Steve Jobs introduces the "Digital Hub" strategy at Macworld 2001

[alexzz1234]

I can't believe 10 years later he discarded this strategy for the iCloud strategy (which is a lot easier)

[ariw2003net]

@alexzz1234 Kinda true. I think really what happened was that Apple won the digital lifestyle market and is moving on to newer markets. iCloud is pretty unrelated to the strategy Jobs describes in this video - but, of course, they still make and support products like iMovie, GarageBand, etc.

Really what sparked the change is that like Jobs said, at the time, the PC wasn't dying. Now it is, and Apple is at the forefront of the post-PC era.

[shnunk1]

"they don't have enough horsepower."

Say that to a 1.0 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM cellphone.

[MCGeest]

Hmm this wasn't very Nostradamus actually. Of course the PC wasn't dying but anyone who said that was a bit of an idiot frankly. And yes I remember 2001.

But frankly the last 10 years the PC has not been defined by the hub but by the web just like the 5 years before. Looking at this, this was probably more of an Apple strategy (unique strength, in being a holistic company) with a bit of wishful thinking that accidentally also struck them absolute gold (Ipod).

[pabloww]

This man knew exactly what he was talking about

RIP Steve =/

[rkukentertainment]

2011 I'm thinking 'is the PC waining'

[CheeseLoverBob]

1:22 - the first monkey is really cute

[thinsmek]

Steve looked a bit plumper all those years ago. Have movie making applications for consumers evolved at ALL for a decade? All I can think of is integration with Youtube...

[bretsteinmetz]

3:50... Yup, that's the iPhone, and if he really wants to pile more things into that list that will eventually become the iPhone, add a video game console, a satellite dish system, a pocket flashlight, a car stereo system, an entire music recording board (almost), a strobe light, a watch, an electronic reader, a gps system, even though they weren't as popular back then, an Internet browser, and oh yeah, some little trick known as FaceTime lol. I could go on...

[nicklassayshi]

He was spot on.

[kinglukedurrant]

Apple are the innovators... steve jobs is a grate man.

[wesscoast]

about 10 years later, and yea, iTunes is the most important application Apple's ever done... (for 1.0 they bought it from someone else, and slapped the iTunes logo on it.. ;).. how fiendishly Microsoftian)

[TheMrEMeat]

This is why its so interesting to listen to visionaries like Steve Jobs. Its like The Road From Here by Bill Gates that was published in 1995 predicted so many. I honestly prefer Apple to Microsoft though, but that could be that i'm a creative type.

[MariaSharapovaIsLove]

Holy...

Big Steve!!!

[EcoDimension]

@MariaSharapovaIsLove yep... these days he's become the stevejobs air

[heathmoor]

@ocbeach11 At that time Mac processors brand was PowerPC, so certainly he's including Macs in the concept of PC (BTW, PC stands for the generic name of Personal Computer, a term that precedes WindowsOS-running PCs)

[maullster]

I think on the 10 year anniversary of this event he should host one and look back at this and talk about how things were better than he imagined back then, and also give some ridiculous predictions for the future

[maullster]

I like old jobs better

[vasilibaev]

everyone here says "omg, he predicted this". well, when you have a company such as apple at your disposal, he simply pursued what he set out to in 2001. it's not a miracle that he was right, he simply worked towards accomplishing this "digital hub" goal.

[asswipe91]

eh men he looks kinda fat

[moderndesignworks]

Apparently Mr. Jobs fashion sense never evolved, but I must say it's iconic, they should sell it as a Halloween costume as Steve Jobs for Apple fans. I mean you can't find these mom jeans anywhere............LOL

[Iildimsum7]

holy shit, on the spot! steve jobs is a business legend

[genestarwindjf80]

Someone needs to shut his ass up. getting very sick and tired of Steve Jobs and his big ass ego. HE HAVE NO VISION ONLY SELLING IPODS and expensive MAC.

[trentryantv]

@genestarwindjf80 and you has good grammer. ;)

[DOlogunde]

wow, imovie looked like finalcut

[kasimdoubleG]

Fat Jobs and Black Shoes Same Clothes now Skinny Jobs White Shoes same Clothes XD

[ondrasubs]

bloddy hell he's a genius

[stupidjunk978]

"Digital cameras now constitute 15% of all cameras sold in the US"

LOL. I didn't realize people were still using film cameras as recently as 2001. I haven't owned one of them for aaaaages

[heathmoor]

@stupidjunk978 then you must be a total ignorant who thinks history began the day you were born.

[mystermoores]

How the hell does he do this?! He must have a Time Machine!!!

That said at the time he was working on the ipod and this is clearly based on ipods

[JohnF30Music]

what a prediction

[KrassiusCharr]

I always wondered the angle he took. Why he took it. I think he really is a genius to not only realize what the future is but to make it his. The iPod, the Mac Books, the iPhone, the iPad. They are the future.

[pata2009]

Truly visionary. Look at the competitors during that time, Compaq and Gateway, and look at them today. After merging with HP, nobody today really hears about Compaq as a brand anymore. Gateway was bought by Acer. Apple on the other hand is doing better than ever.

[heathmoor]

@pata2009 And look at Microsoft and Intel (those guys competing against PowerPC), nobody has heard from them for ages.

[bathellfire]

I like how Jobs lists all the portable digital devices and now Apple makes all of them, even a competitor to DVD players (Apple TV). Apple is trying to dominate the digital world.... I like it :)

[heathmoor]

@bathellfire Apple built-in cameras may be convenient but they are light years from dedicated cameras. We still have to see Apple competing against Nikon, Canon, Olympus and so on with similar or alternative products since an iPhone is far from an alternative to a good camera.

[booc0mtaco]

@heathmoor Don't forget, the best camera is the one you actually have when it matters. They wouldn't bother with making a dSLR replacement, since most consumers aren't professional to want more than a point-and-shoot camera anyway, and the iPhones (and now iPod Touches) will foot the bill.

[mattdotts]

Well, he was right. And look how much better a mac is for all this stuff (applications, hardware, operating system, interfaces). Steve jobs is a genius and apple is the best.

[konradgarus]

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

The speech is great, nonetheless Steve was wrong. Digital lifestyle? Yes, but completely different from how he saw it.

Today is not about using multiple devices and PC as a hub. It's all about *accessibility* and even sacrificing other value for accessibility ("The good enough revolution").

An companies are actually working hard *against* the hub idea. Think about DRM banning you from copying your digital collection, for example.

[lardrat]

No, Jobs describes pretty much exactly what the Apple ecosystem is. The only thing that isn't so up to date is that the 'hub' idea for the main computer is disappearing, and only because the devices (e.g. iPhone, Apple TV) are more powerful and better connected now than anyone was imagining back then.

[wesscoast]

but what do I sync my iPod touch to. yea. the computer. I buy stuff on iTunes and its stored on the computer. Everything else stems from that home base. Only in the AppleTV case do you 'not need' a computer, but really the AppleTV is the computer, it has its own storage, input and connectivity tech.

[lardrat]

That will disappear, as said. I haven't synced my iPhone for months and do access iTunes directly. But I repeat myself.

[thyvillageidiot]

Yes, generic PC makers and their affiliates are only achieving "good enough" because the only way they get sales is to have the "cheapest". Furthermore, because they don't offer anything very unique (other than price point) they have to chain their users with DRM.

On the other hand, Apple still has all the components (hardware, marketing, etc.) that allows them to continue to follow the digital hub strategy as described.

[Maserati7200]

you do realize that the iTunes store hasn't had DRM since January 2009, right?

[russelljackwebdesign]

hard to believe this concept was revolutionary 8 years ago

[zenopopovici]

Marker Felt ... no Comic Sans

[devianaut]

@zenopopovici yeah that font makes me cringe... glad they changed it up years later!

[zeroinfinit]

@zenopopovici Equally shitty...

[krabunk]

Is that comic sans? Ugggh...

[enricorpg]

Steve, you are a genius!

[booc0mtaco]

Jobs, 2001 "And the glue that's gonna make all this happen, are the applications"

2009 - There's an app for that, only on the iPhone

[heathmoor]

@booc0mtaco Since an iPhone is not but a very small PC glued to a cell phone.

[LeviFig]

The current growth and success of Apple in the last 10 years is a product of this clear and accurate vision of where things were headed. Apple really got their bet to start paying off, and I'm happy for that. The world can use more people enjoying their computers and their user interfaces. Apple has made computers not only a hub, but a tool that you don't need to dread but actually enjoy using.

Kudos to Steve Jobs and Apple. Good job... :>

[mxcl]

Distinctly un-Apple font in use there.

[LeviFig]

Very Apple, actually... It's Marker Felt! :)

[mariusmyk]

I must say, Mr. Jobs was amazingly precise in his prediction!

[drygnfyre]

He was. I don't think the "digital lifestyle" played out exactly the way he envisioned, but certainly the PC has become more important than ever before, with the Internet, e-mail, social networking, etc.

There have been many instances in the past where Jobs has been remarkably accurate at predicting where computers will take us in the future.

[napolenli]

@mariusmyk of course, and this will make it, like newton failed twenty years ago, but iPad got a big victory, digital hub will win through Apple TV and some more beautiful adding-value features.

[Adam77724]

I think this was back when the word "PC" encompassed all personal computers (both Mac and Windows machines), before the term became synonymous with Windows-based machines.

[storeflack]

look how crapy those things look today to think that was just in 2001

[AndrewsAwesome]

Apple were right and now almost every camera is digital

[AndrewsAwesome]

HE WAS SOO RIGHT! Apple were so right

[bradykroeker999]

How right was he.

HE WAS SPOT ON!!!!

[davedotproductions]

...heck, he even thought of the whole "YouTube" idea first!

[davedotproductions]

this is proof that the iPhone has been in Steve's head since the very beginning... go to 3:05 in this video!