This week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs “proceeded to grab headlines around the world with details of a smart phone everyone had expected, but no one else had been able to imagine,” Simon Avery writes for The Globe and Mail. “Less than two days earlier, Bill Gates took the stage before a similar gathering of tech aficionados to do his traditional keynote that launches the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas… He gave a flat, tired performance, even as he showed off features of the Vista operating system, a product that by his own description will be the most used piece of software on the planet.”
“What do these contrasting tones, from the two largest icons of the personal computer industry, signal about the companies they created and lead? One is led by an extraordinary visionary who maintains a vice-like grip on operations. The other is led by a revered technophile who is gradually slipping out the back door,” Avery writes.
“‘Microsoft has a certain cult of personality. Gates is thought of as a special guru, and people sit at his feet trying to understand what he’s thinking,’ says Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc., a research firm in Wayland, Mass. ‘That’s totally different from Steve Jobs. He’s an autocrat. He’s a sun king. He’s very capricious, autocratic, and creative and charismatic. He’s all kinds of good things, mixed with some pretty strange things. It’s a totally unique formula,'” Avery writes.
Avery writes, “The culture Mr. Gates created has defined Microsoft as a ‘fast-follower.’ The software giant moves to dominate a new market where others have already led the way. The examples abound, starting with Microsoft’s move into web browsing behind Netscape, web search and advertising after Yahoo, live software services behind Google, and digital music after Apple and the iPod.”
MacDailyNews Take: Unfortunately, Avery forgot one big thing in his list of examples (he does get to it later in his article). The examples of Microsoft being a “follower,” albeit not so fast in this case, started with Microsoft’s upside-down and backwards take on Apple’s Macintosh. It continues even today with Window’s Vista trying to look and act like Mac OS X.
Avery continues, “Apple, on the other hand, enjoys the reputation of innovator, creating revolutionary products that have shaped the industry, beginning with the Macintosh computer in 1984, the iPod portable music player in 2001 and now the iPhone. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been,’ Mr. Jobs said, quoting Wayne Gretzky.”
Full article here.
Watch Steve Jobs’ Macworld Expo Keynote here.
Watch Bill Gates’ CES Keynote here.
Beats throwing a chair to where the puck will be……
B. Gates acts like a civil servant with some grey new ideas. On the other site, S. Jobs presents a way of quick silver and bright life !
Jobs had a keynote appearance? When? The only appearances worth paying attention to this past week were the electrifying Bill Gates showing off the awesome Windows Vista, and the charismatic Michael Dell exhibiting some pretty cool technologies. Did you see that computer with the flames on it? That thing ROCKS—and it’s Vista ready!
The best part is these guys have all the advantages of PowerPoint at their disposal. Why would I watch any speech where the speaker didn’t use PowerPoint?
Cupertino, start your copiers.
Your potential. Our passion.
Zune Tang… you are a crack up…
What’s this with Gates saying that if they have him back year after next he’ll be talking about infectious diseases? Might I plug in here my own, obnoxious “EEEUUWWW!”
you know I’m convinced Zune Tang has mental issues…
Zune Tang’s real identity is:
A) Steve Martin
B) Robin Williams
C) Bill Maher
D) Carlos Mencia
E) _______________
Steve is so good at his keynotes, and one thing that he does is repeat important points three times. This helps to drive the point home. However, one thng I have never heard him repeat is:
DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS.
This is another example of not only the cultural difference between MS and Apple, but the genetic one as well.
Prediction – Microsoft will be out of the consumer desktop OS business within 5 years. Vista will be the last major update. Dell will close up shop within that period after attempting to write a user-freindly Linux variant. Other hardware manufacturers will want to license OS X and Steve will tell them to go ahead and get stuffed.
You hear it here first.
-c
MW: ‘field’ (of vanishing players)
I love the different experiences of watching the keynotes.
Apple presents a polished video that is available in multiple stream sizes and presented on a well designed site (not to mention now being available as a hi-res podcast), while Gates’ keynote is a small poorly streamed video presented on what looks like a blog assembled by a marketing team.
Also, say what you will about Steve’s ego, but please note that the Macworld keynote is presented as just that… the Macworld keynote. On the other hand you have “Bill Gates Keynotes”.
SEE BILL GATES KEYNOTE AT CES!
Uh, I will pass thanks.
ZT can’t be Bill Maher, as ZT is occasionally funny
It should be obvious to everyone that Zune Tang is the new name of Baghdad Bob
Yeah, I admit it. Zune Tang has been really funny lately.
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Why do people often skip Apple II from the list of Apple’s revolutionary products? It helped popularize personal computers.
However, one thng I have never heard him repeat is:
DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS.
He does. At the WWDC.
At Macworld he thanked the third party developers for creating universal binaries of their apps.
Dang if Gates isn’t a bore!
Bill Gates gave a keynote?
Funny, only Jobs and iPhone were in the news.
Zuney:
Great to see you back in fine form!
Whatever Kool-Aid you’re drinking, it must be good stuff!
“However, one thng I have never heard him repeat is:
DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS.
He does. At the WWDC.”
The difference is he doesn’t sweat like a monkey in august while he does it.
Bill who? wha’?
Wasn’t the first thing Microsoft was a “follower” on MS-DOS?
There are many examples of where Apple is the leader (wireless, usb and firewire in all computers) but also many examples of Apple following (though in a smart way). iPod wasn’t the 1st mp3 player; but it raised the standard. The same with the scroll ball in the mighty mouse, AppleTV, iPhone. They weren’t the 1st but they improved upon exisitng ideas or created new ones.
The best part is these guys have all the advantages of PowerPoint at their disposal. Why would I watch any speech where the speaker didn’t use PowerPoint?
Typical ZT bait, but he has a good point.
PowerPoint has advantages all right. It helps mediocre managers keep their jobs, and lets them hide empty content behind bullet lists and stupid special effects. Why deliver facts when you can show art?
One aspect that sets Apple apart is they’re about the only company that doesn’t run on PowerPoint. That alone should be a huge asset.
Look at it this way: Apple headlines the iPhone while CES headlines bigger TV’s. Actions should speak for themselves.
I resent that Bill Gates looks like me.