Steve Jobs was famous for his keynote presentations, which combined showmanship with beautifully designed slides to generate his trademark ‘reality distortion field.’

But what few people knew at the time was, he didn’t use a Mac to produce those slides. Not until 2002, at least. Instead he relied on a little-known app called Concurrence on his trusty NeXT computer.

Jobs loved this app so much, he hired its creator to work on a top secret project at Apple. The result was Keynote, an app specially designed to meet Jobs exacting presentation requirements.

Thanks to the power of Quartz, the Mac OS X graphics layer, the frame rate and silky-smooth 3D transitions of Keynote blew other presentation packages like PowerPoint out of the water. 

Keynote formed the basis of Apple’s iWork office productivity suite we know and love today.

In this episode, we chart the thirty-year history of Apple office productivity apps, and consider what it tells us about the company’s changing business model.

LINKS

Concurrence screenshots
https://apple.fandom.com/wiki/Concurrence

Steve Jobs launches Keynote at MacWorld 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTF9wnTPpK0

Roger Rosner demos iWork ’05 at MacWorld 2005
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLxI40utsLM

Apple announces completion of iWork suite with the addition of Numbers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pb_OIBW4Ys

iPad launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTNbKCAFHJo

Steve Jobs announces iWork with iCloud in his last keynote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPMjUtfQPks

Plan for iWork overhaul announced at WWDC 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIigp_bxUcQ

Eddy Cue announces complete rewrite of all iWork apps with full file compatibility at a Special Event in October 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FunXnJQxYU

Apple’s interest in fitness products goes way back. In 2006, before Apple Watch was even a twinkle in Tim Cook’s eye, Steve Jobs took the stage with Nike CEO Mark Parker at an ultra-exclusive venue in New York City to announce the Nike+iPod Sport Kit.

With a sensor that went into special Nike running shoes, and a receiver that plugged into your iPod, Nike+iPod was a pioneering product that helped define the emerging category of fitness wearables. 

It set the stage for products that would follow, including Apple Health and Apple Fitness+. And by partnering with Nike, Apple broadened the appeal of its brand, learned how to successfully roll out services, and raised its marketing game. Nike+iPod Sport Kit set a template for product launches that Apple still follows to this day.

LINKS

Apple press release for Nike+iPod Sport Kit launch
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2006/05/23Nike-and-Apple-Team-Up-to-Launch-Nike-iPod/

Design of launch event at Chelsea Piers
http://www.denton-cardewdesign.com/nike-apple-nyc/66dsmmf6qqc89hcyu8lc0gk21cgdnr

Puma RS Computer Shoe
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/11/18136072/puma-1986-rs-computer-running-shoe-rereleasehttps://about.puma.com/en/this-is-puma/archive-stories/history-of-rs

Nike+ Air Zoom Moire
http://sz9.es/kickstories-nike-air-zoom-moire

When Steve Jobs returned to the company he founded in 1997, Apple was in disarray. After two failed attempts at a next-generation operating system, the Mac had been stuck on System 7 for years. 

The acquisition of Jobs' company, NeXT, offered a solution, with its NeXTSTEP operating system, which would form the basis of Mac OS X. But that was still three years away, and the Mac platform was already on life support. 

Jobs needed to take action fast. So, he salvaged bits from former failed projects and retrofitting them onto the aging System 7. The result was Mac OS 8. It wasn't a long term solution, but it did buy his engineers the time they needed to complete Mac OS X.

Mac OS 8 proved to be a smash hit, selling 1.2 million copies in its first two weeks. The story of how this happened reveals an often overlooked side of Jobs - his ability to let go of his perfectionism and focus on what was possible, making pragmatic compromises that help to move platforms forward. 

Credits

MacOS 8 Packaging Photo: ShrineOfApple
 https://shrineofapple.com/blog/2011/10/08/mac-os-8/

In 1999, Steve Jobs needed one more product launch to complete the four-computer matrix he introduced on his return to the company three years earlier. That product was the iBook—a portable version of the hugely popular iMac G3.

iBook had a striking design with eye-popping colors. But what really set it apart was AirPort, Apple’s proprietary version of WiFi, which ushered in the age of wireless computing. 

AirPort was such a revolutionary concept that Jobs wanted to prove no wires were required. So he persuaded VP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, to jump from a great height while holding an iBook, during a live keynote event.

Based on industry-standard WiFi technology, the story of AirPort's launch, development, and eventual demise, provides a valuable insight into how Apple thinks about emerging standards and adopts them in its products.

LINKS

iBook & AirPort launch at MacWorld New York 1999
https://youtu.be/Fve4x6VFiF8?si=CpzUPli3nrnXOJzi
49:20 iBook Introduction
1:03:20 "One More Thing" - AirPort
1:10:30 AirPort TV Ad
1:14:15 Phil Schiller's AirPort death drop

AirPort Base Station Teardown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4vy5K7_FW4

AirPort Card Image @ Ashley Pomeroy 2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort#/media/File:Apple_AirPort_7877.jpg