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Jobs and Gates Chat Amicably

Posted by kdawson on from the sittin'-in-a-tree dept.

circletimessquare writes "As noted, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs met at the D conference yesterday. AllThingsD has video of the entire convivial and historic meeting — check the highlights clip. When a reporter asked if their rivalry was overblown, Jobs offered up this joke: 'We've kept our marriage secret for over a decade' — to an apparently flummoxed Gates. Other tidbits: 'His mother loves him!' said Gates about PC Guy in the famous series of commercials. 'And we love them because they're all customers!' said Jobs about Microsoft employees working on Zune who use the iPod. Read more about the event, which also covered a lot of serious ground, such as Apple's iPhone, at CNN and the Times Online."

25 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. What did you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lesson: sputtering halfwitted rage is for idiot fanboys. The people who actually make things base their self-esteem on what they accomplish, not on how insanely they hate someone else.

    1. Re:What did you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Lesson: sputtering halfwitted rage is for /. posters.

      Fixed!

    2. Re:What did you expect? by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Lesson: sputtering halfwitted rage is for idiot fanboys. The people who actually make things base their self-esteem on what they accomplish, not on how insanely they hate someone else.

      On the contrary, there are many feuds between high-level execs I could name, some of whom worked together, some of whom were rivals. Some of those feuds get to the rage level. The difference is the savvy ones realize that they can't show it in public, and maintain a calm, even witty demeanor.

      That observation has no bearing on this particular pair of executives, however.

    3. Re:What did you expect? by jcr · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The people who actually make things base their self-esteem on what they accomplish, not on how insanely they hate someone else.

      And that's why Microsoft's shareholders really need to kick Ballmer to the curb.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    4. Re:What did you expect? by Lars+T. · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think some were expecting fire, wrestling, and a Mortal Kombat style finish. It's not the job of these head honchos (even though Gates isn't really chair anymore) to bash the other guy. Especially not in public.
      . They have been spoiled by Linus, RMS, and Theo de Rath.
      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    5. Re:What did you expect? by h2g2bob · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lesson: sputtering halfwitted rage is for Steve Balmer.

      Fixed!

    6. Re:What did you expect? by Admiral+Ag · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's funny you should mention this, since Gates responded to a question by saying that what he most wished he had was Jobs' sense of taste. The crowd laughed (obviously remembering that quote), but Gates told them he wasn't joking, and went on to describe Jobs' sense of product design as "magical". Basically, he admitted something we've all known for many years: Microsoft is not as good as Apple is at making cool user interfaces.

      That was pretty big of Gates. He went up in my estimation for that.

      --
      "by that I mean people who don't sit on slashdot all day wondering why everyone else isn't building robots" DECS
    7. Re:What did you expect? by Khuffie · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No. What he admitted was that he was not as good as Jobs at making cool user interfaces. There's a slight difference there.

  2. *Brain explode* by mattgreen · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know what to think now! Choosing an operating system is a very serious matter of the highest concern, indeed, a matter of life or death. And to think that these two people have the gall to be civil to each other? They are making a complete mockery of everything we hold dear here! I cannot stand by and let myself watch in an idle manner while they trivialize one of the most epic battles by their 'jokes' and 'conversation'. It is tantamount to Yoda hanging out with Darth Vader! The only explanation is that Jobs has sold out to the dark side!

  3. I'm just impressed they found a venue big enough by bad_fx · · Score: 3, Funny

    To fit those egos in... :p

  4. Other topics not broached by Dachannien · · Score: 3, Funny

    While the talks were described by Jobs as being "positive", rumor has it that neither side brought up hot topics such as Microsoft's continued use of centrifuges for uranium enrichment or Apple's purported covert operations in Redmond.

  5. Behind the scenes by packetmon · · Score: 4, Funny

    As captured by planted Microphones...

    Jobs dressing room:
    Jobs in the background squeezing the head off a Bill Gates bobblehead doll... "As a kid I broke more windows than an urban problemed child on ritalin in an abandoned factory full of windows and an endless supply of rocks. I hate you"

    Gates dressing room:
    "Who thought it would be funny to send me Apple pie? I want him DEAD! I want his family DEAD! I want his house burned to the GROUND! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna PISS ON HIS ASHES!     (Untouchables movie quote)

    --
    Infiltrated dot Net
  6. Conspiracy... by Notquitecajun · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Has anyone ever got the sinking feeling that Gates and Jobs have been pulling the wool over our eyes with their "rivalry" for 30 years? Blatant cooperation on such a scale would have been even MORE monopolistic than Microsoft is now, and such competition has always been good press. I say they've had a weekly phone conversation since their supposed "split." Pirates of Silicon Valley, indeed.

    Am I making sense, or is this just pure flamebait?

  7. They don't hate each other by Bullfish · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The fanbois might wish they did but they don't. MS actually has actually helped Apple more than once. They even gave them a much needed cash infusion at one point in the 90's. And back in 83, at a meeting of my local apple users group, there was a MS shill talking up the apple and the software ms was making for it. Any bad blood is more between the basement dwellers of the world than these two. They have both contributed to the other being very rich. There are other examples, but the apple/ms rivalry is more of a media/fanboi concoction

    1. Re:They don't hate each other by vought · · Score: 5, Interesting

      MS actually has actually helped Apple more than once. They even gave them a much needed cash infusion at one point in the 90's.

      I'm very tired of hearing this - because it has no basis in reality.

      In 1997, Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple's non-voting stock. They sold this stock earlier this decade. Apple did not need cash at the time - the company had over $4 billion in the bank, but was losing money each quarter. They didn't need $150 million in stock sales to keep them afloat, and such a stock sale certainly couldn't be characterized as a "much needed cash infusion". It was a vote of confidence in Apple by Microsoft - a PR move and little more.

      The most important announcement made on the same day was that Microsoft would continue developing Microsoft Office for the Mac. This announcement was important to Apple's future in a way that a simple $150 million stock sale simply couldn't be - it sent the message to customers that the key to productivity software compatibility for Mac users would remain updated and supported.

      The most important announcement not made that day was that Apple and Microsoft settled a rather serious suit over Canyon Software's appropriation of Apple's QuickTime code, which was used by Microsoft and shipped in Windows Media Player. The suit could have been worth quite a bit more than $150 million - and would have led to a protracted court battle and some very embarrassing revelations about Microsoft's business practices during the government's antitrust investigation of the software giant.

      PLEASE stop repeating the canard about Microsoft "giving" Apple a cash infusion. It's not true, and never was.

    2. Re:They don't hate each other by vought · · Score: 3, Informative

      David Boies found the evidence that the suit was settled during his work on the antitrust suit for the government.

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/1998/10/29/microsoft_ paid_apple_150m/

  8. Skip the highlight reel by Nymz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The interview is not as fanboy biased as the /. summary implies. Watching the entire interview is worth it, and entertaining, and you'll be able to see why these two are still such great leaders.

  9. Mac vs PC ad by objekt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Weren't you hoping you'd see something like this?
    http://i17.tinypic.com/52ax05t.jpg

    --
    -- Boycott Shell
  10. Winston Churchill Said it Best by germansausage · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.

  11. Why would they care? by El_Smack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do they really dislike each other? Really? Maybe they used to, back when business was shaky and they were only multi millionaires. But now? They both won.
    Both Apple and MS could go bankrupt tomorrow and Gates/Jobs would still have more money that they could ever spend. It's easy to be magnanimous when you are untouchable.

    --


    There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
  12. Re:Bill Gates by jaysones · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course, he's building good credit so he can buy a house or car one day.

  13. Neat. by sootman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The highlight clips were great. I look forward to watching the whole thing. As much as we vilify Gates, he is a bright guy and he did some good stuff once upon a time and I could listen to either of them tell stories all day. That said, Steve is far and away the better presenter.

    Note to interviewers: SHUT UP! When you ask a question and the guy is trying to answer, quit trying to get your stupid little Friends-esqu quips in. NO ONE is there to hear you speak. Quit trying to be the life of the party. Example: watch Steve TRYING to tell his story at the 5:40 mark in the highlight reel and the inane banter at around 6:15.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  14. Re:Amicably? by hondo77 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think Gates is just socially awkward. Have you ever seen him look comfortable in public?

    --
    I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
  15. Re:Cryptic Comments by vought · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ". . . isn't it funny, a ship that leaks from the top."

    Definitively:

    This has nothing to do with Spindler's "ship with a hole in the bottom" comment. The "ship that leaks from the top" is CEOs and VPs who blab about future products to the detriment of current, shipping products while admonishing the vast majority of employees not to leak product details.

    When I joined Apple in 1995, we had to watch a security video. It schooled us about export control, "tailgating" through badged entryways, and not talking about product details with the press, friends, etc. It was silly to expect employees to keep their traps shut while they watched Diesel Spindler yak about upcoming products like the PowerBook 5300 which would have "unprecendented speed and battery life". (It didn't.)

    The ship that leaks from the top comment is simply a jibe at the days of Sculley, Spindler, and to a lesser degree, Amelio - braggadocio CEOs who represented the "old way" of doing things at Apple, and who didn't hold themselves to the same standards they expected of their employees.

      Sculley used to talk about pie-in-the-sky projects like the Knowledge Navigator, Newton, etc. well ahead of the projects actually, you know, working. Spindler was too stupid not to let stuff slip about future product direction. And Amelio talked up future products and strategies in order to keep the company relevant.

  16. Re:credit card by businessnerd · · Score: 4, Funny

    Btw, Black Amexes ain't something you request. It's something you get.
    So you might say that the American Express Black card is like a "Soviet Express" card.

    In Soviet Russia, credit card applies for you!
    --
    "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson