Written on 2000-7-19* after watching a Steve Jobs keynote.
As the keynote started, I laughed at how much things had changed. Only two short years ago, when the iMac was introduced, I was fully a Mac man. I understood the power of the Internet, but I also loved my desktop. Since then, so much has changed. Philip gave me a taste of programming, a taste of power. I filled myself with the Internet revolution, the thoughts of Network Computers and distributed databases that have consumed recently. It was the power of programming that did it, the power of building programs on the Web. Web sites that jumped and danced before your eyes and followed your commands.
And so, as the keynote started, I laughed at Apple. How they were so far behind, and were not with the Net revolution. They were of as dying age and were a dying company. Perhaps, if they were lucky, they would go out with a bang, but they were dying nonetheless. Boy, was I wrong.
Steve gets it. Steve understands what's happening, and he's taking advantage of it. Apple knows it has no future building silly desktops. Steve said it himself: "We're not building computers for people who make spreadsheets...we want to be at the intersection of art and technology."
And so they are. Macs are not computers for the average Joe who needs no speed, but only a terminal with a web browser. They are instead for "creators" -- people who aren't afraid to reach out and make a difference. People who want to build something -- like webloggers do. Apple is building high-end machines that do high-end things. Their creations are optimized for Desktop Video, one of the most computationally demanding applications and one that likely won't be possible on the Internet for some time.
They also understand the power of the Internet for the customer. The iMac is one of the easiest computers to get on the Net, and once it's there, it doesn't interfere. Mac OS X will let the computer get out of the way, and let you get your work done. iTools makes the Internet part of the familiar desktop. It's not some scary new frontier, instead it's just a disk on the desktop. Drag and drop your iMovie -- boom it's on your website. Now you're not just a consumer of the Internet -- your also a creator.
Any Mac user can build a Web site like this. Take your digital camera photos, drop them on your iDisk, and boom! you have a picture album. They're showing just how easy it is to be _on_ the Web and part of it. And it will only get easier.
Steve really gets it. Apple makes elegant computers that make surfing the Web a joy, but also are powerful enough to make you a creator. iMovie lets you direct a movie, Homepage lets you build a website. Apple computers are for the people who think differently. They are not the masses we see in the 1984 ad, quietly sitting and consuming what they receive from the screen. Instead, they build, they create, they feel the taste of power that I did when I learned to program. You have the power to reach out around the world and touch someone, share what you know and what you love. And with a Mac, you do it in style.
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