What is interesting is that even though his approach in these videos is correct, Jobs would have lost if Apple didn't have the large pool of cash to do something with Next's technology when Jobs came back to Apple.
Just goes to show that you can be smart and know exactly how to achieve a goal, but luck and timing are just as important.
Re:Steve Jobs Explains NeXT's Strategy (1991) [vid]
by jwilliams on Monday October 20, 2008 @05:38AM
(#337723)
> Just goes to show that you can be smart and know exactly how to achieve a goal, but luck and timing are just as important.
Yeah, it's fascinating to watch this and think that as this video was being made, the Internet (well, WWW) was just about to change everything (directly or indirectly anyway).
Re:Steve Jobs Explains NeXT's Strategy (1991) [vid]
by netcan on Monday October 20, 2008 @10:12PM
(#338558)
I think that his strategy was sound at the time. The market he was talking about did grow. But he missed a critical point.
He was thinking of it as a split in the workstation marketplace. Sun had a 50% market share. He thought he could beat Sun. In effect, this marketplace became dominated by PC players & PC users (EG Mac Pro). A subset of the PC market really. Publishers, animators, designers, architects etc.
Re:Steve Jobs Explains NeXT's Strategy (1991) [vid]
by netcan on Monday October 20, 2008 @06:55AM
(#337749)
He is a smart guy. That's a very rational non BS marketing brief for a CEO. (at least my stereotype of one. I don't know many). This a gist from the 2nd tape:
They are interested in consumers being pushed form the PC to the workstation market. These are the reasons:
1* - Custom Apps - * The key is having the best development environment. (he thinks they do0
2* - productivity Apps - * The key is productivity apps using the networking capabilities so they can tie people together'*
3* - Interpersonal Computing - * This he says, is the long term strategy.
"The following collage is from an article by Steven Levy that appeared in the February 1994 issue of Popular Science, commemerating the Macintosh's tenth birthday. It's based on pictures taken by Norman Seiff for Rolling Stone Magazine in January 1984."
This is vid 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9dmcRbuTMY and this is vid 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn3Ex-5dPAo&feature=relat...
What is interesting is that even though his approach in these videos is correct, Jobs would have lost if Apple didn't have the large pool of cash to do something with Next's technology when Jobs came back to Apple.
Just goes to show that you can be smart and know exactly how to achieve a goal, but luck and timing are just as important.
Yeah, it's fascinating to watch this and think that as this video was being made, the Internet (well, WWW) was just about to change everything (directly or indirectly anyway).
He was thinking of it as a split in the workstation marketplace. Sun had a 50% market share. He thought he could beat Sun. In effect, this marketplace became dominated by PC players & PC users (EG Mac Pro). A subset of the PC market really. Publishers, animators, designers, architects etc.
He did pick them up in the end with Apple.
They are interested in consumers being pushed form the PC to the workstation market. These are the reasons:
1* - Custom Apps - * The key is having the best development environment. (he thinks they do0
2* - productivity Apps - * The key is productivity apps using the networking capabilities so they can tie people together'*
3* - Interpersonal Computing - * This he says, is the long term strategy.
http://folklore.org/projects/Macintosh/gallery/popsci.jpg
"The following collage is from an article by Steven Levy that appeared in the February 1994 issue of Popular Science, commemerating the Macintosh's tenth birthday. It's based on pictures taken by Norman Seiff for Rolling Stone Magazine in January 1984."
Macs have completely revolutionized every piece of consumer technology, and have set new industry standards in everything that they do.
I really enjoyed watching him pitch this startup, I have always wondered how Steve Jobs was as an early-stage entrepreneur.
Good find.