Frank Rose Watches the Evolution of Computing
- 6 years ago
Today's world has been formed largely by the genius of Steve Jobs.
Question: How has Apple changed computing?
Frank Rose: In looking back at this, I was trying to think well...Why is it that Apple today is viewed as essentially inseparable from Jobs; whereas, twenty-four years ago it was considered that the company would be that much better off without him? And...looking back on this I began to realize that really a big part of it was that computers were kind of scary back in the 80's. People didn't know much about them; didn't really know, what they did; what you could do with them; how they were going to affect you. There were all of these things going back to, well, science fiction stories and, the movie "2001" and all of these things that sort of captured people's imagination in a very negative way.
The way that computers—personal computers— really made inroads into a business environment was through IBM. IBM was a company that was extremely conservative, and that had been around for a long time and that people felt that they could sort of trust. Apple, on the other hand, was kind of considered a toy...you know, Macintosh...The idea that you could, do all of these things—that what you see is what you get on screen, icons, this whole thing was widely distrusted. And it was really the idea that in order for computers to be okay they have to be they had to kind of become sterile and non-threatening—if you are going to use them in business they couldn't be toys, and the way for them not to be a toy was to be sold by IBM or, after a couple of years, by Compaq which was frankly just like IBM, except that it was a start up
It was also a pretty conservative period generally. I mean, when Jobs was creating the Macintosh, the question he threw out to his people was, "Do you want to join the Navy or do you want to be a pirate?" And the Macintosh was for the pirates. What's happening now is that pirates are pretty well accepted these days. They've made a lot of headway. And people are obviously far more comfortable with computers and with what you can do with them—in all sorts of ways whether it's entertainment of any sort. We just live in an entirely different world now, and it's really largely a role that Jobs sort of invented; this idea of a personal computer as a liberating device—as something that would free up your creativity, and it's really something that started with him.
Recorded on: May 21, 2009
Question: How has Apple changed computing?
Frank Rose: In looking back at this, I was trying to think well...Why is it that Apple today is viewed as essentially inseparable from Jobs; whereas, twenty-four years ago it was considered that the company would be that much better off without him? And...looking back on this I began to realize that really a big part of it was that computers were kind of scary back in the 80's. People didn't know much about them; didn't really know, what they did; what you could do with them; how they were going to affect you. There were all of these things going back to, well, science fiction stories and, the movie "2001" and all of these things that sort of captured people's imagination in a very negative way.
The way that computers—personal computers— really made inroads into a business environment was through IBM. IBM was a company that was extremely conservative, and that had been around for a long time and that people felt that they could sort of trust. Apple, on the other hand, was kind of considered a toy...you know, Macintosh...The idea that you could, do all of these things—that what you see is what you get on screen, icons, this whole thing was widely distrusted. And it was really the idea that in order for computers to be okay they have to be they had to kind of become sterile and non-threatening—if you are going to use them in business they couldn't be toys, and the way for them not to be a toy was to be sold by IBM or, after a couple of years, by Compaq which was frankly just like IBM, except that it was a start up
It was also a pretty conservative period generally. I mean, when Jobs was creating the Macintosh, the question he threw out to his people was, "Do you want to join the Navy or do you want to be a pirate?" And the Macintosh was for the pirates. What's happening now is that pirates are pretty well accepted these days. They've made a lot of headway. And people are obviously far more comfortable with computers and with what you can do with them—in all sorts of ways whether it's entertainment of any sort. We just live in an entirely different world now, and it's really largely a role that Jobs sort of invented; this idea of a personal computer as a liberating device—as something that would free up your creativity, and it's really something that started with him.
Recorded on: May 21, 2009
Question: How has Apple changed computing?
Frank Rose: In looking back at this, I was trying to think well...Why is it that Apple today is viewed as essentially inseparable from Jobs; whereas, twenty-four years ago it was considered that the company would be that much better off without him? And...looking back on this I began to realize that really a big part of it was that computers were kind of scary back in the 80's. People didn't know much about them; didn't really know, what they did; what you could do with them; how they were going to affect you. There were all of these things going back to, well, science fiction stories and, the movie "2001" and all of these things that sort of captured people's imagination in a very negative way.
The way that computers—personal computers— really made inroads into a business environment was through IBM. IBM was a company that was extremely conservative, and that had been around for a long time and that people felt that they could sort of trust. Apple, on the other hand, was kind of considered a toy...you know, Macintosh...The idea that you could, do all of these things—that what you see is what you get on screen, icons, this whole thing was widely distrusted. And it was really the idea that in order for computers to be okay they have to be they had to kind of become sterile and non-threatening—if you are going to use them in business they couldn't be toys, and the way for them not to be a toy was to be sold by IBM or, after a couple of years, by Compaq which was frankly just like IBM, except that it was a start up
It was also a pretty conservative period generally. I mean, when Jobs was creating the Macintosh, the question he threw out to his people was, "Do you want to join the Navy or do you want to be a pirate?" And the Macintosh was for the pirates. What's happening now is that pirates are pretty well accepted these days. They've made a lot of headway. And people are obviously far more comfortable with computers and with what you can do with them—in all sorts of ways whether it's entertainment of any sort. We just live in an entirely different world now, and it's really largely a role that Jobs sort of invented; this idea of a personal computer as a liberating device—as something that would free up your creativity, and it's really something that started with him.
Recorded on: May 21, 2009
Question: How has Apple changed computing?
Frank Rose: In looking back at this, I was trying to think well...Why is it that Apple today is viewed as essentially inseparable from Jobs; whereas, twenty-four years ago it was considered that the company would be that much better off without him? And...looking back on this I began to realize that really a big part of it was that computers were kind of scary back in the 80's. People didn't know much about them; didn't really know, what they did; what you could do with them; how they were going to affect you. There were all of these things going back to, well, science fiction stories and, the movie "2001" and all of these things that sort of captured people's imagination in a very negative way.
The way that computers—personal computers— really made inroads into a business environment was through IBM. IBM was a company that was extremely conservative, and that had been around for a long time and that people felt that they could sort of trust. Apple, on the other hand, was kind of considered a toy...you know, Macintosh...The idea that you could, do all of these things—that what you see is what you get on screen, icons, this whole thing was widely distrusted. And it was really the idea that in order for computers to be okay they have to be they had to kind of become sterile and non-threatening—if you are going to use them in business they couldn't be toys, and the way for them not to be a toy was to be sold by IBM or, after a couple of years, by Compaq which was frankly just like IBM, except that it was a start up
It was also a pretty conservative period generally. I mean, when Jobs was creating the Macintosh, the question he threw out to his people was, "Do you want to join the Navy or do you want to be a pirate?" And the Macintosh was for the pirates. What's happening now is that pirates are pretty well accepted these days. They've made a lot of headway. And people are obviously far more comfortable with computers and with what you can do with them—in all sorts of ways whether it's entertainment of any sort. We just live in an entirely different world now, and it's really largely a role that Jobs sort of invented; this idea of a personal computer as a liberating device—as something that would free up your creativity, and it's really something that started with him.
Recorded on: May 21, 2009