In 1994, Steve Jobs was not on top of the world. Which is why he was willing to let Rolling Stone probe him at great length in this classic, must-read interview. The insights — into Steve and the industry — are astounding.
This quote is actually more true today than it was in 1994 when Steve Jobs said it:
“The problem is, in hardware you can’t build a computer that’s twice as good as anyone else’s anymore. Too many people know how to do it. You’re lucky if you can do one that’s one and a third times better or one and a half times better. And then it’s only six months before everybody else catches up. But you can do it in software.”
Today, everybody uses the same guts, whether it’s in big computers or little ones. The same chips from Intel power Windows PCs and Macs, which didn’t used to be the case. iPhones and Palms Pres and Android phones and basically every other damn phone uses ARM-designed processors. What separates them all now? Software.
Steve takes a few stabby stabs at Microsoft too. Referring to the stagnancy of Macintosh in 1984, he sneers, “It’s amazing that it took Microsoft 10 years to copy something that was a sitting duck.” And says that the reason consumers often don’t see the benefits of a technology before businesses is because “unfortunately, people are not rebelling against Microsoft. They don’t know any better.”
Like I said, a must-read interview. [Rolling Stone via Marco Arment]
matt
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:46 AMunfortunately people aren’t rebelling against Apple, they don’t know any better. so what? we swap freedom and flexibility for ‘innovation’? no thanks, maybe for something more critical, but we’re talking about a GUI here….
software could be copied MUCH quicker than hardware if not for patents. and the only reason Hardware is ‘copied’ so fast is that the chip companies DON’T DISCRIMINATE like you APPLE, they will sell their stuff to anyone.
if there was a company that just designed interfaces and sold them to anyone, you’d be in the same boat. they only difference is what APPLE is good at.
if apple was a processor company instead that just leached software from where ever there would be the exact same quote except with software and hardware swapped…
the only difference is:
with processors, there is like one way to do something, and no BS patents, like there is with software, something apple takes FULL advantage of.
“It’s amazing that it took Microsoft 10 years to copy something that was a sitting duck.”
Ha! 1 year to copy it an 9 years to fight off your BS law suits!!
you want a GOOD insight, get both Apple and Microsoft in a room together, which they did once, that was good.