Steve Jobs at Apple Town Hall Meeting on Google, Adobe, Next iPhone, 2010 Macs and More

Steve Jobs held a town hall meeting with Apple employees late last week following the iPad launch. Wired reports on what was said at the meeting by Steve Jobs. Two of the biggest topics included Google and Adobe.

On Google, Jobs confirms the much-reported competition between the two companies.

On Google: We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them, he says.
As for Adobe, Jobs said they are lazy and Jobs blames Adobe for a buggy implementation of Flash on the Mac as one of the reasons they won't support it.

Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy, he says. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash, he says. The world is moving to HTML5.
Those are the main points covered by Wired's article. We had received a more detailed report of the Apple meeting, but hadn't been able to corroborate it until now. Many of the details of the Wired report line up with our anonymous submission, so we believe it likely to be accurate. Some additional key points that we learned:

- Apple will deliver aggressive updates to iPhone that Android/Google won't be able to keep up with
- iPad is up there with the iPhone and Mac as the most important products Jobs has been a part of
- Regarding the Lala acquisition, Apple was interested in bringing those people into the iTunes team
- Next iPhone coming is an A+ update
- New Macs for 2010 are going to take Apple to the next level
- Blu-Ray software is a mess, and Apple will wait until sales really start to take off before implementing it.

Source:
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/31...-google-adobe-next-iphone-2010-macs-and-more/

Gotta wonder what that A+ update is going to entail...

 

a keyboard perhaprs

 

Gotta hand it to Steve Jobs sometimes, he's a smart guy. I wouldn't mess with Flash either if I knew html5 was around the corner.

 

if it works and they help kill off flash, power to 'em.

however, fully functioning internet would be great. so either hurry up and kill it so we can has the interwebs.

 

html 5 may be around the corner, but I wonder how responsive sites will be in replacing flash. There are still plenty of people using old browsers, which won't support the new html tags.

Shocker! It's called competition.

Anyhow, despite the overdramatized talk, this sounds pretty good

Hopefully it won't turn out to be such a disappointment as the iPad.

 

How is HTML5 better than Flash and can it do everything Flash can do, possibly making it extinct?

 

haha...

steve would regret that remark if adobe turned around and said "we're no longer going to support the mac OS."

All adobe software is now windows only from here on out..

how many macs do you think would sell at the current price point if they couldn't run the latest versions of photoshop on them?

 

My laptop just died and I ordered a macbook pro... should i get a refund and wait for the new ones to come out?

 

It's up to you. Hardware is always updated every few months, but this could be pretty big leap.

Personally I'm holding out for the new lineup from Apple and Sony's Z.

 

Yea, the Vaio Z is a beast.. I'm just hoping it'll be affordable! The upcoming updates on the Mac line seems very promising too..!

 

Initially this might be a problem, but I think for apple they are seeing the average consumer as there "big market"... most people don't need or know how to use photoshop, so it might not be as big loss for apple... although the PR would be pretty awful.
On the upside it could lead apple to make a serious software competitor to photoshop, which would be awesome... either that or Pixelmator or something else might just step up to fill the void
a

 

You know...Apple should tread lightly,The last thing Apple seems to be thinking about is the fact that Google owns this small website called YouTube,that is quite important to the iPod touch ,iPhone,and soon to be iPad. Cut it from them and they are doomed,even worse for them adobe flash could be optimized in a new flash 2 format,kept from apple,and while adobe's windows updater would auto install it,apple could lose out,then apple would be done for,as Google would love to work with them to drop the sales on iPhones.

 

overlooking the fact that both Apple and Google are giants.

Google has youtube, which apple wants for its iPhone users.

but there are also 42 million iPhone users. Google wants them on youtube.

so it's a bit more complicated than immediately apparent.

google is moving to html5 anyway...

 

LOL I can see it now "How am I going to watch the 'Pants on the ground' video now?" I don't think I'd be all that upset over the loss of YouTube.

 

doesn't matter - it's a non-issue

youtube is moving to html5, and google wants to bring everyone onto the internet regardless of what device they are using, and google is going to continue supporting their cloudware on iPhones, blackberries, windows mobile, and the droid.

 

http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/html-5-could-it-kill-flash-and-silverlight-291

 

I agree with Apple on Adobe. I never used software from them that I really liked, and I'd be glad if Flash died. I found the title of the HTML5 article funny though...

"HTML 5: Could it kill Flash and Silverlight?"

Was silverlight ever even alive to begin with

 

Netflix uses Silverlight on both IE and Firefox. I find it less resource hungry and cleaner running than flash. I was able to stream movies and other content via Netflix on my old Thinkpad x24 (P3-1.13ghz, circa 2002) no problem. Flash choked like a dog on it.

I use flash because I have no choice, but it isn't a joy.

 

The next Mac better be a good one, I've been waiting for the refresh awhile now. I wouldn't be if HP just put switchable graphics in the Envy 15, that would have sold me on the spot and blown the Macbook out of the water.

And boy, Steve Jobs does sound a bit cocky there from these reports. But maybe he'll deliver again.

 

Not to mention, we dont now how big the corner is that HTML5 is hiding behind.

It could be several years before it's actually implemented in the "real world", that is, people start actually coding with it. It's still beta atm.

 

I find the tidbit about Google and entering the cell phone market rather funny, because it was only a few years ago Apple and the cell phone market didn't exist.

As for the MBP refresh, since news about Lightpeak came out back in September. I have thought either Apple is serious about this or they aren't and it seems like they are. I believe the A+ update quote means that it should be worth the wait to upgrade.

 

From reading online on the subject, I can't help but think it was a big mistake that Flash support wasn't included in the iPad.

For one thing, I've never had any issues with Flash on any of my macs; at least in my experience it seems to just work. Even my Blackberry's getting Flash support this year and it's an inferior device to the iPad in every way. Also, just about every site I frequent uses Flash so for the most part I'll be SOL.

But the thing that confuses me the most is that from most sources I've read HTML5 is still years away, some even say that it's up to ten years away from being standardized. If that's the case then why even mention HTML5 now. Optimistically, I'm hoping that flash will eventually make it into the iPad in a future update after the hissy fit between Apple and Adobe is over.

 

Yeah, if the serious HTML5 push is 5 years away, no flash support on the iPhone is bad.

The only "good" no flash scenario would be apple and google and others using their might to finish flash off, and have others jump aboard as a result of the fact that flash doesn't work... Bringing down the migration time to under a year, let's say.

 

As much as Apple and Google compete in certain sections they are working together on HTML5. I think more companies are going to rethink the use of Flash (especially on sales sites). The increase of users surfing on devices that don't have Flash support may start tipping the scales.

 

The only problem browser today is IE7. The IE6 has been declared unsupported by big players in the next 3-6 months. So the IE7 wont last long either, people upgrading windows 7 rapidly which has IE8 which automate updating to newer version if there is. And MS will damn sure not fall asleep this time.

HTML 5 will be adapted sooner than everyone ever thought. Its time to say goodbye to flashing screen...

 

I'll eat my shoes if Apple introduce iPhone with keypad

 

I've tried to watch youtube in html5 mode in safari 4 at school. It's unwatchable..the video just loads and loads.

It works (horribly on my school's overloaded network) in flash.

 

^it is a general problem! it does not work on my chrome or FF,but works fine under IE

 

In Firefox it won't work because there's a format war going on over HTML5's video codec. The standard so far doesn't mandate a specific codec and some people (Opera, Firefox) only supper opensource royalty free Theora and OGG. Apple and others are pushing h.264 wich is a closed-source codec encumbered with royalties.

 

Google wants to kill the iphone? No... I think that was Motorola and Verizon. Also the iphone is already dying, buts its apple that's killing it. The phone hasn't beed updated in 6 months and is really showing its age. Apples going to have to make a kick iphone 4 (or whatever it called) to even have a chance of competing with the type of phones coming out today. If I had to make a list of the best smart phones available, iphone wouldn't even be top ten, having to use itunes and its outdated hardware just puts me off. I think the win mo phones on Verizon are very competitive, although android it very quickly becoming better, my friend has a droid with android 2.1, its sweet. If I didn't buy an bb tour a couple months ago (upgraded from g1 iphone), I would definitely be looking into an android phone. But I guess jobs is kind of right, they really need to aggressively update their phones, and possible not tie it so much through itunes? God I hate itunes which was one of the reasons why I was somewhat disappointed by my iphone. I was with the tour as well, but at least it just does what I need, with out asking for a credit card #, even tho its a pretty boring phone.

 

certainly not dying. the iphone is still seeing sales *growth*.

 

Well, yes and no. Sales of the iPhone are still growing but the market share actually fell in the fourth quarter. I attribute that mostly to the tablet rumors causing customers to go into a wait and see mode.

 

they update every July...

 

I'm also thinking of going Apple all the way...If they introduce IPS displays, I'm in, no questions asked! Apple added IPS to the iMac, and even to the iPad, so why not the laptops, too, is what I'm hoping.

Anyone think that's a distinct possibility?

 

For a laptop it certainly would be nice. The battery life of the iPad shows the power consumption of IPS panels is down enough to allow for it without causing issues on that front.

 

Right, and we also have E-IPS now. E stands for "Economy". Check out this 23" from LG that you can buy for all of $300. Cost is no longer a reason NOT to include IPS panels. Steve Jobs has said we will see A+ updates to the iPhone, and Macbook's!

Again...think about. That little 9.7" iPad doesn't a whole lot considering that it will have IPS. The iMac didn't used to have it. The new ones both do! The MacBook's are currently the only line of computers by Apple that do not have IPS...yet!

 

For anyone saying HTML5 is around the corner, your corner is about 10 years away... I mean c'mon, people haven't even agreed on what it should be yet... Anyone know what it will use as a flash alternative? I think the standard video format got dropped...

 

I find it funny they blame Adobe for crashes that never happen on a PC because of flash, at least not on any I have used.

As for Blu-Ray, good grief, waiting for it to really take off??? How taken off does it need to be for Jobs and Company to get it??

Good grief....

 

Apple is smart to pass on blu-ray for now. The new Alienware line of laptops had so many problems with blu-ray, they deleted it as an option...apparently providing some evidence of the "world of hurt" predicted by Mr. Jobs...

 

http://www.tipb.com/2010/02/06/flash-crash-sublime-html5-video/

 

I can attest Adobe doesn't exactly provide bug free products. I have no direct working experience with Flash, but I do have a few months of experience with Adobe Air (using javascript). The idea behind Air is nice (cross-platform desktop applications), but the implementation isn't what you'd call perfect, and there is little doubt they know about it.

That doesn't mean Apple should ignore them though. As unfortunate as may be, Flash is a standard and looks to be for some time yet.

 

i doubt HTML5 will replace flash soon...i mean..we already using flash for years...those animations...social websites?
i say jobs being too optimistic this time..just like when nvidia brags about we dont need CPU thing....

 

holding my breath for a good 17" refresh.

 

You and me both! I am so ready to ditch my ThinkPad W700 and get my hands on a MacBook Pro 17" WUXGA with - what hopefully will be - an IPS screen! The iMac's all have IPS now. Even the darn iPad will get IPS. Let's have them for MBP's!

I'll probably do it either way, though. Lenovo has been pi**ing me off, and any Apple product will run Windows 7 just fine.


(seriously, though, Apple, about that IPS thing...I'm begging you...I have so little.)

 

*looks at sig*


why in the hell are you ready to ditch that machine? specs are off the charts. just about anything else will be a hardware downgrade. :-/

 

Fair enough. It's just that Lenovo has been a thorn in my eye recently for a number of different reasons, so I guess I ought to be used to it by now. IBM was just SO good with every last aspect of the ThinkPad experience.

I'm very particular when it comes to screen quality, and while the W700 has a pretty awesome display, it's still not what I was used to with the IPS Flexview LCD's that the high-end ThinkPad's were graced with under IBM.

Add to that the fact that Apple has changed the iMac series to include IPS, and they're LED-backlit to boot! Then I see Steve Jobs announce that even the iPad will have IPS, so I'm really hoping that the MacBook's, or at least the MBPro's are going to get IPS with the apparently imminent refresh. I mean why not? Is it especially cumbersome or costly to get them onto laptops or what is it?

 

I'd assume it's currently cost-prohibitive.

 

IPS screens consumed more power than regular panels. The choice then becomes to be between battery life or better screens. (or better screens and more weight + greater size for the extra batteries)

As far as I know the IPS panels have become more energy efficient in the last few years, so they're more of an option now if you value battery life.

 

it doesn't really matter if html5 completely replaces flash for the short term. it just has to replace enough of flash so that the bulk of what was flash content will work on these devices.

by and large, flash is used for video. if the major video sites switch to html5, that is good enough.

 

meh.

you guys are hoping for the death of flash but don't realize that in large part, only Macs seem to have this big problem with flash. 5% (Apple's OS user base, give or take) of the market isn't going to push the industry one way or another. when you're small, you're just along for the ride, baby. I haven't had Flash crash firefox on my PC in at least 6 months...and that was a Firefox problem; not flash.

I think it's better to hope that Adobe tightens up their Mac offerings, rather than hoping HTML5--which is still trying to be hammered out and is far from completion--somehow arrives to save the day. Flash will be preeminent for at least another 2 or 3 years.

being an extreme minority has drawbacks. but you never know. the iPhone single-handedly convinced YouTube to support MP4's. maybe the iPad can push HTML5, for which Macs would be a direct beneficiary.