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What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

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Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#21

Post by maxerickson »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #7

> (the Mac was done in 1984, 11 years after the more powerful and capable Parc Alto, which started working in 1973). I find this comment mildly irritating. The Alto apparently cost $40k [1] in (or around) 1973, which was equivalent to $95k in 1984 (or $232k today). Compare with the Mac which cost $2.5k in 1984. Sure, the Alto may have been more powerful, but if it was financially out of reach of almost everybody, it'…

I think he's well enough aware that the Mac was cheaper. For instance:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2017/04/04/7-steps-fo...

It's not made very gracefully, but the point is that the Mac wasn't a big leap forward in capability, it was the consumer version of the thing they had working a decade earlier.

Of course it's an open question what sort of computers Apple would have made if Jobs hadn't visited PARC.

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#22

Post by bdr »

jaysonelliot wrote: post #13
gok wrote: post #6

I always find the “make it this size and you’ll rule the world” quote interesting. The users I know who really love their iPads/tablets are closer to @alankay1’s generation. Younger generations don’t have much use for device that can’t fit in a pocket. I wonder how much the interest in iPad-sized devices came from years of using paper about that size.

The iPad that could rule the world hasn't been made yet. Once iOS and OS X completely merge, then we'll see. It's sized for creating things, but running the OS of a device made for consuming things.

Is it the OS or the input?

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#23

Post by hyperpallium »

gok wrote: post #6

I always find the “make it this size and you’ll rule the world” quote interesting. The users I know who really love their iPads/tablets are closer to @alankay1’s generation. Younger generations don’t have much use for device that can’t fit in a pocket. I wonder how much the interest in iPad-sized devices came from years of using paper about that size.

Fitting in a pocket is a great advantage for a portable device, to everyone.

The market seems to be saying: if I need something that I have to lug around, I might as well have a keyboard. i.e. a laptop.

Another effect is people are doing everything they can on a phone, because of the convenience. This leads to slightly larger phones every year, and now a 5.5" phone is no longer considered a "phablet", and apple is rumoured to having a 6.5" phone next (their smallest tablet is 7").

So... tablets will rule the world, but they'll be "phones". The barrier to adaption was changing consumer behaviour... as always.

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#24

Post by radicaldreamer »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #7

> (the Mac was done in 1984, 11 years after the more powerful and capable Parc Alto, which started working in 1973). I find this comment mildly irritating. The Alto apparently cost $40k [1] in (or around) 1973, which was equivalent to $95k in 1984 (or $232k today). Compare with the Mac which cost $2.5k in 1984. Sure, the Alto may have been more powerful, but if it was financially out of reach of almost everybody, it'…

What I'm curious about is what is the Parc Alto of today?

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#25

Post by tambourine_man »

peterkelly wrote: post #19
nashashmi wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He called the iPad at the time a glass keyboard. Because he didn't want to give it away. And let's not forget that a Microsoft guy provoked him into creating a tablet called the iPad.

"This guy badgered me about how Microsoft was going to completely change the world with this tablet PC software and eliminate all notebook computers, and Apple ought to license his Microsoft software. But he was doing the device all wrong. It had a stylus. As soon as your have a stylus, you’re dead. This dinner was like the tenth time he talked to me about it, and I was so sick of it that I came home and said, “Fuck…

Do we know who this guy from MS is?

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#26

Post by wvenable »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #8
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #7

> (the Mac was done in 1984, 11 years after the more powerful and capable Parc Alto, which started working in 1973). I find this comment mildly irritating. The Alto apparently cost $40k [1] in (or around) 1973, which was equivalent to $95k in 1984 (or $232k today). Compare with the Mac which cost $2.5k in 1984. Sure, the Alto may have been more powerful, but if it was financially out of reach of almost everybody, it'…

> He brought the iPhone to me, put it in my hands, and asked: “Alan, is this good enough to be criticized?”. My reply was to make a shape with my hands the size of an iPad: “Steve, make it this size and you’ll rule the world”. I find this especially telling after Apple's recent education-focused announcement[1], where Apple continues trying to push the iPad as an educational tool. Is this Tim Cook trying to continue…

My son's school has a Rubbermaid tub of iPads that they wheel from classroom to classroom on a cart as needed.

He was talking today about playing games on the PCs in the computer lab, and my wife asked about the iPads, and you know what he said? "Those are for doing work."

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#27

Post by TeMPOraL »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #8
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #7

> (the Mac was done in 1984, 11 years after the more powerful and capable Parc Alto, which started working in 1973). I find this comment mildly irritating. The Alto apparently cost $40k [1] in (or around) 1973, which was equivalent to $95k in 1984 (or $232k today). Compare with the Mac which cost $2.5k in 1984. Sure, the Alto may have been more powerful, but if it was financially out of reach of almost everybody, it'…

> He brought the iPhone to me, put it in my hands, and asked: “Alan, is this good enough to be criticized?”. My reply was to make a shape with my hands the size of an iPad: “Steve, make it this size and you’ll rule the world”. I find this especially telling after Apple's recent education-focused announcement[1], where Apple continues trying to push the iPad as an educational tool. Is this Tim Cook trying to continue…

> Or do Apple seriously believe the iPad as it is has a business chance in the cash-strapped education market?

It does. It just has to sell on hype instead of any actual utility. It's a very common sales strategy.

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#28

Post by WoodenChair »

bogomipz wrote: post #17

>"“Have I got a deal for you: a Honda with a one-quart gas tank!”. Steve did not like this memo, but what could he do given the history, and that it was quite true?" Can someone explain the joke? Also does anyone know how long Alan was with Apple?

Honda is a car for everyone. Macintosh was a computer for the rest of us (everyone). The first Mac was short on memory (128K) for the type of apps it was meant to run. Hence the "not enough gas."

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#29

Post by tantalor »

slap_shot wrote: post #5

Steve revealed at D10 that the iPad actually did get prototyped first. IIRC, he tasked a team with creating a keyless keyboard tablet thing (forgive my terrible paraphrasing). They came back with a tablet. When Steve scrolled up and saw the rubber band effect, he said "oh my god we can make a phone with this" and they went the phone first. Edit: Below is the interview. He "had an idea of being able to type on a multi…

By no means a new idea:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/how-star-trek-artist...

Re: What did Alan Kay and Steve Jobs talk about at the 2007 iPhone keynote?

#30

Post by adamson »

peterkelly wrote: post #19
nashashmi wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He called the iPad at the time a glass keyboard. Because he didn't want to give it away. And let's not forget that a Microsoft guy provoked him into creating a tablet called the iPad.

"This guy badgered me about how Microsoft was going to completely change the world with this tablet PC software and eliminate all notebook computers, and Apple ought to license his Microsoft software. But he was doing the device all wrong. It had a stylus. As soon as your have a stylus, you’re dead. This dinner was like the tenth time he talked to me about it, and I was so sick of it that I came home and said, “Fuck…

Who really won though? Does anyone buy tablets anymore? I feel like I haven't seen one since 2015.
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