobs this afternoon. It follows ex-CFO Fred Anderson’s ass-covering letter yesterday claiming he was a patsy in the options backdating scandal. Apple’s board said:

We are not going to enter into a public debate with Fred Anderson or his lawyer. Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple’s independent investigation and with the government’s investigation of stock option grants at Apple. The SEC investigated the matter thoroughly and its complaint speaks for itself, in terms of what it says, what it does not say, who it charges, and who it does not charge. We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple’s independent investigation, and in Steve’s integrity and his ability to lead Apple.

No Charges for Apple Over Options – New York Times

Federal securities regulators said yesterday that they would bring no civil charges against Apple over the backdating of executive stock options. But they stopped short of removing the cloud that for nearly a year has hung over the company’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs.

… “Steve Jobs dodged a bullet,” said Mark C. Zauderer, a trial lawyer in New York specializing in white-collar cases. “This is another circumstance where the government is going after an easier target. It will generally shy away from situations where the evidence is ambiguous or subject to different interpretations.”

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we do but first allegedly manipulate stock option grant dates to make more money for ourselves. Or something. Former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and general counsel Nancy Heinen had civil charges brought against them by securities regulators relating to the back-dating of stock options to Apple leaders, including Steve Jobs, almost six years ago.

As you might expect, the cone of silence has officially been broken. Anderson, who settled with the Securities Exchange Commission today, went straight after his former boss Steve Jobs, as well as Heinen, the board of directors, and probably everyone reading this post, according to the San Jose Mercury News:

As for the responsibility for the backdating of an earlier grant in 2001 that was made to Anderson, Heinen and other members of Apple’s executive team, Roth pointed fingers at Jobs, Heinen and Apple’s board. Jobs and Heinen picked the date for that grant – and the board verified it – after Anderson warned Jobs that moving the grant date might result in an accounting change, Roth said.

Roth’s statement marks the first time that anyone has suggested that Jobs had reason to know the accounting implications related to backdating. Although Apple has acknowledged that Jobs knew that backdating was going on at Apple and that he picked some favorable dates, the company said he didn’t commit fraud, because he didn’t know that there were any legal or accounting implications with the practice.

Anderson “was told by Mr. Jobs that the board had given its prior approval (for the grant) and the Board would verify it. Fred relied on these statements by Mr. Jobs and from them concluded the grant was being properly handled,” Roth said in a statement.

Heinen, of course, blames the Board. This is so sordid. If only Fake Steve Jobs could tell us what’s really going on… Oh, here he is!

He didn’t settle. He flipped. They played him and Nancy Heinen off each other. Made them both an offer. Nancy, being a lawyer, figured she’d be cute and reject the first offer and bump them to something better. Instead, Fred rolled. And now Nancy is going to trial. I just mailed her a pamphlet that shows you how to make a shiv out of a bar of soap.

All this stuff about how the Jobsmeister is off the hook? Fuggedaboutit. Fred is the Big Pussy Bonpensiero of the Apple crime family. He’s betrayed us. Note to Fred: I’d stay away from boats if I were you.

Zing!

Technorati Tags: back-dating, fake steve, fred anderson, steve jobs, Steve Jobs

Time is allowing readers to vote on the year’s list of the top 100 most influential people — and Steve Jobs is rising fast. I confidently predict that Jobs will shortly be #1. (At 6.54am pacific time, Jobs is #5 and comedian Stephen Colbert is #1).

Sometimes, users of high-end, professional software despair when Apple buys the company that makes it. Stu Maschwitz, one of the founders of <a href=”https://www.theorphanage.com/”>The Orphanage</a>, a San Francisco FX studio responsible for Sin City, The Host, and a bunch of others, explains:

When you buy expensive software from small companies, you effectively become best friends with the development team. You know them by first names and you send them holiday cards. You have a folder full of emails from and to them. Apple, however, mistakenly applies the same strategy of black-box secrecy that works so well for iPods and iPhones to its Pro Apps division as well, cutting off developers from users and vise versa. I have struggled with this enough that my company, The Orphanage, no longer has any special relationship with Apple. It’s just too much of a one-way street. I can’t buy my bread-and-butter tools from someone who can’t conduct an open conversation with me (under NDA of course) about the future of the product.

Maschwitz’s post is about the new Color tool in Final Cut Pro, and though he has misgivings about what used to be a separate app from a small, friendly company going behind the Apple firewall, all in all he’s delighted with the outcome.

Silicon Valley’s hometown paper, the San Jose Mercury News, says Steve Jobs is unlikely to face criminal or civil charges in Apple’s options backdating scandal.

A close review of the events that led to the controversial grant reveals that the backdating emerged from a good-faith, although clumsy, attempt by Apple’s board of directors to reward its star chief executive for resurrecting a moribund company.

The Merc’s story details a series of stock grants given to Jobs by Apple’s board between 1999 and 2003. The grants were often generous (and one was a record breaker) but because of fluctuations in Apple’s stock price, Jobs’ grants were often underwater. Several times, Jobs gave the underwater grants back, and the board gave him new ones.

However, according to the Merc, Jobs sometimes spent weeks negotiating the price of these new options, which affected their value. Jobs held out for the lowest price, and sometimes the board backdated the options to keep their price low.

The upshot is that neither Jobs nor the board were very good at picking the right number of options at the right price. If Jobs had simply kept all his grants, instead of constantly swapping them for new ones, they would be worth considerably more:

… Last year, Jobs handed back to Apple 4.6 million of his restricted shares – worth $295 million – to pay the taxes on them. His remaining restricted shares are now worth about $494 million.

But given the rise in Apple’s stock over the past four years, even that turned out to be a bad deal for the iconic CEO. Had he held on to all of his options, they would be worth about $4 billion right now, even if the 2001 grant had been given the December date.

Apple’s executives raked it in last year, and Steve Jobs took his customary $1 in salary.
According to an SEC filing reported by Marketwatch:
“¢ Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer realized $56 million in value from the exercise of options during 2006. Oppenheimer also received a $615,000 salary, a $450,000 bonus and restricted stock valued at $14 million.
“¢ Chief Operating Officer Timothy D. Cook received restricted stock valued at $22 million, a salary of $697,000 and a $525,000 bonus for 2006.
“¢ Jobs has received the majority of his compensation through an equity grant and isn’t eligible for a bonus, according to Monday’s filing. He doesn’t receive any other compensation, the company said.

Apple faithful, I sense a disturbance in the force. I feel … fear. Worry. Anger. Faithful, put aside these negative feelings. The OS is fine. The iPhone is fine. Everything is fine. We are taking a little extra time, that’s all. I’m sure you’re receiving taunts from your Windows-loving friends talking about “OS X Leper.” I’ve been taunted too. Bill Gates just called and offered to send over a team to help us port Vista features into Leopard.

Faithful, do not lose heart. I’ve chosen the photo above to help you re-hypnotize yourselves. Look directly into my eyes, not around the eyes, but into the eyes. Now think of products. Glossy white products that cost too much money and make you feel superior to other people. Feel better? Good. Me too.

Link.

So Apple’s had one HELL of a first quarter, haven’t they? With tax day nearly upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to look back at how well Apple is answering the issues that I thought were important late in December of last year, especially now that the AppleTV is out in the market and the iPhone has set the world on fire with its hype flames. Or something. So click through — we’ll laugh, we’ll cry, and we’ll learn something about forecasting. Here, again, are the 10 Questions Apple Must Answer in 2007 — and how well they’re responding.

Technorati Tags: apple, speculation, Steve Jobs

It’s good to be the king, isn’t it Steve? Especially when standing next to Damon Albarn, lead singer of The Good, The Bad and the Queen. Damn. Steve is relishing this DRM-free breakthrough with EMI:

“We are going to give iTunes customers a choice–the current versions of our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think our customers are going to love this, and we expect to offer more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of this year.”

Hear that, other record companies? They’re Steve’s footsteps — you’re all prey. His smug grin is coming for you.

Pic by Jeffrey Sharp 

Fake Steve Jobs is a hero. While the real Steve is locked away running Apple and guiding breakthroughs like the iPhone, Fake Steve, who invented the friggin’ iPod, is giving revealing interviews to media organizations.

Finally, in a new interview with Engadget, Fake Steve really opens up:

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.

That’s why they pay this man the big bucks.

The Wall Street Journal says Jobs is joining EMI to announce the company is completely abondoning DRM copy protection, just as Steve Jobs urged in an open letter in February.

Others concur, including:
Guardian’s Online Blog

Arstechnica

Bloomberg

Image courtesy of Seeking Alpha

Steve Jobs will go onstage at a special EMI press conference in London on Monday, sparking speculation that iTunes will finally sell Beatles songs.

Reports the BBC:

Beatles and iTunes talk growing Steve Jobs launches the iPhone Steve jobs teased fans with a Beatles song at the iPhone launch EMI is to hold a media event on Monday with Apple boss Steve Jobs as special guest, prompting speculation that Beatles songs will finally go online.

…

In an invite to media sent out on Sunday, EMI said it was announcing an “exciting new digital offering”.

There will also be a “special live performance” at the London event by an unnamed artist or band.

I guess Steve Jobs is chuckling to himself having fooled everyone today.

At Macworld in January, Jobs suggested Apple might do something special on April 1 – its 30th birthday.

Knowing that announcements of announcements stoke the fires of speculation, Jobs got everyone expecting something special from Apple — but the April Fool’s joke is to do nothing at all.

I know I’ve just spent the last three hours surfing the web for a special surpise announcement, like a new $666 Apple Uno (a kit-built computer), or a lightning “everything must got for one dollar” sale at the local Apple store.

“Ha, ha– fooled you!” Jobs is saying to himself.

Bastard.