Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

I've been watching Steve Jobs give his Macworld Keynote speeches from 1998 where he made his comeback.  It's very fascinating going back in time and witnessing some of his bets and where they've landed today.  Since my UCI days where I was tortured through being imprisoned in the infamous "dungeon" computer labs, I had a huge distaste for anything Apple related.  Fast forward to the present and I'm absolutely stunned by how far Apple has come since those days.

While I don't agree with 100% of their business philosophy (a lot of vendor lock in, not unlike Sony), I have to give them props for their products.  Definitely, with Steve back at the helm, there's a vision guiding Apple where they're pushing themselves as leaders in the industry.

I think one of the major keys to Apple's success is what I'm seeing as how they use case studies to present uses for their products.  For instance, in the Time Capsule presentation, it's mentioned how one might be inconvenienced with a cable.  A simple statement like that is actual profound in this industry because it illustrates a thought process behind their development of their products.  Also, in looking at the MacAir, I could not help but think that Steve's ultimate goal is to have a piece of paper that can be folded up and remain non-obstructive and space saving.  I imagine the scenario would come out of how computers tend to take a lot of space and notebooks themselves remain bulky.

Anyway, it's a great thing to see the evolution of Apple and what they're presenting as futuristic devices.  My main complaint right now is that they're too media focused.  I'm hoping that Apple can extend the whole "lifestyle" metaphor into other home appliances that interconnect with some form of software.  Many Japanese companies have worked on those issues, but I find their interfaces to be blunt, brutal and not friendly at all.  However, Apple has typically been in the forefront when it comes to interfaces so I'd like to see them continue expanding themselves into other areas like vacuums, automated lighting, dish washers, etc.