Steve Jobs' talents as a presenter were finely tuned even back in 1998 as he reduced his audience to tears of laughter at the CAUSE annual conference.
The recently re-discovered video (below) is of poor quality but the audio is clear enough and sounds more like the soundtrack of a standup comedian's show than a technology presentation.
In the four-minute video Jobs is asked a question about one of the buzzwords of the late 90s - 'convergence' - and what it means to him.
Jobs launches into a routine that certainly makes the audience laugh and will also raise a smirk from modern-day viewers as what he says about converged devices - especially internet-connected TVs - goes against views that Jobs' expressed more recently.
"People go to the TV to turn their brain off. For the most part people go to their PC to turn their brain on," Jobs said. "I don't think it is going to happen."
You can also watch the full version of Jobs' presentation at the CAUSE annual conference 1998, though be warned - it is over an hour long.
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DESIGNADE said on Fri, 18 Nov 2011
Wow. I'd forgotten what a great orator he was. Everything he said there was spot on but I never thought about it like that. Sadly missed.
treadmill said on Fri, 18 Nov 2011
No matter how great a revolutionary SJ was, predicting the future is a fools game.
Great to see the opinion of SJ back then though, never seen that before.
And yes, very sadly missed.
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