| Home > Of things Mac > Steve Jobs is not your puppet - look elsewhere to explain your Keynote disappointments |
| Steve Jobs is not your puppet - look elsewhere to explain your Keynote disappointments | | Date Created: 08 Aug, 2006, 10:12 PM |
 Like a movie critic, there is always more than one way to view a movie and share with others your thoughts and reactions.
Some ooze motion picture theory, displaying their Masters in Film Appreciation for all to see, comparing the movie under review to the Director's previous efforts, or the efforts of some considered classic.
Some approach it from a psychological perspective, seeing symbols and deeper meaning from a Lacanian or Freudian perspective. This group usually have cut their teeth on the work of Hitchcock and Kubrick.
And then there are those who care not about the finer points of cinematography, lighting, editing, music, and simply retell the story, what happens to the characters, and by the time they've finished you no longer need to see the film.
Each time Steve Jobs presents a Keynote, the rumour mill as well as mainstream technology media spout forth on what he will say. If he doesn't reveal a "One more thing..." at the end, they're disappointed, and if there are too few "surprises" it's the same reaction - disappointment and pseudo-disillusionment.
No doubt a day after his WWDC opening Keynote, we'll have read the reviews, and most will reflect disappointment. "Where was the Reality Distortion Field in action? Steve was pallid and unwell; there was nothing we hadn't heard about; the rumour sites were spot on" (Really? I saw no mention of Spaces or Time Machine).
I get the feeling that these commentators believe they are Puppetmasters, able to pull Jobs' strings by their pre-Keynote prognostications. Nothing is further from the truth, as I see it.
Not just do I think Jobs doesn't care about the rumour sites (although he has made it clear he's aware of them in his Keynotes - remember the phony podcast he laid down earlier in the year to demo Garageband 3.0 - and Apple Legal know of them too), but I don't think he cares much about what Wall Street makes of his Keynotes - he doesn't pander to them either. My guess is that any "failure" to see Apple's share price increase on the back of his Keynote is neither here nor there for Jobs.
He has a vision he will stick to no matter, and we are seeing his vision of a Digital Lifestyle come together: iPods and iTunes, iPhoto and digital video and photography, all dating back to 1997 when he returned to Apple.
His vision is not about becoming the world's richest man, nor giving away the most money. It's about how his vision can bring joy and creative control to as many people who can afford his products as he can. That will be his legacy. Go to 0.29.00 into the streaming Keynote where he wonders where all the billions of Microsoft R&D go when they just "seem to copy Google and Apple - I guess it's a good example of how money isn't everything."
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".... it's a good example of how money isn't everything..."
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If some commentators are disappointed, they're looking in the wrong places (hints of the U2 iPod release and Indiana Jones) - they're looking at the story line of the Keynote, rather than the subthemes.
First, think about the many overt digs at Vista, from the huge banners decorating the Moscone centre, to the opening Mac vs PC parody advertisment. Naysayers: Let me be the first you let know of when Microsoft dares openly compare Vista to Leopard.
Using the Senior V-P of Software Engineering, the rather scary-looking Bertrand Serlet - was he an an excuse for Jobs' tiredness, or an opportunity for the Developer audience to see the guy and his team who will lead them through the next few days of workshops? Same goes for the other presenters, with Phil Schiller getting a chance to show his fun side again. Hardy to Job's Laurel, as Balmer is to Gates, no? The V-P had fun at Vista's expense. This was in your face, bring it on, Redmond stuff - we're ready for you. |
| That only 10 of Leopard's features were shown perturbs some. When Tiger got its release, with "over 200 new features", commentators went searching for all 200 (below). |
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Now, they are bothered that so few of Leopard's features were seen: "It's only evolutionary..." Huh? It's OS X folks, not OS XI. It's a version update, with many apps going from 1.0 to 2.0, 2.0 to 3.0 and some new features, like Spaces, and Time Machine.
Stay around and watch how many writers, having spent some time digesting and ejecting your nonsense, speak of wanting just one of the 10 features shown for the expected price of US129.
Did you not see the Top Secret Keynote slide, and ask yourself why Jobs would make such a big deal of this? He started the Leopard Preview with this slide (below).
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He made it very clear that he understood a dynamic was occurring in the technology media, where Vista and OS X feature sets are contantly compared. Jobs knows there's been some leap-frogging, but his also saying that after 20 years of GUI development and a fair share of legal challenges over patents, that Microsoft is making a poor fist of it when it comes to Vista.
So yes, many of the ten features he went on to show in Leopard have been seen in some kind of rudimentary form in Windows. System Restore is one. 64 bit architecture is another, reserved for higher end use, rather than prosumer use.
But you just have to know that when Apple does something already seen in Windows it usually acknowledges who got there first (remember the multi-user feature?) but then so improves the functionality and look and feel, as to render the Windows feature childish. Same goes for System Restore versus Time Machine.
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What other themes emerged if you looked closely enough?
Some were subtle, like Scott Fostall's mention of a "standard" Finder window, when demoing Time Machine. You mean, there might be a non-standard Finder window in Leopard, perhaps one with tabs or other advanced useability options?
Other themes emerge too. Look below, to see Phil Schiller in action. |
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Not once, but several times he called attention to the Mac's price advantage over its competitors, in an effort to finally get mainstream media to stop the old message that Macs are much more expensive than Windows machines.
And between the two of them, Jobs and Schiller reinforced the message that Apple delivers, Microsoft talks... and talks... and talks. If a product isn't available today, it will be in October, or some specific month.
Leopard was never promised by a certain day or month, by the way, but a seasonal range. It is neither late, nor early, although it was with some pride that Jobs at al announced the successful completion of the Intel transition. No delays. Done.
Let's look at some specific updated applications.
Some others complained that the feature set in iChat 3.0 is weak, poo-pooing the rather adolescent playground effects achievable. This ignores the huge adolescent MySpace market who will adore the fun to be had. Even Jobs had a friendly poke at Schiller in their iChat demo: "A little weird, but really cool!" (below) |
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But beyond the kiddie tricks, there is a huge eLearning opportunity here, with the ability of iChat 3.0 to share photos, movies and Keynote presentations with several viewers.
I can see distance therapy and learning possibilities on the horizon, as long as others have Macs with iSight cameras.
The other previewed features such as the Dashboard enhancements, allowing greater user control and creativity, are interesting but not yet essential; more evidence of Apple thinking about who's using its products and allowing flexibility and creativity into the mix.
I predict Mail will attract huge criticism.
Especially for its HTML usage.
But one doesn't have to use HTML for sending email. Yet Mail has so much more going for it than just an email app.
For months now, I have been using Mail as my message taker when I received phone calls or take notes listening to podcasts or the radio.
I never use Stickynotes, and use Aquaminds' Notetaker when preparing projects and presentations.
But for quickly taking notes, Mail is great. It's always open, so I just hit New to make a new note. I can integrate it with iCal now using Mailtags, some features of which will appear in Leopard's Mail. I use Camino and Safari's ability to export whole webpages with live links into an open Mail window as an archiving device, quickly accessed via Spotlight later. And often or not, I'll email that info to another, so double handling is reduced.
I'll know more about Mail later, but it's something to keep a closer eye on as a Personal Knowledge Management tool, with a twist.
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At the end of the day, we didn't see 200+ features mentioned, as we had for Tiger. We were told that some features are hidden from current view, no doubt to make their appearance once news of Vista going Golden Master reaches down the coast from Redmond to Cupertino sometime in 2007.
While it's fun to play the waiting game with Microsoft, I'm hoping Apple doesn't time its Leopard release just to make fun of Vista, but at a time when the product is ready to ship, and to provide the consumer with optimal opportunity to shop and compare.
And to those who thought the Keynote was lame or below par, set your expectations a little closer to reality. It was a developers' Keynote, using on stage Apple senior staff expected to spend time on the floor with teams of Apple employees and attendees. What to you was lacklustre and evidence of illness, was for me evidence of a very clever mastery of marketing, showmanship, collaboration and Windows-baiting. And some very cool technologies to look forward to.
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