Chapter 755: 755
The playfulness kicks in again
Steve Jobs took a deep breath and folded his hands.
It was because my hands kept shaking even though I entered a familiar waiting room.
'Oh my. I can't believe I'm shaking like this······. I'm getting old too.'
Jobs let out a bitter laugh and collected his thoughts. Today's keynote speech will change the future of Apple. No, the world.
"Jobs, we have to go now."
Then the waiting room door opened and Tim Cook spoke.
"······Timothy. This speech today will determine the future of our Apple. There can be no mistakes."
As Jobs stood up and spoke, Tim Cook smiled and answered.
"Of course. I was shocked when I saw the iPhone. How on earth did you come up with the idea to make something like that without me knowing?"
"I'm sorry about that. Security is so important······."
It was only a month ago that Tim Cook saw the iPhone in person.
When he apologized for keeping the work secret from even his closest associates, Tim Cook waved him off.
"No. I'm just saying this because the thing that was created is so great. Don't worry about it. Just think about today's speech, Jobs."
Jobs smiled faintly at Tim Cook's words.
When Jobs returned to Apple, he brought Tim Cook with him.
Living up to his expectations, Tim Cook has succeeded in restructuring Apple and breaking the chain of losses that had accumulated over the years.
That's why Jobs trusted Tim Cook more than anyone else.
But for this project, security was more important than anything else, separate from trust, so I couldn't explain it properly even to Tim Cook.
"The whole world will be as surprised as I am. And they will be chanting your name."
As Tim Cook spoke with anticipation, Jobs patted him on the shoulder.
"Thank you for your hard work, Timothy. If you hadn't been successful in cutting costs, I wouldn't have gotten this far. Bringing you back to Apple was the second best decision I've ever made."
Tim Cook asked him as he left the event venue, saying, "It's your second time."
"What? I'm second? Who was first? You're not talking about Gary, are you?"
Steve Jobs stopped walking when Tim Cook asked him a question.
Jobs turned around and smiled at Tim Cook.
"No way. He started Apple with me, but he's not a better choice than you, Timothy."
Steve Gary Wozniak was the man who created Apple.
Steve Jobs and Steve Gary Wozniak co-founded Apple, but people said that Jobs took charge of the ideas and management, while Steve Wozniak did all the other developments.
To that extent, Gary was as important a man to Apple as Jobs.
But Jobs said he wasn't the first.
Tim Cook tilted his head and asked Jobs again.
"If not Gary, then who?"
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"He's the guy who made the iPhone. You'll find out soon enough."
As Jobs disappeared from sight, leaving behind an unintelligible message, Tim Cook shook his head.
It was Jobs' usual eccentric behavior. I couldn't understand it, but I was used to it now.
Besides, since he made that kind of thing, it was only natural that he would react like that.
Tim Cook was shocked when he saw the iPhone that Jobs had created.
There were already portable devices called smartphones on the market, but the iPhone took a different path.
A revolutionary product that broke conventional wisdom. That was the iPhone.
Compared to the iPhone, all the devices that have been called smartphones so far seem like garbage.
"Apple is about to take flight."
Tim Cook followed Jobs into the event hall, smiling.
* * *
Steve Jobs walked up to the event venue.
He drank a glass of water he had prepared, coughed, and looked around.
Many people were watching him.
He pretended to look around the chairman and looked for Kim Mu-hyeok.
Soon after, he found Kim Mu-hyeok standing bluntly at the very end of the venue and laughed to himself.
'If I hadn't met that guy, the iPhone would have come out years later.'
Jobs recalled his first meeting with Kim Moo-hyuk.
A young Asian businessman brimming with confidence.
The moment I saw him confidently expressing his opinions in front of me, I could tell that he was a genius like me.
This iPhone was a project that started from his words.
As the venue grew dark, Jobs took his eyes off Kim Moo-hyuk and walked away slowly.
It was time for the presentation to begin.
The display behind him displayed a dark Apple logo, with a small light streaming through it.
Jobs walked slowly in front of a large display and opened his mouth.
"Today is the day I have been waiting for."
I only said a few words, but the people at the venue clapped and cheered.
"As we live, we come across many groundbreaking and innovative products that change our lives."
Applause continued to erupt throughout the presentation.
The display featured historic and iconic products Apple has released so far.
He continued his speech by explaining the iPod, following the Macintosh.
"Today, we are introducing three such innovative products."
Applause and cheers from the people filled the venue.
It was a reaction more intense than ever before.
There was also a murmur among developers and founders of IT companies.
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"What? Three? Even if it's Jobs, does that make sense? Do you understand?"
The developer who was listening from the side shook his head.
"No way! Is it possible that an innovative product can come out that easily? It's ridiculous. I don't know about one or two······."
"Right? I'm not the only one who thinks that way, right? How on earth are you going to handle the aftermath of making such big promises?"
Jobs continued talking, not caring about people's reactions.
The dark logo split apart and the first technique he had prepared appeared.
"The first is an iPod with a wide screen that can be operated by touch."
Applause filled the venue again.
"As expected, an iPod with a touchpad has come out. I kind of expected this."
People were moving busily, including people whistling, clapping, and reporters quickly writing articles.
After a brief pause, Jobs opened his mouth again.
"The second is a revolutionary mobile phone."
The announcement that Apple was releasing a mobile phone was met with even louder cheers and applause than before.
There was also a man who jumped up from his seat and raised both hands.
"What? Apple makes cell phones?"
The mobile phone market was already virtually saturated.
Besides Nokia, Motorola, and Ilsung Electronics, there were many manufacturers in many countries making cell phones.
"What's so revolutionary about a cell phone?"
Perhaps because of this, the reactions of the general public and developers were very different.
The developers couldn't believe it was a revolutionary mobile phone.
"Do you think that if you just add the word 'innovation' to a product, it will all be innovative? Is this the end for Jobs?"
Jobs manipulated the remote control, leaving behind reactions as varied as the number of people gathered at the event.
"The third and final one is a groundbreaking and innovative Internet communication device."
However, unlike when the first and second contents were released, the response was lukewarm.
"Are you planning on releasing a new Macintosh?"
What most people expected was a new version of the Macintosh.
"These are the three things: the touch-operated iPod, the revolutionary mobile phone, and the Internet-based communication device. The iPod, the mobile phone, the Internet-based communication device······."
As I continued to emphasize these three things, people laughed and clapped their hands.
Unlike the general public who applauded and laughed during Jobs' speech, the developers' faces were frozen in place.
The developers seemed to have anticipated Jobs' emphasis and talked with the person next to them with serious faces.
"These are not three separate products. They are one product. We decided to call it the iPhone."
The public reaction was enthusiastic.
"What? A smartphone with a touch screen?"
"An iPod, a cell phone, and the Internet all in one device? Really?"
Although they were called the general public, most of the attendees at the event were what are called early adopters.
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They were the people who bought and used new electronic products faster than anyone else.
So, even though they weren't at the developer level, they were more familiar with electronic devices than anyone else.
"This is it."
As Jobs smiled and gestured, an oddly shaped iPod with no aesthetic elements appeared on the screen.
Then everyone laughed and clapped their hands.
"No, I'm just kidding. The real one is in my pocket. I'll look at it later······."
Jobs briefly took out the iPhone from his pocket and continued his presentation criticizing the smartphones that had been released so far.
And finally, it was time to talk about the iPhone.
He strongly criticized the physical keyboards found in PDAs and smartphones to date.
Along with that, he emphasized that the iPhone has eliminated all the crude keyboard buttons that are found on phones on the market.
When Jobs took out the iPhone, people cheered.
He continued his explanation while demonstrating the iPhone.
"When we were developing the iPhone, we kept everything secret. We kept the minimum number of people in it and applied the highest level of security measures that I could, so even my friend Timothy didn't know about it. We were only able to show him the iPhone after it was finished."
The relationship between Jobs and Tim Cook was famous even within Apple.
There was even talk that the only person who could stop Jobs was Tim Cook.
"Tim Cook has never seen an iPhone. When I showed him the iPhone and let him touch it, the first thing he said was, 'I felt joy when I scrolled!'"
People laughed and cheered.
That's because the quality of the iPhone that Jobs demonstrated was smoother than any other electronic device that had been released so far.
After explaining the iPod-like features, he immediately made a phone call somewhere.
* * *
I smiled when the iPhone was released. It was so much more evolved than I had ever known.
I heard that in your previous life, you prepared an iPhone that was not fully finished until the presentation, so you only had each function installed.
It certainly looked a lot more polished than when the iPhone was first released in its previous life.
At that time, Jobs, who was introducing the iPhone, made a phone call somewhere.
And at the same time that Jobs was calling, my cell phone rang.
'what?'
I checked the caller ID, but it wasn't a number I had saved.
The moment I raised my head, wondering what to do since it was an unknown number, my eyes met with Jobs'.
He was holding his iPhone and looking straight at me.
Looking closely, I saw that the name stored in English on the rear display was Charlie.
'Ha. The mischievous spirit strikes again.'
If I didn't answer the phone here, it would be a major accident.
I heard that in your past life you spoke to one of the developers.
I sighed and answered the phone.
"Hey, Charlie."
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"Hello, Jobs. This kind of prank is not okay."
"Hahaha! How do you feel? That you were the first person I ever talked to on an iPhone?"
"Good. It has to be good."
"I wanted to tell you this before anyone else. The iPhone project is a joint project between you and me."
As Steve Jobs poured out his praise, the crowd erupted in applause.
"I have never met a more innovative man than you."
"haha······."
I couldn't help but smile awkwardly. But Jobs ignored me and continued talking.
"So, I'd like to introduce you. How about that?"
I shook my head.
"No. I had some ideas, but they were entirely Jobs's work."
"As I said last time, are you trying to make me into a shameless person who steals other people's ideas?"
"Of course not. I said it out loud first, but Jobs was thinking about it too. I just advised him to make it happen a little sooner."
"We call that an idea."
He's so stubborn. Well, that's Steve Jobs.
"Thank you, but I have no intention of revealing my name, Jobs."
"Hahaha. You're always like that. Got it. But everyone should know that the iPhone project started with you and me. Let's hang up now."
After ending the call, Jobs called someone else again.
The presentation continued with a phone call with the person who had been selected.
But the two people who were sitting in front of me and talking earlier were staring at me.
"Oh, by any chance? Did you just talk to Jobs?"
A man asked me and I shook my head.
"no."
"······I think that's right."
"It's a mistake."
Even though I denied it right away, I was met with envious and jealous looks.
It was annoying. I moved away right away.
"You have to be excited in moderation, okay?"
It was like taking revenge for forgetting about the Macworld Expo.
But, despite all the complaints I made, the corners of my mouth were going up endlessly.
< Playfulness kicks in again > End