Filed under: Steve Jobs

Just in case you missed it yesterday, US Senator Chuck Schumer wrote an open letter to Steve Jobs asking him to deal with the ongoing iPhone 4 reception issues. "To address this concern," Schumer wrote, "I ask that Apple provide iPhone 4 customers with a clearly written explanation of the cause of the reception problem and make a public commitment to remedy it free-of-charge." Schumer cites the Consumer Reports posts about reception issues, and suggests that Apple both provide free software updates to make sure bars correctly reflect signal reception (which it did yesterday), and provide the actual formula it uses for bar strength (which it probably won't do).

Politics aside (and please don't argue politics on our Apple blog, thank you -- if the comments get out of hand on this one, we'll just close them), I can't see how this is much more than Schumer jumping in on a cause that's already rolling along fine without him. Even before his letter went out, today's press conference had been scheduled, and the issues were well documented. I guess we appreciate the sentiment and all (we do want these issues fixed), but Jobs was probably going to do today whatever he was going to do without hearing from a New York Senator.

Thanks anyway, Chuck. Probably time to leave the iPhone 4 issues to Apple and its customers, and get on back to, you know, governing the country.

I have my doubts about what's going on here, but I'll let you judge the veracity of this one for yourself. The above video is supposedly a short clip of none other than Steve Jobs walking through the newly opened Paris Opera Apple Store during this past weekend on July 3rd. A commenter on 9to5Mac says that the guy in black walking in front of Steve is Steve Cano, the senior director of Apple International Retail, so supposedly Steve and entourage were there to check out the new store and see how things were going.

Of course, not everything you read and see about Steve is true -- while it certainly makes sense that he'd be there (and that he's probably also dropping by the new store in Shanghai), there's no verification on this one, so we don't know for sure if this is him or just a well-dressed French impostor. But either way, enjoy the fleeting glance of what seems to be the man himself out in public.

Oh, and Steve? You were too busy to spend the July 4th weekend at home, cooking on the grill and watching fireworks with the rest of us? Sure, it was probably just a bit of bad timing, but next time the Independence Day holiday rolls around, take a break and enjoy it a little, won't you?

As you know, a few weeks ago Steve Jobs took the stage at the eighth annual D: All Things Digital (i.e., D8) conference, where he was interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher on the recent goings on at Apple HQ. Unfortunately, most of us couldn't be there and had to sit back and read the tweets and blog postings from the lucky ones at D8, to get a good sense of what was going on. Blog postings! The horror!

Fortunately, Apple has provided full video and audio downloads of Steve's D8 interview on iTunes, both free and clocking in at just over an hour-and-a-half long.

Maybe someone can answer this for me: why is it that many of these conferences aren't simply streamed for the general public, as they happen? Is it because they want to give those in the audience more reason to be there, rather than watching from home, or are servers really incapable of handling the onslaught of traffic?

[via All Things Digital]

WWDC is wrapping up here in San Francisco today, and after a week of having most of the best Apple developers in the world all in one place, we're hearing some speculation and solutions for what happened to Steve Jobs on stage Monday. He had Wi-Fi issues while accessing the New York Times website during a demo with iPhone 4, and of course it led to the awkward pause where he asked the over 500 Wi-Fi users in the room to please unplug their computers and stop liveblogging (of course, not everybody complied).

But were those users the problem? NPR cornered Glenn Fleishman for an explanation, and he says while that many Wi-Fi users might not have caused problems, many of the people in the room were using MiFis, the personal wireless network devices that aren't necessarily designed to be used so closely together. It wasn't a bandwidth problem then, Fleishman suggests, but an interference problem, with local Wi-Fi likely giving way to the vast noise from other devices.

Fleishman also says over at Ars Technica that there might have been another issue: the iPhone 4's pre-release network drivers. If you look at how the iPhone actually behaved, it's apparent that the software might not have been ready to deal with everything happening during the keynote. Of course, that doesn't mean that iPhone 4 will have issues at release -- Apple tests these devices thoroughly, and we couldn't imagine Steve releasing subpar drivers on the iPhone. Even if the drivers were the issue, obviously we'd never heard that from Apple. But Steve's irritation at Monday's keynote may have been slightly misplaced -- there were probably a few different factors going into the reason he couldn't load a page in Mobile Safari.

The folks at All Things Digital have posted the full-length video of the interview that Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher did with Steve Jobs at D8. As usual, Steve provided several memorable moments.

This year, he discussed the tragic situation at Foxconn, where many Apple products are assembled. Several employees have committed suicide since January. He called it "very troubling" and noted that "we're all over this." In fact, Apple has sent investigators to the factory.

The group also discussed Apple's position on Adobe and Flash. "You have to pick the right horse to ride, technically, going forward," he said. Steve published his formal thoughts on Flash in April, which brought tensions between Apple and Adobe to a head. Jobs claims that Flash isn't the right tool for the iPhone and iPad, while Adobe claims that Apple is imposing restrictions on developers and consumers.

There's much more to the interview, of course, and Swisher and Mossberg did a stellar job of talking with Jobs as usual. The discussion is definitely worth watching, and a good way to bide your time until today's keynote.

Steve Jobs is scheduled to appear on stage tonight at D8 in Los Angeles, and Engadget is blogging live from the event. Steve will be on stage live at 6pm Pacific Time (9 Eastern), so if you're around, tune in over there to see what's happening live at the event.

We'll have a wrapup back here on TUAW as soon as the event is over, and if anything crazy happens on stage, you'll see it here and/or over on our Twitter account this evening. It's very unlikely that Steve will actually make any product announcements (especially since WWDC is in San Francisco next week, and we're likely going to see the new iPhone there), but if the past interviews at All Things D are any indication, we'll see some frank discussion about Apple and its place in the market, and I'll bet we'll hear some behind-the-scenes information on how the US and International iPad launches went. Stay tuned.

Update: Some choice sound bites, courtesy of Engadget's quick fingers, after the break.

This is an idea so beautiful in its execution that you wonder why it hasn't been done before -- take Steve Jobs' rapturous introduction of the iPad, and put it over the footage from Star Wars of the Death Star briefing. It's a perfect geeky mashup -- I especially love Han Solo's indifference ("It's just a big iPod touch, Chewie"), and the random jeers from the audience. Also, Google Maps on the Death Star looks a little different than on my phone, but I guess that Pac Man stuff is cool.

Brilliant little short. It's funny how Apple product announcements have become almost as culturally significant as the products themselves. Of course, that's exactly the way Apple wants it, but it doesn't stop us from skewering the presentations with mashups like this.

[via Cult of Mac]

In a recent TUAW post, I wondered whether a closed Mac system might be in Apple's future in addition to the standard Mac offerings. Despite the existence of Apple TV, some are dubious. After all, Steve Jobs said no (or, more accurately "nope") to a correspondent who recently asked about a Mac App store under a far more universally closed system than the scenario floated yesterday.

Jobs has said "no" (and "nope") before. Sure, we at TUAW love Uncle Steve, but when Jobs says "no," we're not always sure that he really, really means it.

The following list includes TUAW's 6 top Steve Jobs "no way" moments. Each of these transformed into "yes way" actions some time after Apple's denial. It's not as if Apple doesn't mean "no" when it says "no." It's just that like any other corporation, Apple often moves in unexpected directions based on consumer pressure. And sometimes Pinocchio's nose grows a teeny tiny bit.

We've seen the keynote in 60 seconds, and we've seen the "only the adjectives" 'approach before. Here's a slightly less complimentary way to show off the keynote, though, with all of the "ums," "aahs," and other interjections that popped up during the iPhone OS 4.0 keynote a while back.

Far be it from us to make fun of Mr. Steven P. Jobs, of course, but something funny like this actually shows off how good he really is at doing it right. Seeing him up there on stage with his turtleneck and jeans, all enthusiastic about whatever "magical and revolutionary" device they've cooked up this time, is half the fun of a new Apple product announcement. If Steve were any less eloquent and smooth than he is, you might end up with something like this: a guy desperately trying to put a few words together about his new product. It's not nearly as effective, but it's much funnier.

[via MacStories]

Apple has posted their Thoughts on Flash, signed by Steve Jobs himself, which echos a lot of the commentary that you've probably already read on why Apple isn't supporting Flash on iPhone OS devices, and why they plan to block apps that allow Flash programs to be recompiled into iPhone OS programs, especially games.

Beginning with citing their long-standing relationship, Steve outlines six points: openness, "the full web", security and performance, battery life, touch, and the drawbacks of relying on third-party development tools.

In case anyone has been unclear thus far, or has been waiting for a version of the iPhone OS that supports Flash, here is your clear and unmistakable sign: you will never see Flash on an iPhone OS device. Steve's letter addresses the "why not?" questions.

Kara Swisher announced this week that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will appear on stage at this year's All Things Digital Conference, D8. In fact, Steve will kick things off with an on-stage interview on opening night. Other famous guests will include James Cameron and Steve Ballmer.

As Swisher notes, there's much to talk about: The iPad, the iPhone's future, Apple's tense relationship with Google and Adobe...one wonders if the Gizmodo affair will be discussed.

Steve has appeared at the All Things D conference several times, most famously aside Bill Gates for an on-stage interview in 2007. It was a great interview, complete with Bill's revelation that he is not Fake Steve Jobs (this was before Daniel Lyons had been revealed).

Good luck to all participants and attendees. It should be a great event.

[Via Mac User]

Business Insider has published an email reply one of their readers received from Steve Jobs. The reader wrote to Jobs after reading a speech Jobs gave about his experience with liver disease. The BI reader, who lost his young girlfriend to melanoma-induced liver failure, wrote to express gratitude that he took the time to address the issue of creating a live donor registry for kidney transplants in California.

Only a few hours later Steve wrote back:

"Your [sic] most welcome, James. I'm sorry about your girlfriend. Life is fragile.

Steve"

Despite the grammatical error in Steve's email, Business Insider believes the email (sent from his iPad) is authentic after double-checking the header information. Steve's emails are always about tech issues. It's nice to see him addressing the more important issues in life too. For another inspiring tear-jerker, Steve's 2005 Stanford speech is always a good watch.

Steve Jobs is flying again. Literally. Last April the Wall Street Journal freaked out a bit when they went through Apple's SEC reports and saw that Apple only reimbursed Steve Jobs for US$4000 in flight expenses for his private Gulfstream V jet from July to December 2008.The $4000 reimbursement was a paltry sum compared to the $580,000 Steve was reimbursed for travel on his jet during the January to June 2008 period.

The $4000 reimbursement was due to several reasons, notably Jobs being sick, but also because he didn't need to fly all over the world closing iPhone 3G deals with international carriers. For those that see Jobs' Gulfstream expenses as directly "integral to negotiations with international carriers and supply chain partners," you'll be happy to hear that Jobs has racked up $127,000 in Gulfstream expenses from January to March of this year, according to Apple most recent SEC filing.

So why is Jobs flying all around on Apple business again? We know he was in New York several times to talk to publishers about putting their content on the iPad, beyond that, it's anyone's guess.

We reported on Mike Daisey's monologue The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs earlier this year. The play was (and is still) scheduled for a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre from January 14 to February 27, 2011, but due to popular demand, the monologue will now preview for one night only on April 22 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. The play is a monologuist piece that "dives into the epic story of a real-life Willy Wonka whose personal obsessions profoundly affect our everyday lives."

You know, usually plays show longer "due to popular demand," not open nine months early. Just goes to show when you slap Steve Jobs' name or likeness on anything, you can sell it to people. On the other hand, Daisey's a pretty funny guy, so if you go see it I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. And if you do see it, drop us a line to tell us what you thought!