I finally had some time to watch the full D5 interview with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. (iTunes) The way Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher handled the interview was disappointing(Both really didn’t need to be there.), but the comments from Gates and Jobs made it worth watching.
Throughout most of the interview Mossberg constantly stepped on Swisher’s questions, often summarizing each question Swisher asked like she was speaking another language that Steve and Bill wouldn’t understand. They were nearly obsessed with asking what kind of technology to expect 5 years down the line. The question was asked in multiple instances. Gates always likes to speculate, but Jobs seemed to get annoyed with the questions, flatly saying, “I don’t know.”
Jobs seemed to become frustrated on a couple of occasions. It was made clear that both Mossberg and Swisher were completely clueless when Steve was talking about the difference in experience between a network device/thin client and a fully featured desktop PC.
At one point Swisher just about wet herself when she asked Steve if he had an iPhone in his pocket and he said yes. Only he said yes in a tone that said, “Of course I have an iPhone in my pocket. I’m Steve Jobs. Why the hell wouldn’t I have an iPhone in my pocket? I mean, WTF?” That was certainly an awkward moment which will look even more awkward in 10 years.
The most fascinating tid-bits of the interview were Jobs and Gates reminiscing about working together in the early days. Gates briefly mentioned working with Woz to write a version of BASIC for the Apple II. That’s an amazing thing to picture those two working together. I wish Gates had gone into more detail about that story.
Sadly, at the end during the standing ovation(which was much deserved), Mossberg and Swisher are amazed! They keep commenting, “Oh, a standing O!” “Oh, wow.” and on and on. They can’t believe it. They don’t realize they’re sitting in front of the two most influential industry pioneers. It was really unfortunate.
