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Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

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Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#21

>"I think the emphasis of this conversation is wrong," said Bezos. "You have a product so revolutionary, you'll have no problem selling it. The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?" Bezos and Jobs were right. Bicycles have been around since the 19th century and yet city planners are still struggling against mainstream political opinion to be able to set aside dedicated space for their use. If most c…

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Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#22
post #10

> "Its shape is not innovative, it's not elegant, it doesn't feel anthropomorphic," said Jobs, ticking off three of his design mantras. I was wondering what exactly did Jobs mean when he said that the design was not "anthropomorphic". I mean, the shape of an iPhone does look very different from that of a human figure. EDIT: perhaps he meant that it wasn't ergonomic?

Nah, that is just Jobs being Jobs. Trying to market himself as a design guy when in reality he is all marketing.

Its more interesting how he kept notes in his palm (nice way to have them without appearing to have them) and that he made the rest sit up when talking about staged roll-outs of models to maximize revenue.

Bezos on the other hand hit at the heart of the matter, that the thing didn't fit neatly inside any existing regulations.

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#23
It's hard to believe that if it was really going to take over the world, it would have mattered at all how it was launched, what the initial design of it looked like, who got a meeting the "king of Singapore", etc. Those sound like elements of a fad, not a lasting and significant part of technology.

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#24

"Screw the lead times. You don't have a great product yet!" - Steve Jobs Advice every struggling startup needs to hear. Great products are rare and the best way to succeed is not to settle on product quality.

But how do you know you have a great product before you ship? Until you have paying customers, you don't have a real feedback loop.

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#25

"Screw the lead times. You don't have a great product yet!" - Steve Jobs Advice every struggling startup needs to hear. Great products are rare and the best way to succeed is not to settle on product quality.

But how do you know you have a great product before you ship? Until you have paying customers, you don't have a real feedback loop.

You can't be sure that you are going to sell a good product, but you definitively know when you are going to ship a bad product. And a lot of "startups" are just selling bad products.

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#26
post #10

> "Its shape is not innovative, it's not elegant, it doesn't feel anthropomorphic," said Jobs, ticking off three of his design mantras. I was wondering what exactly did Jobs mean when he said that the design was not "anthropomorphic". I mean, the shape of an iPhone does look very different from that of a human figure. EDIT: perhaps he meant that it wasn't ergonomic?

Nah, that is just Jobs being Jobs. Trying to market himself as a design guy when in reality he is all marketing. Its more interesting how he kept notes in his palm (nice way to have them without appearing to have them) and that he made the rest sit up when talking about staged roll-outs of models to maximize revenue. Bezos on the other hand hit at the heart of the matter, that the thing didn't fit neatly inside any e…

>Nah, that is just Jobs being Jobs. Trying to market himself as a design guy when in reality he is all marketing.

Actually Jobs was all design and vision (and business deals) -- and very little marketing. Apple had in-house and outside ad and marketing teams.

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#27
Segway and Google Glass went through similar product image trajectories: immense pre-launch hype, then turned into a dorky status symbol perceived as being for tech-obsessed rich buffoons only, and riddled by regulatory problems concerning its public use.

Yet Snap seems to be doing quite well with its Spectacles resurrection of the Google Glass concept. Maybe Segway will also come back once someone cracks the design and youth-friendly branding?

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#28
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd be very difficult to live in a place that is 85% white though, which unfortunately is diverse for New Hampshire. I think Jobs was right, you'd have a tough time convincing great talent to locate themselves there. Cost of living certainly is a factor, but it's only one of many.

Yeah, one could live in the middle of Texas for $400/month in a place with low crime...and nothing to do, no infrastructure, and no jobs. Jobs won't come there any time soon, because people don't want to be there, hence the low CoL.

I've never understood this argument.

Probably the best thing about being a cutting-edge dev is the ability to work from anywhere. Heck, I've only worked onsite for a handful of my clients. Some of them (including my current client) I've never even met.

Why this need to co-locate everyone - in the most expensive city we can find? Why the need to work so hard - just to transfer your hard-earned wealth to a landlord?

You say Texas has no infrastructure - well, we do have running water, paved roads, electricity, cheap homes, and internet - everything the modern IT professional needs to work and live. And we also have airports, for getting the f__k out of Texas, which is easy and fun with all the rent money you'll save :)

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#29
post #27

Segway and Google Glass went through similar product image trajectories: immense pre-launch hype, then turned into a dorky status symbol perceived as being for tech-obsessed rich buffoons only, and riddled by regulatory problems concerning its public use. Yet Snap seems to be doing quite well with its Spectacles resurrection of the Google Glass concept. Maybe Segway will also come back once someone cracks the design…

it already happened for Segway, here is a documentary of the design process from the future/past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkyLnWm1iCs

and here are the products: https://www.walmart.com/tp/hoverboard

Re: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

#30
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah, that is just Jobs being Jobs. Trying to market himself as a design guy when in reality he is all marketing. Its more interesting how he kept notes in his palm (nice way to have them without appearing to have them) and that he made the rest sit up when talking about staged roll-outs of models to maximize revenue. Bezos on the other hand hit at the heart of the matter, that the thing didn't fit neatly inside any e…

> Nah, that is just Jobs being Jobs. Trying to market himself as a design guy when in reality he is all marketing. Actually Jobs was all design and vision (and business deals) -- and very little marketing. Apple had in-house and outside ad and marketing teams.

I'm curious: When we talk about product-market fit, do you classify that as marketing?
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