OPINION By Randy Whitted,
TechWeb contributor
Not since the advent of communism has there been such opposing means to the
same end. This became especially clear to me while listening to the keynote
speeches at the Seybold San Francisco Publishing 98 seminar, the publishing
world's annual pow wow. Witness the dueling Steves -- Jobs and Ballmer --
two men from two different computing camps. One has all the charisma of a
cold sore, the other wows the crowd like the Beatles at Shea Stadium. These
two men represent many things, most of which are at odds with each other:
Invitation, Please
Jobs attended Seybold because Apple is publishing. Ballmer went because
Microsoft has targeted publishing as a market it wants to pursue -- along
with education, small business, the home, big business (client and server),
Internet development, Web browsers, national news, TV/Internet
collaborations, the American monetary system, and the national defense of
several small countries.
Technology
What do each bring to the proverbial light table? Jobs, on the crest of an
Apple comeback wave, introduced Sherlock, Mac OS 8.5's hot new search
engine. Despite liberally kidnapping page views (read: dollars) from each
and every major search engine, it heralds the correct and tasteful way to
integrate the Internet with an operating system. You'll be seeing a similar
feature in Windows NT 5.0. It's that cool.
Ballmer, trying to make light of ongoing legal proceedings against his
company, spoke of Microsoft's commitment to publishing by illustrating how
more than 50 of its employees are working with industry standards. Being
the diplomat he is, he expounded on the company's proprietary, new
multimedia Web technology, Chromeffects. Never mind that no one can use it
now -- or even in the near future -- and that a Mac version isn't planned
(until the Mac community begs, that is). The chains have been rattled and
subservient hardware manufacturers have responded by pledging
Chromeffects-capable machines by the end of the year. It's good to be king,
even if that king has no clothes.
Attitude
When asked when Apple's "turnaround" will be pronounced complete, Jobs
responded that Apple isn't trying to turn itself around. Rather, he said,
it's out to create the best software and hardware in the world. "We know
that we've got some stuff that is the best right now, but it can be so much
better," Jobs said.
When asked whether Microsoft was worried about growing interest in Linux
and other freeware, Ballmer said, "Of course we're worried. It means we
aren't focused on something someone wants." Gee -- I had innocently assumed
that defecting back to Unix meant people wanted Microsoft to go away.
East vs. West
The world of the Mac user looks east, to the rising of system 8.5. Sherlock
is joined by several other system-level enhancements, more speed and
stability, a faster and more powerful AppleScript, and more PowerPC-native
coding. There are also faster and cheaper G3 PowerBooks and desktop
PowerMacs, plus the hint of a G4 storm brewing.
The world of the PC user looks west toward a fading sun. Windows 98, as
I've heard customers say each and every time I've been to CompUSA lately,
is "a $20 shareware package selling for 90 bucks." (Then there's the $40
Plus Pack.) Windows NT 5.0 is going to be very late. The wellspring of
viruses and security leaks appears to be in Redmond. The coming dusk is
tinged with lawsuits, convincing this weather watcher Windows didn't obtain
its dominance legally.
On Second Thought Come to think of it, there is one area in which the
Steves could complement each other: Imagine if Jobs and Ballmer appeared in
ads for their respective companies. Just run clips of the two of them
during their Seybold keynotes, and you'll see how both do wonders for
Apple's image.
--who amongst us hasn't run a large billion dollar a year monopoly? ...Tom Whore
<> tbyars@earthlink.net <> --============_-1306958888==_ma============ Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"
OPINION By Randy Whitted,
TechWeb contributor
Not since the advent of communism has there been such opposing means to the same end. This became especially clear to me while listening to the keynote speeches at the Seybold San Francisco Publishing 98 seminar, the publishing world's annual pow wow. Witness the dueling Steves -- Jobs and Ballmer -- two men from two different computing camps. One has all the charisma of a cold sore, the other wows the crowd like the Beatles at Shea Stadium. These two men represent many things, most of which are at odds with each other:
Invitation, Please
Jobs attended Seybold because Apple is publishing. Ballmer went because Microsoft has targeted publishing as a market it wants to pursue -- along with education, small business, the home, big business (client and server), Internet development, Web browsers, national news, TV/Internet collaborations, the American monetary system, and the national defense of several small countries.
Technology
What do each bring to the proverbial light table? Jobs, on the crest of an Apple comeback wave, introduced Sherlock, Mac OS 8.5's hot new search engine. Despite liberally kidnapping page views (read: dollars) from each and every major search engine, it heralds the correct and tasteful way to integrate the Internet with an operating system. You'll be seeing a similar feature in Windows NT 5.0. It's that cool.
Ballmer, trying to make light of ongoing legal proceedings against his company, spoke of Microsoft's commitment to publishing by illustrating how more than 50 of its employees are working with industry standards. Being the diplomat he is, he expounded on the company's proprietary, new multimedia Web technology, Chromeffects. Never mind that no one can use it now -- or even in the near future -- and that a Mac version isn't planned (until the Mac community begs, that is). The chains have been rattled and subservient hardware manufacturers have responded by pledging Chromeffects-capable machines by the end of the year. It's good to be king, even if that king has no clothes.
Attitude
When asked when Apple's "turnaround" will be pronounced complete, Jobs responded that Apple isn't trying to turn itself around. Rather, he said, it's out to create the best software and hardware in the world. "We know that we've got some stuff that is the best right now, but it can be so much better," Jobs said.
When asked whether Microsoft was worried about growing interest in Linux and other freeware, Ballmer said, "Of course we're worried. It means we aren't focused on something someone wants." Gee -- I had innocently assumed that defecting back to Unix meant people wanted Microsoft to go away.
East vs. West
The world of the Mac user looks east, to the rising of system 8.5. Sherlock is joined by several other system-level enhancements, more speed and stability, a faster and more powerful AppleScript, and more PowerPC-native coding. There are also faster and cheaper G3 PowerBooks and desktop PowerMacs, plus the hint of a G4 storm brewing.
The world of the PC user looks west toward a fading sun. Windows 98, as I've heard customers say each and every time I've been to CompUSA lately, is "a $20 shareware package selling for 90 bucks." (Then there's the $40 Plus Pack.) Windows NT 5.0 is going to be very late. The wellspring of viruses and security leaks appears to be in Redmond. The coming dusk is tinged with lawsuits, convincing this weather watcher Windows didn't obtain its dominance legally.
On Second Thought Come to think of it, there is one area in which the Steves could complement each other: Imagine if Jobs and Ballmer appeared in ads for their respective companies. Just run clips of the two of them during their Seybold keynotes, and you'll see how both do wonders for Apple's image.
--
who amongst us hasn't run a
large billion dollar a year monopoly? ...Tom Whore
<<> tbyars@earthlink.net <<>
--============_-1306958888==_ma============--