John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

Is that the faint outline of an iPhone I see in Steve Jobs’ pocket? We’ll see.

  • 12:20 p.m.: The growth Apple has seen since the Intel transition, Jobs says, has been three times typical market growth worldwide. In the U.S., it’s nearly five times.
  • Walt to Jobs: When you changed your name to Apple Inc., people wondered if Apple was exiting the personal computer business. Is it? Jobs says no and stresses Apple’s commitment to the PC business, touts Apple’s forthcoming Leopard operating system.
  • 12:25 p.m.: Jobs says Apple is on track to ship iPhone in late June as planned.

    Walt: Like the last day of June?

    Jobs: (Laughs) Yeah, probably.

  • Why did Cingular agree to the iPhone deal? Jobs explains that there were two reasons: Music on phones hasn’t been very successful so far. With the iPod, users can do that. Second: Companies have spent a lot of money building these 3G networks, but they don’t have the consumer devices to really use them. Jobs says today’s cellphones deliver a “baby Internet” experience. Presumably, iPhone will deliver the “big-boy Internet” experience.

  • Walt: Any undisclosed iPhone features you’d like to share with us today?

    Jobs: (Smiles) No.

    (Ed. note: Damn!)

  • 12:35 p.m.: Walt asks if Jobs’s open letter to the recording industry regarding Digital Rights Management was a “getting-ahead-of-the-train” maneuver designed to take advantage of the opposition to DRM that had already been building. Jobs dodges, says people are already getting the bulk of their music unprotected from other sources.
  • Jobs: The iPhone is the best iPod we’ve ever made.
  • Walt asks why there isn’t a physical keyboard on the iPhone, when RIM and Palm have shown there’s a real demand for them? “Was there no one in Cupertino who thought that was a good idea?” Jobs’s answer: “No. … Once you learn to trust the keyboard, it’s a better keyboard. I’ll bet you dinner that you’ll love it.”
  • 12:40 p.m.: Why is Apple successful in the music-player business? Jobs: It’s because Japanese consumer electronics could produce elegant software. And that’s why Apple enjoys the success it does with the iPod. If you look at handsets, the situation is similar. Manufacturers have the hardware down, but they just can’t seem to get the software right. The iPhone is great software wrapped in wonderful hardware, and its software is five years ahead of anything else out there.
  • Walt: How many copies of iTunes are out there? Jobs: Lots. Several times more than the number of iPods. Walt notes that that makes it one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software out there–and it’s predominantly on Windows machines. “That makes Apple one of the biggest developers of Windows software around, Walt observes. Jobs: “That’s right. … It’s like offering glasses of ice water to people in hell.” Glad to see you’re doing your part to make tonight’s joint appearance with Bill Gates more comfortable, Steve.
  • Whoa. Jobs says iPhone runs “real OS X, real Safari, real desktop email.”

    Walt follows up: If that’s true, could other OS X applications run on the iPhone? Jobs says no. They’re not designed to.

  • 12:45 p.m.: Ah, an Apple TV announcement. Interesting, since Jobs has described the device as a “hobby.”
  • Five bucks and a black turtleneck says it’s Internet downloads.
  • Oh look, a Pixar trailer! Ratatouille. Jobs is streaming it live on stage via Apple TV.
  • Here it comes: “The other thing you can do is buy TV shows.” Jobs pulls up a clip from “The Office.” He says sending stuff from your computer to the Apple TV isn’t the main deal here. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could see YouTube on your TV?”
  • Apple will be offering a free software upgrade come June that will allow Apple TV users to view YouTube videos on their televisions. Jobs demos the feature with a clip from “America’s Got Talent.” Odd choice.
  • 12:55 p.m.: Walt: Did you ever imagine associating this sort of content with the Apple brand?
  • Ah, grand finale: Darwin award for best human sling shot.
  • 1 p.m.: Walt asks what sort of video resolution we are talking about here. Does Apple do anything to YouTube clips to optimize them for television? I guess not. Jobs says, “You get what you get.”
  • Jobs says Apple TV isn’t a set-top box, or a set-top box replacement. It’s “sort of a new DVD player for the Internet age.”
  • 1:05 p.m.: How many copies of iTunes are out there? Jobs: Lots. Several times more than the number of iPods. Walt notes that that makes it one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software out there–and it’s predominantly on Windows machines. “That makes Apple one of the biggest developers of Windows software around,” Walt observes. Jobs: “That’s right. … It’s like offering a glass of ice water to people in hell.”
  • Is video on portable devices a success? Jobs once said consumers didn’t want portable video. He says he was skeptical, but customers have proved him wrong. Video is a big selling point for iPods. “People have watched a lot of video on iPods,” he notes. “Video is here to stay on portable devices.”
  • Walt asks if iPhone will allow over-the-air video downloads. Jobs says no. It doesn’t make sense to buy media that way. Delivery over the airwaves is too costly
  • 1:10 p.m.: On to the Q&A …
  • Why is the iPhone a 2½G phone when 3G is available? Jobs doesn’t seem to think 3G is necessary. He touts an iPhone Wi-Fi detection feature that alerts users to available hot spots. He says Wi-Fi is proliferating and it’s “way faster than 3G.”
  • 1:15 p.m.: Is the iPhone’s platform closed? And if it is, will it be open to developers in the future? Jobs says it’s a security issue, but Apple is working to find a way to allow developers to build applications for it. Jobs says he doesn’t want the iPhone to be “one of those phones that crashes a few times a day.” He adds: “We would like to solve this problem and if you could just be a little more patient with us, we’ll do it.”
  • 1:20 p.m.: Jobs cops to reading the Fake Steve Jobs blog. “I don’t write it … maybe Walt does.” I know one thing for sure. I don’t.

More coverage of D5 at The Wall Street Journal.

Steve Jobs Session Photos

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