Steve Jobs Response To Insult | Exceptionally High Response

Asked Question: Mr. Jobs, you're a brilliant and powerful man.

Steve Jobs: Here it comes.

Asked Question:

On multiple levels, this is both sad and obvious. You've stated that you have no idea what you're talking about. I'd like you to explain in simple words how Java, in all of its iterations, addresses the concepts represented in open doc, and then tell us what you've been up to for the past seven years.

Steve Jobs:

You can please some individuals on occasion, but one of the most difficult aspects of trying to effect change is that people like this gentleman are correct in some areas.

I'm sure there are certain things that open doc does that no one else does, possibly much more than I'm not aware of. I'm sure you could create several demos, or even a tiny commercial software, to demonstrate those concepts.

The most difficult part is figuring out how that fits into a wider vision that will allow you to sell eight or ten billion dollars worth of products every year.

Yet another thing I've always learned is to start with both the consumer experience and skills head back to technology.

You can't begin with the technology and then try to figure out where you'll market it. This is a mistake I've made more than everyone else in this room.

I have the scar tissue to show it, and I am aware that this is the case, as we have attempted to develop a plan and vision for Apple. It all started with figuring out what fantastic benefits we could provide to our customers.

Where can we take the customer instead of sitting down with the engineers and figuring out what amazing technology we have and then figuring out how to market it? I believe that is the right path to take.

I recall building the world's first little laser printers with the laser writer, and there was some incredible technology in that box.

Here at Apple, we have the first Canon laser printing inexpensive laser printing engine in the United States. We have a fantastic printer controller that we created.

We have Adobe PostScript software in there, as well as Apple talk. It's just awesome technology in a box. I recall taking up the first printout that came out of it and simply looking at it.

We can sell this because you don't need to know what's inside the package. All we have to do now is hold our breath till something happens. Do you want this, and can you remember what it was like before laser printers in 1984?

Wow, that's where Apple needs to get back to, and I'm sorry that open Docs was a casualty along the line, as I easily admit.

There are a lot of things in life about which I have no idea.

So I apologise for that as well, but there are a lot of people at Apple that are working extremely hard right now.

You're aware of avi. Fred Marino John Marino I mean, the entire team is up till the wee hours of the morning trying to get hundreds of people underneath them to execute on some of these things.

And they're doing their best, and I believe that's exactly what we need to do, though some mistakes will be made along the road.

That's a positive thing since it means some decisions will be made along the way.

We'll track down the errors.

We'll fix them, and I believe what we need to do now is support that team as they work their tails off during this critical moment.

They're all getting calls offering them three times as much money to go do this across the valleys, but none of them are going, and I believe we ought to stand by them and see them through this.

Write some damn good applications to help Apple out in the market. These are my own personal errors.

Some individuals will be irritated, while others will have no idea what they're talking about.

I believe things are considerably better now than they were not long ago, and I believe we will get there.

I am grateful for your time.