Steve Jobs' Best Quotes Ever

[MacBytes]

Category: Opinion/Interviews
Link: Steve Jobs' Best Quotes Ever
Description:: "It wasn't that Microsoft was so brilliant or clever in copying the Mac, it's that the Mac was a sitting duck for 10 years. That's Apple's problem: Their differentiation evaporated."

Posted on MacBytes.com
Approved by Mudbug

[Doctor Q]

From September 1987:

"I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach and knocked all my wind out. I'm only 30 years old and I want to have a chance to continue creating things. I know I've got at least one more great computer in me. And Apple is not going to give me a chance to do that."

I guess he got his chance after all.

[bluebomberman]

Man, he's fascinating, even when he's wrong (*cough cough* cube *cough cough*).

[steve_hill4]

Originally Posted by Doctor Q

From September 1987:

"I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach and knocked all my wind out. I'm only 30 years old and I want to have a chance to continue creating things. I know I've got at least one more great computer in me. And Apple is not going to give me a chance to do that."

I guess he got his chance after all.

I think he can take partial credit for more than just one more great computer.

"We made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them."
-- Jobs, on Mac OS X's Aqua user interface (Fortune, Jan. 24, 2000)

It sure tastes good too.

[Project]

I thought this was very revealing:

"If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth -- and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago."
-- Fortune, Feb. 19, 1996

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by Project

I thought this was very revealing:

"If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth -- and get busy on the next great thing. ..."
-- Fortune, Feb. 19, 1996

4-1-06 ?

[Rocketman]

"The G4 Cube is simply the coolest computer ever. An entirely new class of computer, it marries the Pentium-crushing performance of the Power Mac G4 with the miniaturization, silent operation and elegant desktop design of the iMac. It is an amazing engineering and design feat, and we're thrilled to finally unveil it to our customers."
-- Macworld Expo, July 19, 2000

Evidence: The Manhattan Apple store monolith.

Rocketman

[abrooks]

"Scrolls like butter" - Steve Jobs 2006

I'm saddened to not see that in the list.

[Doctor Q]

Overall, I think he's pretty much stuck to his vision. Technology and the computer and consumer electronics marketplaces change all the time, so it's unlikely anyone would be able to predict the future with any accuracy. And failing to put a certain processor in a certain computer by a certain date isn't a big deal in the long run.

The idea of making practical, easy-to-use, and fun products has been with him from the start and he's managed the big issues (making deals to keep MS Office on the platform, negotiating with record labels, etc.) and been brave enough to switch processor chips and Mac operating system underpinnings in keeping with that goal.

The quotes show his personality, and old quotes can always come back to haunt you, but overall I think they make a good impression.

[p0intblank]

Very interesting. You have to love his comments about Pixar.

[rockthecasbah]

i still think the best is Lilstewart92's quote in his sig: "My girlfriend always laughs during sex, no matter what she's reading." It's just so, witty and unexpected. I never could have thought of such a great line in my life...

[m-dogg]

I found this one interesting:

"The desktop computer industry is dead. Innovation has virtually ceased. Microsoft dominates with very little innovation. That's over. Apple lost. The desktop market has entered the dark ages, and it's going to be in the dark ages for the next 10 years, or certainly for the rest of this decade."
-- Wired magazine, February 1996

Looks like we're heading out of the dark ages!!!

[bluebomberman]

Originally Posted by rockthecasbah

i still think the best is Lilstewart92's quote in his sig: "My girlfriend always laughs during sex, no matter what she's reading." It's just so, witty and unexpected. I never could have thought of such a great line in my life...

Hey, you can't compare a quote about sex to Steve Jobs's public comments! That's like comparing iPods to rice cookers. Oh so awesome. Oh so different.

[Billy Boo Bob]

Originally Posted by Steve Jobs

"You know, I've got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can't say any more than that it's the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But nobody there will listen to me."
-- Fortune, Sept. 18, 1995

Could it be that he was thinking of the iPod and iTunes way back then?

[steve_hill4]

Originally Posted by Billy Boo Bob

Could it be that he was thinking of the iPod and iTunes way back then?

More likely the iMac and the integration of product lines under the i banner. If you said iAnything to anyone, they would think iMac, iPod, Apple. Great strategy, now they may even consider slowly moving away from it.

[Chaszmyr]

"Why would I ever want to run Disney? Wouldn't it make more sense just to sell them Pixar and retire?"
-- Fortune, Feb. 23, 2004

That's the most interesting thing in my opinion, giving the rumors that have circulated in the not-so-distant past.

[mpw]

Originally Posted by Doctor Q

...old quotes can always come back to haunt you...

Too true:

"I do." - mpw, May '99

[iGav]

Originally Posted by mpw

Too true:

"I do." - mpw, May '99

heheheheheheh. I like that one.

[mpw]

Originally Posted by iGav

heheheheheheh. I like that one.

If you really do like it you're welcome to it......but remember it comes with baggage!

[Doctor Q]

Originally Posted by mpw

Too true:

"I do." - mpw, May '99

Yes, I remember that one.

Judge: "Do you admit you were frequently in CompUSA, hugging and petting all the Macintosh computers, an action that frightened other customers?"
mpw: "I do."
Judge: "Do you agree to this restraining order?"
mpw: "I do."

[galstaph]

"The products suck! There's no sex in them anymore!"
-- On Gil Amelio's lackluster rein, in BusinessWeek, July 1997

mmmm sex...... Macbook screams sex & slot drives are *dirty*

"You know, I've got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can't say any more than that it's the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But nobody there will listen to me."
-- Fortune, Sept. 18, 1995

And we are seeing that plan in action GO STEVE!

[dontmatter]

Originally Posted by Project

I thought this was very revealing:

"If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth -- and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago."
-- Fortune, Feb. 19, 1996

not a little ironic, though. Aren't we all rooting for apple to win the PC wars? Vengence at last! Microsucks! headless imac! windows on macs! macs on generic PCs!

but indeed, a decade has passed. should be fun.