Apple's World Wide Developers Conference 1997 with Steve Jobs

Crazy to rewatch in 2024. He was thinking about cloud computing in 97 and all what he predicted came true.

This man in 97 is addressing and speaking for developers like he has the knowledge of 2024... he left this world too early. He was a visionary in every aspect

‎"I'm sure a lot of you have had this expirience where you're changing, you're growing as a person, and people tend to treat you like you where 18 months ago. And its really frustrating sometimes, when you're growing up and becoming more capable, and you've solved some personality quirks, people treat you like you where a year to 18 months ago, it can be very frustrating." - I can totally relate to this.

I just realized, the best thing I like about him - he doesn't treat ANY of his questioners with the attitude - "I know more than you, so STFU" - which most senior management do. As said - "Do the world a favour and start each conversation with the presumption that the other person is just as smart as you…"

"Go out and buy some shares" -Best advice ever

I absolutely love watching Steve talk. More soothing than bedtime stories.

What I miss, is that Jobs put himself as the face of his companies. He brought a personal connection to his partners, customers and developers. He had the attitude ( whether really the case or not ) made people feel like he was their friend. Blunt, honest but respectful and friendly. He had a way of talking to someone as a person. Not just as a potential customer. I feel that Apple just does not have that kind of charasmatic personality in anyone else.

and here we are, after 11 years, and still interested in him and what he said, respect & RIP

Apples run from 2000-2010 is insane. Total domination of several markets. imac, ipod, macbook air, iphone, etc. they crushed the competition to pieces and actually caused the demise of several corporations

His acumen is unreal. At 19:30 you can see that he was not merely some idealistic visionary, but a master businessman. His time away from Apple, with NextStep and Pixar, sharpened him considerably.

Man...... A person like this is so rare. He had all his priorities straight, didn't only talk about his goals but acted on it and he left the world a better place. Extremely inspiring.

This is a tech conference - but he touches on personal growth (one foot in front of the other), focus (saying no to opendoc) honesty (apple's had it's head in the sand), the big picture (do great stuff, and the share price will look after itself). LEGEND, VISIONARY, RIP Steve.

Wow he said it, and now almost 14 years later we have the icloud. Even the small little things with keyboards connected to internet, we now have the smartphones. A legend he is.

this is crazy inspiring - to see someone layout a vison, believe in it and then execute

In 1997 talking about what became “the cloud” and solid-state computers with no moving parts in them! 😃 Described how he has a computer at Pixar, Apple and at home and how cool it was to have access to his stuff no matter where he was. 🙂 Near the end he’s talking about iPhones or iPads... how “the thing” should have a keyboard and be on the network.

One thing I appreciate about Steve Jobs in this video, is his response to the questions he is asked. I'm not talking specifically about each answer to the question, rather what he does immediately after the question is asked. Most people are formulating their answer before the other person is done speaking, therefore not really listening. Steve Jobs, after being asked a question, often took a very long moment of silence, to actually think about the real answer to the question at hand.

I never really considered myself a Jobs fan but he really shines in this atmosphere.

R.I.P, it wasn't till he's gone that I truly realise how much his presence meant

14 years later, I'm watching this as it streams over the internet, on my MacBook Air. Steve, I will see what you dreamed of today, in a few years. And then the rest of the world will see it in 10 years. Hopefully, that is enough lead time to get everyone else in gear to do some innovative thinking.

2:29 Steve starts 3:48 Our strategy revolves around one fundamental concept: making really great products 4:03 There are some giant holes we can fill 4:17 Really good and unique products 4:52 Some of you (software engineers) spend a lot of time working on stuff we put a bullet in the head of 5:15 There were people going off in 18 different directions (not a good thing) 5:24 There were good engineers with lousy management (being managed poorly) 5:32 Everybody going in different directions doesn't add up -- the total is less than the sum of the parts 5:41 We had to decide what fundamental directions we're going in, and what makes sense and what doesn't 6:02 Focusing is about saying "no" 6:07 You've got to say no, but when you say no, you make people mad 6:26 Sometimes you take the lumps (even though unfair) 7:00 The result of focus is really great products with the total being greater than the sum of the parts 7:59 Sometimes you're changing and growing as a person but people still treat you like the old you 8:32 Embrace the naysayers and do the best we can to educate them about our strategy 8:36 Keep your eye on the prize which is turning out great products 8:46 Get people in the loop so they know everything (customers and workers) 8:52 Keep marching forward, one foot in front of the other 9:05 I'm an old man in this industry and I've seen the ups and downs 9:08 When you see enough of them, you know that's gonna happen 9:53 Apple's had its head in the sand for the last many years 10:53 The attitude of arrogance (saying we can invent our own this) has made the world pass it by 11:31 The wisdom is to know what 10% to 30% of things we have to invent, and the rest we use 12:15 There are a lot of smart people that DON'T work at Apple 12:27 I don't think it's important to be perceived as "different" -- it's important to be perceived as MUCH BETTER 12:36 If we can be much better without being different, that's fine with me 12:39 I want to be much better. I don't care about being different 17:05 I don't care how it's done. I don't care what box is at the other end 18:31 Carrying around computers with data (using hard drives) is Byzantine compared to cloud 18:46 Your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness...or your greatest weakness your greatest strength 19:26 It's a potential weakness if not managed right...greatest strength if managed right 20:44 They have their advantages too (the other competitors/players in the Intel industry) 21:28 What are you waiting for? (to Microsoft for not porting their apps to Rhapsody) 21:51 What chu waiting for? (Adobe to port photoshop to Rhapsody) 21:56 This is an opportunity to do something for the next generation of apps 22:20 Each app was best of breed 22:44 Phenomenally powerful 23:02 Apple is going to give you a system where you can build apps 5 to 10x faster 23:14 You can make existing complexity apps 5 to 10x faster 23:23 You'll start with a concept and get to market just 6 to 9 months later 24:00 Give me a break (audience laugh) 24:17 There's still tremendous loyalty towards Apple 24:48 Do you know how much Apple spends on marketing? They should spend some on apps 24:56 If you come up with something really great, I think it's gonna get out there 25:12 You'll also be able to build an app you couldn't build on other platforms 25:21 It's all about managing complexity 25:40 Building software is about managing how much scaffolding before it collapses 25:44 It doesn't matter how many people are working on it (it'll still collapse) 25:51 Mythical Man Month: once you get to a certain size, if you add one more person, the energy it takes to communicate to him/her is greater than their net contribution, so the whole project slows down 26:11 It's about managing complexity 26:13 These tools allow you to not have to worry about 90% of the stuff you used to worry about 26:24 Then you'll start on story 23 instead of 6, and you can get a lot higher 27:54 I wouldn't worry about that (what Larry Ellison is gonna do) 27:55 I think what we need to worry about is making great products, getting great apps on them, and telling our customers about them 29:02 When we started Apple, IBM was more powerful than Microsoft and Intel are today 29:15 IBM controlled the technologies and the customers 29:38 We were too stupid to know we didn't have a chance --- and that (stupidity) served us well 30:00 Every good product is because a group of people cared deeply about making something wonderful that they and their friends wanted 30:33 Don't be trembling in the corner worrying about a big company stomping on you 30:54 We weren't trying to start a company, we were just trying to build a computer 31:00 I get about 200 emails a day (not counting spam) 31:46 We could improve productivity 30% if we used a good email system 32:47 It would be stupid to get in a position where for Apple to win Microsoft has to lose 32:58 I don't expect the government to break up Microsoft -- they're buddies 33:29 Apple can win without having to have Microsoft lose 34:11 There are so many opportunities where Apple can have an advantage and not have to battle Microsoft 34:41 I believe Apple should license everything (with a few exceptions) and get a fair price 35:06 Let the clone makers use whatever hardware they want 35:23 Apple should get a fair price on its software based on volume 35:43 To off-set low margin products you need high margin products 35:47 Clone makers can give Apple $10 for their software and then go get their $5,000 Mac market 35:56 The clone makers are, thus, leeches 36:11 Make people pay more money if they're in lower volume 36:36 Raise the price/royalty of the software and make it a scale based on volume 37:08 Customers will decide (which products are best / they want) 39:39 There are at least 20 more apps that I'd love to be using, that haven't been written yet 39:48 If we can make those apps easy to write, we can get a chance to use those apps