Now that I’ve recovered from my Google shock, I can return to what I really came to write about.
I ran across this very interesting video series on the All Things Digital website. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates on stage at the same time sharing their stories. I know this footage is almost a year old, but I only stumbled on it just now. But if you haven’t seen them yet I would strongly recommend watching them.
Although I remember those lovely pre-Windows computer days, I was too young to participate in the birth of the computer industry. So I missed out on all of the history between Apple and Microsoft. I had preconceived notions from picking things up on the street, forum discussions, blogs and so on. But now that some truth has been shed, all of those notions have been tossed out the window. I now have a greater appreciation for the two companies, their leaders, and their teams.
Here’s just a quick list of what Bill and Steve talk about that I thought was really interesting:
- History of the relationship between Apple and Microsoft and Bill and Steve.
- Their thoughts on the future of computers in regards to the cloud and rich vs. thin clients.
- Scope of different handheld devices (e.g. what should a pocket phone do, what should it not)
- Thoughts on entertainment distribution in the future (IPTV etc.)
- Natural interfaces and a Start Trek like outlook (short of the transporters though)
- Standards being important sometimes and diversity at other times to foster innovation
- Being at the right place at the right time
- Having passion for what you do
- this is a very exciting time in the industry
I thought I would share that little nugget of history that I stumbled on. Enjoy!