IVIV internet: Jobs, Perot, PCs & etc.

[Doug Millison]

I may have confused 2 events, in my earlier post:
1. Jobs' introduction of the Next computer, which I attended.
2.  His appearance with H. Ross Perot may have been at a later Next,  
Inc. event, which I also attended, when Jobs announced an alliance for  
Perot's company to sell Next computers to corporate and government  
customers.  It was when Jobs made this later announcement that Perot's  
charisma drew the press corps to him.

For the record, in that era I also spent a few hours with Bill Gates,  
together with a handful of reporters, at a barbecue on the Microsoft  
campus, mid-to late 80s, part of a larger PR event for analysts and  
press. This is when Apple was suing Microsoft for ripping off the Mac  
OS which Apple got from Xerox…Gates went on and on about Apple,  
putting them down. He was a mess, too.  Unwashed hair, dandruff flakes  
in drifts on the lapels of a suit that looked like it came from Kmart,  
smudged greasy spectacles. But a compelling guy in every way, with a  
real cult going up there.

By contrast, Steve Jobs in the 80s was slick, impeccable, insisted on  
controlling every detail of his press appearances, dressed with a  
sense of style, had fabulous vegetarian (vegan?) food catered for his  
press events, etc.   My ex-publishing partner Craig LaGrow handled  
broadcast media (he worked with Regis McKenna, the legendary Silicon  
Valley public relations guy) for the introduction of the Macintosh, he  
had stories to tell about Jobs' focus on details. It's why the iPhone  
is so cool.  Not to mention the new Apple tablets, supposedly coming  
next year…latest version of that Rand tablet Flamm mentions in his book.

http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0908&msg=140925&sort=date