Schwarz writes, “It might be argued that he was purposefully ambiguous with his statements in order to illustrate the structural weaknesses of the cable television industry but I’m going to take him at his word and refute the following claims: No. 1. Jobs said that cable operators ‘give everybody a set-top box for free, or for $10 a month. That pretty much squashes any opportunity for innovation because nobody’s willing to buy a set-top box.'”
“Not true,” Schwarz writes. “People will pay for the right kind of set-top box.”
Schwarz writes, “No. 2. Jobs said that it’s difficult to partner with a cable company because ‘you run into another problem. Which is: there isn’t a cable operator that’s national…every single country has different standards, different government approvals, it’s very…Tower of Babelish.'”
“Steve is barking up the wrong tree,” Schwarz writes. “To bring innovation to the television industry you need to bypass the cable companies. The potential to become king of the living room is a once-per-generation opportunity and should be more than just a hobby for Apple.”
Schwarz writes, “No. 3. When discussing the obstacles of the cable TV industry, Jobs remarked, ‘I’m sure smarter people than us will figure this out, but that’s why we say Apple TV is a hobby, that’s why we use that phrase.’ Come on, Steve. I know a lot of what you said in that interview was tongue in cheek but there is no denying Apple is in the drivers seat to innovate the next big thing.”
Schwarz, “The time has come for Jobs to fully embrace new hardware that effectively leverages app use. If he can’t do it, maybe the master of business operations, COO Tim Cook is better suited to lead Apple into this new frontier. The opportunity to leverage the App Store is too massive.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Patience, oh breathless padawan. Relax. All will become clear in due time.
So the argument is this:
‘Steve Jobs is wrong and I’ll prove it. Because I say so. So there.’
What a bozo. This guy will probably get government funding for his high level or journalism.
Zeke, your crystal ball is clearer than mine. If anyone is going to solve the expensive and anti-consumer media industry, it’s Steve Jobs. However, past history tells us it takes decades for a new communications technology to displace the old. It is always cheaper to use what is on the ground than it is to build a new network, and of course the idiot regulators will continue to let regional monopolies retain their holds.
By the way, wireless is not the answer for half of the U.S. Only in large cities is the population density adequate for WiMax to be profitable. McCaw isn’t going to those cities because he knows that the big boys will undercut his price or offer short-term incentives to prevent users from switching. That’s how cable has become the de-facto choice for all apartment buildings and 40+ % of urban/suburban private residences in north america.
Verizon’s FIOS – a better product technologically than cable or the current wireless offerings by most any measure – has barely displaced cable (FIOS TV has 3 million subscribers, FIOS internet 3.6 million). Hard to build a new network against the entrenched industry.
For those mentioning Clearwire or Clear, the company was founded by McCaw, but he is no longer the primary owner. I believe Sprint owns 51% of the company. The rest of the company is owned by a variety of folks including, you guessed it, Comcast and Times Warner.
So for those of you thinking that Clear offers a route to TV through the internet, you better lower your expectations.
BTW, I use Clear for my home internet and it works great.
Is there anywhere to watch the entire D interview with Steve?
Come on… Steve Jobs consistently (and usually intentionally) says things in public to misdirect the competition. In the past, he said Apple was not interested in adding video capability to iPods, until they did. He said Kindle would not be successful, beyond a niche product, because Americans no longer read, until iPad was released with iBooks to really make Kindle into a niche product. He even said Apple was not very interested in tablet computers, when Apple was actually working seriously on a tablet computer before iPhone.
The next big thing from Apple probably will be the “TV hobby.” And Apple already has most of the pieces in place to “bypass” the cable industry. All they need is that massive data center in North Carolina. Think about it… If Apple went live with some sort of new “cloud-based” $99 Apple TV device, their current infrastructure would be overwhelmed. So until ALL of the pieces are in place, the current Apple TV is a way for Apple to discreetly test their systems and concepts with their most loyal customers. And Steve Jobs keeps referring to it as a “hobby.”
I only agree to pay $5-$10 a month for a set to Box only to pay it off slowly. Not to pay for the box entire time you own it.
4 TV’s in my house. 1 regular def & 1 High Def box ( Direct TV )
I hate the fact that 3 of the 4 boxes we’ve had since 2004 and we still pay $5 a month for each. The HD box (NON-DVR) is also $5 a month + $10 for HD Access. Thats $25 a month alone for receivers. At one point we had 5 receivers but I’ll count the 4 for now. Roughly $1800 just for using the receivers since 2004.
For me, Jobs is Right. I wouldn’t pay for a set top box. To then being nailed by the provider monthly just for having the box??
I bought an Apple TV recently and I do regret buying it. I Hardly used it and I plan to sell it. I had hoped to use Boxee on it to watch HULU vids and other shows. But the Apple TV performs terribly. With Choppy Video playback. And the HD playback isn’t to good either, plus I hate the fact that you can only sync your content via network. Loading 60 gigs of data can take most of the day.
@ PR,
“The only question is…what happens to the older Apple TV?”
If you can’t afford $99.00 for Apple TV2 you don’t deserve your HDTV. Sell it on eBay.
@ Big Als MBP and PR
If there is a new Apple TV that is based on iPad’s A4, it won’t be that much of a change in terms of processing power. And if the internal storage is flash-based, the old hard drive will actually have more. So if it’s basically new software and “cloud” capabilities, I don’t see why Apple could not give existing Apple TV owners the same upgrade.
I’ve been using DVD’s less and less recently, and I never upgraded to Blu-ray. I think it’s a good time for Apple to make its move.
Are you kidding me? Schwartz is a MORON. Sure, lets put the sales weasel in charge of the company, that’ll work. Anyone who has ever worked at Apple will tell you, Tim Cook is a dumbass sales guy who couldn’t innovate his ass out of a wet paper bag. Puhleaseeeee people….Tim Cook…..BWAAHAHAHAHHAA!
Schwartz is missing the forest for the trees.
Also, this has nothing to do with ownership of content.
@ Say WHaaaa?!?!?
Tim Cook is NOT a “sales guy.” He’s an operations guru. I don’t know about product “innovation,” but he’s deserves credit for re-making Apple into a super-efficient profit machine. Steve Jobs is the chief visionary. Tim Cook is the chief vision executor. I hope Apple can keep both of them for a long long time.
Since Schwarz seems to think he has all the answers, perhaps he should start a new company and go out on his own and put his ideas into action. Let’s see how far he gets.
Jobs got it wrong by removing the matte screen from the iMac and Cinema Display http://www.macmatte.wordpress.com
Two views:
Let’s say, in a typical sample population, around 20% need matte because of: higher-sensitive eyes leading to eyestrain with glossy screens; photographers needing matte; graphic artists needing matte.
Two views:
1 – From shareholder and total dollar analysis, it is ok to drop matte because Apple can make truckloads more money by only having glossy for the 80% majority, and having less inventory.
2 – From a responsibility viewpoint – having prevented other manufacturers from providing OSX machines, it is a Michael-Douglas-greed-is-good attitude to cut the matte screen.
Is it right to shaft the 20% of people that need a matte screen.
Actually, a review of online polls at http://macmatte.wordpress.com indicate it’s possibly more than 20%, but I’m being conservative in order to attempt a rational argument.
Sorry, but Schwarz is totally wrong. Here is the model of the cable companies:
Content owners –> Cable companies –set-top-box–> Consumers
He said “To bring innovation to the television industry you need to bypass the cable companies. The potential to become king of the living room is a once-per-generation opportunity and should be more than just a hobby for Apple.”
To bypass the cable companies, the model becomes
Content owners –set-top-box–> Consumers
I.e., you need to bridge the content owners and the consumers.
ATM, content owners are wedded to their business model: theater, rental, DVD sales, cable, TV. That’s why there is no incentive for the content owners to monetize the contents directly to consumers via [Apple]TV. Until the threat of piracy approaches that in the music industry (download a movie in 5 minutes), they won’t play. That’s why it’s still a hobby.
Steve is patient and understands the problem before acting unlike Google which rush in where angels fear to thread.