Steve Jobs Was Ready For ‘Thermonuclear War’ With Google

Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Steve Jobs (titled simply Steve Jobs) comes out next week, but the Associated Press was able to buy a copy early and proceeds to drop some bombs, just like Jobs himself.

According to AP descriptions of the book, Jobs was apparently so angry with Google over its Android operating system that no financial settlement would do. He just wanted it gone.

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $US40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

Jobs used an expletive to describe Android and Google Docs, Google’s Internet-based word processing program. In a subsequent meeting with Schmidt at a Palo Alto, Calif., cafe, Jobs told Schmidt that he wasn’t interested in settling the lawsuit, the book says.

“I don’t want your money. If you offer me $US5 billion, I won’t want it. I’ve got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that’s all I want.”

The AP also details Jobs initial refusal to seek surgical treatment for his cancer. [AP]


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