MacDailyNews Take: An aside: You know, Mark, the “other Bob Cringely,” we could handle “Mark Stephens” in place of the awfully redundant “Robert X. Cringely.” Really, we could. For, if nothing else, the sake of clarity. The same goes for InfoWorld and Daniel Tynan. Here’s an idea: How ’bout nobody uses “Robert X. Cringely” anymore? It’s well past time to let it go.
InfoWorld’s Cringely continues, “The point here, such as it is: Hollywood has officially been taken over by the geeks — and not just James Cameron and his army of blue-skinned cartoon cats. There have always been techies making movie magic. ET didn’t really fly that bicycle. I’m talking about the business side of geekdom: the decision makers. That’s what’s changed.”
“Jobs’ understated appearance at Hollywood’s biggest party was his way of announcing that the nerds are driving the bus, and all you pretty people need to step to the rear,” InfoWorld’s Cringely writes. “Not coincidentally — because there are no coincidences in Jobs World — the Oscar broadcast also saw the debut of the first iPad commercials, which brought forth its own Category 5 tweet storm.”
InfoWorld’s Cringely writes, “So Steve’s message to the gowned and tuxedoed assemblage boils down to this: You make the content (or at least some of it), I’ll deliver it. And I’ll create another $10 billion-a-year market in the process.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “brulek” for the heads up.]
But was he snappy?
The Hollywood bus has always been piloted by forward thinking individuals. Apple has supported Hollywood from very early on. The early Macintosh computers contained synchronization circuitry (so they could be video taped without showing the black vertical blanking lines) and the latest Macs are used to create blockbuster contest.
Hollywood has not been taken over by geeks… they have always been there and Mr. Cringely has just noticed.
Did anyone notice, one of the backdrops used during the Academy Awards looked a lot like the iBook store?
I doubt it was coincidence.
If anyone here watches prime time drama series “House, M.D.”, they would have noticed that every single laptop on that show is a MacBook or a MacBook Pro with a prominently glowing white Apple logo.
Not long ago, I had read from someone on the production side that Apple often doesn’t even pay for product placement of these. Instead, many production designers automatically put in a request for an Apple MB(P) when a character needs to use a laptop, because they look better on screen than any other brand. The production team (usually, unit production manager) just makes sure they have clearance from the manufacturer for use of the product. Apple provides clearance, and in exchange gets product placement and “promotional consideration” credit at the end. Meanwhile, every single ‘Dell’ monitor that can be seen in that show in the offices is nicely paid for by Dell (not just giving the hardware for free, but also money for ‘product placement’ advertising).
Well said Priused.
Also note that there has been this weird fear of Apple by the music labels and now TV and movie studios.
Apple saved the hapless ungrateful and unworthy record labels dispute themselves. Apple even said nice things about those labels saying they have a unique gift for spotting talent. I have never heard Apple say anything nasty about those labels even after years of ungrateful abuse.
Apple has made music labels still relevant in the digital age, and will do the same thing with movies and TV: just watch.
don’t forget he’s also a signficant shareholder of disney.
Tripe on a stick! What a useless and ridiculous interpretation of Jobs attendance. Did it occur to him that Job’s presence there is strictly related to Pixar and his relationship with that Oscar-candidate?
What a dope. Or hit-whore. Or worse (is there?).
dope whore?
@twilightmoon – Thank you
@Predrag
One of the ‘progressive’ things that Apple did in it’s early days was to create a blanket ‘Use Permission’ for any filmmaker (both large and small). Apple gave them blanket permission to use Apple products in their productions as long as they followed a general ‘do no harm’ philosophy. They could not use an Apple products to blow-up the world, kill another human being, or perform acts of cruelty. It was a simple philosophy that helped insure that Apple products were viewed favorably, and meant that the filmmaker didn’t have to worry about getting Apple legal involved in the process.
I believe that Apple still uses that release form, and since Hollywood has sooooo many Mac’s just lying around, why not use what they have when they are filming.
No doubt Steve was there cheering on the Pixar folks whose “Up!” won for best animation. Or maybe just to do a few quiet deals with the media folks in attendance.
@ Priused
I guess blowing up aliens in Independence Day was OK; doing good and not blowing up the planet, etc.
Moron. The obvious is just too challenging for him to grasp.
One would only need to ask, was Steve Jobs present at the previous Academy Awards when the 5 other Pixar films were nominated? I don’t remember much media coverage if he was.
Jobs isnt a nerd. Just because he is smart doesn’t make him a nerd. In his younger days he was quite a stud.
This was the FIRST time a Pixar film has been nominated for Best Picture, not just Best Animated.
SJ must have slipped in/out the back door at the Oscars. Given the preponderance of paparazzi in the Red Carpet area, you’d think there would have been many more pics of him? Or maybe SJ demoed for the Hollywood crowd some new stealth technology soon to show up as an iPhone or iPad app???
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ET didn’t really fly that bicycle?!?!?!
Thanks for ruining my whole childhood, asshole!!!
Steve and Apple can deliver it because Apple built a BILLION DOLLAR SERVER FARM to serve it from!!!
I bet that the farm is plugged in now and getting ready for the iPad tsunami of media and cloud computing to come!
Didn’t I read someplace that 9 out of 10 Academy Award winning films were edited with Final Cut Pro? Seems like reason enough to invite him.
@ChrissyOne
Careful, you’re giving away your age.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/steve-jobs-oscar-cameo-pi_n_489716.html
I think he looks great. Healthy, even.
he got all that just from seeing SJ at the oscars.
this man is brilliant beyond words.
“ET didn’t really fly that bicycle”
Say it ain’t so!
Cringeworthy, get the jet.
as my editor often says, “Cringely is an institution.” that, or he belongs in one. in either case, he’s not going anywhere. but thanks for the reposting of my blog. aside from that aside, it’s pretty much all me.