Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Joint Interview

Many of you have probably heard about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs joint interview at the Wall Street Journal D conference. The WSJ D Conference web site gives a summary/transcript and links to the various parts of the interview. I found the whole interview very interesting. Both gentlemen had nice things to say about the other. People who were looking for sparks to fly and controversy in this meeting were disappointed.

If on the other hand you watch this interview hoping to hear about some of the historical interactions between these two men and the companies they head you will get your wish. You'll also hear about the need for and value in partnerships. Steve Jobs names partnering with other companies as one of the things Microsoft has done well and that he wishes Apple had done better earlier. Both men talk about the continuing partnership between Microsoft and Apple which goes back to the Apple II days. There is some interesting talk about the future of computers and technology as well. Steve carefully avoids talking about some upcoming announcements of course. The things Bill talks about are somewhat general. Both agree that predicting five years out in this field is risky and not easy at all.

I found the interview very interesting. I suspect that it would be interesting to a lot of students as well. If nothing else it is fun and different to see these two men crack the occasional joke.

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