How Big Can Apple Get?

[MacRumors]

Fortune publishes a short 5-question interview with Steve Jobs which addresses the iPod's effect on Apple and Apple's current success. The teaser interview leads to a longer (subscription) article entitled "How Big Can Apple Get?" which provides more thoughts from Steve Jobs.

MacObserver hilights the key points from the article which will also appear in print in the Feb 21, 2005 issue of Fortune. It provides some interesting insights into the recent history of Apple from Steve Jobs' perspective.

Of interest, according to the article, Apple approached Adobe in 1998 to develop consumer targeted Video/Photo software, but Adobe said "no"... which triggered Apple's decision to develop its own software (FCP, iPhoto, iMovie).

 

[QFace]

Glad to see apple is getting some good PR

 

[munkle]

I'm looking forward to reading the whole interview once it gets published but it sounds pretty interesting and not just a superficial 'tell us how great the iPod is' type of interview. It's amazing how well MS have done out of Apple - a $150 million initial investment now valued at $1 billion! Not to mention all the sales of Office and VPC for the Mac...wasn't it Bill who said that they make more money off each Mac sold than Apple? Bastards!

 

[virividox]

just hope that this doesnt create too much hype that would end apple in the long run by creating unrealistic expectations

 

[oingoboingo]

Of interest, according to the article, Apple approached Adobe in 1998 to develop consumer targeted Video/Photo software, but Adobe said "no"... which triggered Apple's decision to develop its own software (FCP, iPhoto, iMovie).

Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Photoshop Album show that Adobe made the wrong call back in 1998.

 

[BeigeUser]

Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Photoshop Album show that Adobe made the wrong call back in 1998.

After seeing those products, I'm glad that Adobe said no. I guess that Apple works best alone.

 

[MacFan25863]

Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Photoshop Album show that Adobe made the wrong call back in 1998.

Photoshop and After Effects show that they didn't suffer too badly from it

 

[G5orbust]

Wow... thats crazy. I can only imagine what Apple would have come up with if it had teamed up with Adobe because FCP and the iApps are amazing and those were just made just using one company's resources.

 

[GizMo3000]

Photoshop and After Effects show that they didn't suffer too badly from it

But Premiere went from having the entire Mac market to itself to -zilch-

After Effects on the Mac sales will gradually decrease as Motion becomes more robust. as more and more FCP editors will turn to it for their motion graphic needs.

 

[geeman]

But Premiere went from having the entire Mac market to itself to -zilch-
After Effects on the Mac sales will gradually decrease as Motion becomes more robust. as more and more FCP editors will turn to it for their motion graphic needs.

I'm with you on Premiere, but Motion doesn't do anywhere near as much as After Effects.

Not yet, anyway

 

[faustfire]

comparing motion to after effects is like comparing a calculator to a g5.
Motion acomplishes a few select things in fewer steps but overall in its current form it is nothing but something for amatures to jump on and feel that they can now create "origional" motion graphics without having to put their own work or creativity into it.

Let the cookie cutting begin.

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Photoshop Album show that Adobe made the wrong call back in 1998.

Photoshop Elements is a great little piece of software. For those of us who required neither the extended, often labyrinth functionality nor the unobtainable price of PS CS, the touch-up features and filters Elements provided were a welcome addition to the Adobe lineup.

Factor in with that functionality that it was cheap enough to throw in with such cameras as the Canon 300d, and the software becomes plain unassailible.

 

[zync]

BTW, if any of you are students you can probably get the article through a portal from your school library I'm off to look for it...have fun...


[EDIT] Apparently not yet...

 

[nagromme]

Maybe people will now complain less that Apple picks on poor Adobe

Interesting reminder: Final Cut was originally developed by Macromedia. I remember being interested in it before Apple had it.

 

[zync]

Maybe people will now complain less that Apple picks on poor Adobe

Interesting reminder: Final Cut was originally developed by Macromedia. I remember being interested in it before Apple had it.

Well thank god they picked it up. Most Macromedia products, in my opinion at least, aren't very user-friendly. Of cours FCP isn't that friendly either. You expect that of a video editor most professionals are using though.

 

[Lacero]

Out of a 10 hour workday, I'm in Final Cut Pro for about 7 of those hours. FCP is my home away from home. It puts food on the table, so this app of course is very precious to me.

And the fact it's made by Apple running on Apple hardware is not so much unlike those other proprietary editing systems, although this one I run PS, surf the web, read emails, and create DVDs.

 

[Gherkin]

Out of a 10 hour workday, I'm in Final Cut Pro for about 7 of those hours. FCP is my home away from home. It puts food on the table, so this app of course is very precious to me.

And the fact it's made by Apple running on Apple hardware is not so much unlike those other proprietary editing systems, although this one I run PS, surf the web, read emails, and create DVDs.

What's your job? I'm currently majoring in film but have no idea which direction I want to go in. Film editing has always been one of my top considerations.

 

[winmacguy]

What's your job? I'm currently majoring in film but have no idea which direction I want to go in. Film editing has always been one of my top considerations.

Go check out Weta Digital's sight
http://www.wetadigital.com/

 

[Earendil]

Go check out Weta Digital's sight
http://www.wetadigital.com/

Are you implying you work there?
You guys are my heros

 

[inkswamp]

Classic quote

"Pixar is the most technically advanced creative company; Apple is the most creatively advanced technical company."

This is possibly one of the best Steve Jobs quotes I've ever read.

 

[Demon]

Apple will never get that big unfortunately.
Their market is almost solely in the US, and some in the UK and Japan.
But unlike Apple, Microsoft has its eyes on Asia. if the hack China, that's already 1/5th of the world's population.. but Apple doesn't even have a website there. All they want from China is to exploit the cheap labor so that they can sell Macs for a premium back in the US. bastards. then again, microsoft are even bigger bastards. Apple is a great company, just hope they don't forget about the rest of the world, otherwise it will be smothered one day.

 

[Bakey]

Well thank god they picked it up. Most Macromedia products, in my opinion at least, aren't very user-friendly. Of cours FCP isn't that friendly either. You expect that of a video editor most professionals are using though.

I remember reading the history of Final Cut Pro a few years ago. Apparently it was a bunch of peeved Premiere developers who decided to go it alone and took their ideas to Macromedia.

Macromedia showed interest by taking on the project, and they actually released a demo of said product, which at the time was called "Key Grip". It was also said that Key Grip was to be utilised by Media 100 to assist them in entering the Windows NLE market. I'm sure I had a copy of Key Grip that came on an old Director 5.0 book CD type-thing!!

Anyway, the rest [as we know] is history... Macromedia became bored [as it does with most of its products, eg. Authorware & Director - I simply CAN NOT get on with Flash!!!!] and ditched the puppy hence it being snatched by Apple, and so with it we said goodbye to the Windows version...

TTFN

 

[jobberwacky]

It's amazing how well MS have done out of Apple - a $150 million initial investment now valued at $1 billion!

Yawn, MS sold their shares ages ago, with a profit yes, but they now own zero (in numbers: 0) % of Apple (to be exact: at least less than what would legally oblige them to declare their investment).

 

[polyisoprene]

Apple is a great company, just hope they don't forget about the rest of the world, otherwise it will be smothered one day.

Not true... Apple's got a slice of the market share here in Asia too... and it's growing rather rapidly.

 

[Porchland]

Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Photoshop Album show that Adobe made the wrong call back in 1998.

"When someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" Obviously, Adobe picked wrong.

Current market values:
Apple: $32 billion
Adobe: $15 billion

As Apple moves up in the market cap food chain, the acquisitions could start to get bigger. Adobe biggest assets -- Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator -- would make Apple as solid for graphics software as it is in music software.