Steve Jobs on the Web: The Defining Technology
What Jobs talks about
Jobs argues that the Internet and the web are the two most exciting things happening in software and computing. He says the web is fulfilling the idea that computers should become communication devices, not just machines for computation.
He predicts that the web will become profound in its impact on society and commerce, especially because it is open to innovation and not controlled by Microsoft. He sees it as a direct-to-customer channel that will let even the smallest company look as large as the biggest one.
Jobs also says the web will breathe new life into personal computing and become the defining technology and social moment for computing over the next decade.
An interviewer asks the questions; Jobs speaks throughout.
In his words
“I think the Internet and the web, there are two exciting things happening in software and in computing today.”
“The computer would ultimately not be primarily a device for computation, but metamorphosize into a device for communication.”
“Microsoft doesn't own it and therefore there's tremendous amount of innovation happening.”
“The web is the defining technology, the defining social moment for computing.”
“The smallest company in the world can look as large as the largest company in the world on the web.”
Key points
- The Internet and the web are the most exciting developments in computing.
- The web turns the computer into a communication device.
- Because Microsoft does not own it, the web invites huge innovation.
- Commerce will move online in a big way, from catalogs to television and beyond.
- The web is the ultimate direct-to-customer distribution channel.
- Small companies can appear as large as major corporations on the web.
- The web will be a defining force for computing and society.
Full transcript
And the the the end of the third show, actually, is the one moment where we do look into the future Uh-huh. Because Channel four has asked us to do that. Sure. And so what's your vision of, you know, ten years from now with this technology that you're developing? Well, you know, I think the Internet and the web, there are two exciting things happening in software and in computing today. Think one is objects, the other one is the web. The web is incredibly exciting because it is the fulfillment of a lot of our dreams that the computer would ultimately not be primarily a device for computation, but metamorphosize into a device for communication.
And with the web that's finally happening. And secondly, it's exciting because Microsoft doesn't own it and therefore there's tremendous amount of innovation happening. So I think that the web is going to be profound in what it does to our society. As you know, about 15% of the goods and services in The US are sold via catalogs or over the television. All that's going to go on the web and more. Billions and billions soon, tens of billions of dollars worth of goods and services are going be sold on the web. If you could... A way to think about it is it is the ultimate direct to customer distribution channel. Another way to think about it is the smallest company in the world can look as large as the largest company in the world on the web. So I guess, I think the web, as we look back ten years from now, the web is going to be the defining technology, the defining social defining social moment for computing.
And I think it's going to be huge. I think it's breathed a whole new generation of life into personal computing, and I think it's gonna be huge. Yeah. And you're making software that Oh, absolutely. But so is everybody. Mean, just forget about what we're doing. Just Yeah. As an industry, the web is gonna open a whole new door Mhmm. To this industry. Yeah. It's another one of those things that it's obvious once it happens. But five years ago, who would have guessed? Right. That's right. Isn't this a wonderful place we live in?
Transcribed from the audio by speech recognition (Deepgram). Timestamps link to the video above. Errors are possible.