Steve Jobs was pretty good, not insanely great

Craig Matsumoto, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

January 15, 2008

2 Min Read
Applause-O-Meter

4:52 PM -- SAN FRANCISCO -- Macworld -- So, another Macworld keynote is in the record books. How did Steve Jobs do?

While taking notes, I rated audience response on a scale from 1 (silence) to 10 (insanely great; the 1984 Macintosh). The numbers look low, but that's partly because I was a harsh critic and partly because the rumor mill diluted the impact of some big points.

  • Jobs announces 4 million iPhones have been sold to date: 6. Everyone likes being part of The Revolution, I guess.

  • Maps and You-Are-Here features on iPhone: 3. People seemed to like it, but not that much.

  • Ability to customize your iPhone home screen: 5. Huh? People cheer for moving icons around like you already do on a computer? My only guess is that a fixed home screen has been a deep annoyance for the iPhone faithful. I'll ask Ryan.

  • New iPhone features available as a free upgrade: 5.

  • New iPod Touch features available as a $20 upgrade: 1. Dead silence. People liked "free" better.

  • Jobs unveils five studios that have signed up for movie rentals on iTunes: Lion's Gate, MGM, Miramax, New Line, and Touchstone. Not much reaction.

  • Then he says: "And by the way -- these six too," unveiling a slide with logos from 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal, and Sony. Classic Steve Jobs drama: 7.

  • Apple TV no longer requires a computer: 5.

  • Apple TV Take 2 is available as a free software upgrade: 7. New box's price is cut from $299 to... (pregnant pause)... $229: 3. With Jobs's buildup here, I think people expected a lower number.

  • Mac Airbook: Uh... since I don't really care, I stopped doing the little ratings here. But I think the $1,799 price point got a 7.

    Yeah, they still love Steve. But every year can't be an iPhone year.

    If you were there, and you've got a different take, I'd love to hear it. Use the message board below.

    — Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Craig Matsumoto

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Yes, THAT Craig Matsumoto – who used to be at Light Reading from 2002 until 2013 and then went away and did other stuff and now HE'S BACK! As Editor-in-Chief. Go Craig!!

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