Stevenote
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007) |
 |
This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (October 2011) |
"Stevenote" is a colloquial term for the keynote speeches given by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs at events such as the Worldwide Developers Conference and previously the Macworld and Apple Expos. Jobs' vibrant speaking style and manner of exciting the crowd was legendary. Because most Apple product releases were first revealed to the public in these keynotes, 'Stevenotes' often caused substantial swings in Apple's stock price.[1]
Jobs' final Stevenote was delivered on June 6, 2011 in which he announced iOS 5 and iCloud, as well as that Mac OS X Lion would be released in July on the Mac App Store for $29.99. He resigned as CEO of Apple on August 24, 2011 and died on October 5, 2011.
History
In late 1996, Apple purchased NeXT, and Steve Jobs returned to Apple after a 12-year hiatus following his forced resignation from the company in 1985. In mid-1997, he gave a keynote address in which he presented a detailed report on the company's status. The keynote featured an appearance by Microsoft CEO Bill Gates by satellite. Jobs announced a partnership with Microsoft comprising several key agreements that, according to Jobs, would benefit Apple and allow it to recover from its prolonged decline during the early and mid 1990s. Two major announcements were made during the keynote: first, that the next major release of Microsoft Office, Office 98, would be developed for the Macintosh, and second, that Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser would be the default browser on all Macintosh computers. Despite heckling from the audience, Jobs explained why the partnership was favourable to Apple:
| “ | The era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over, as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, and this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry to get healthy and prosper again. | ” |
Since then, Jobs gave keynote addresses at various trade expositions and conferences at least once a year, during which he announced updates to current Apple products or demonstrated new products and services. Nearly every major product upgrade or announcement during the last ten years has been made during a Stevenote. Among the products announced in Stevenotes are the original iMac all-in-one desktop computer in 1998, the clamshell iBook in 1999, the Mac OS X operating system in 2000, the iPod music player in 2001, the iPhone smartphone in 2007, and the iPad tablet in 2010.
The "Stevenote" Address
Format
Stevenote addresses have usually been given at major trade expos. In the past, these have included the Macworld Conference & Expo and the Apple Expo. However, Apple has stopped exhibiting at both expos. After 2010 the Worldwide Developer's Conference, organized and held by Apple itself at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, was the only major conference at which Apple exhibited and at which Jobs delivered a keynote address. In recent years, Jobs gave his Stevenotes in an auditorium at Apple's corporate campus. These Stevenotes, in contrast to those presented at the large trade fairs attended by Apple in the past, were by invitation only and were attended only by a relatively small number of journalists, employees, and guests. Similar Stevenotes have also been held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts like those for the introduction of the iPad in 2010 and Apple's "Rock and Roll" iPod event in 2009.
Jobs was known for donning the same uniform in nearly every keynote since 1998.[2] His outfit usually consisted of a black long-sleeved mock turtleneck by Issey Miyake[3] , Levi's 501 blue jeans, and New Balance 991 sneakers.
Notable product introductions by Apple Inc.
- 1984
- Macintosh
- 1998
- iMac and PowerBook G3 (he also used "one more thing" to announce Apple's return to profitability)
- 1999
- iBook, QuickTime TV and AirPort wireless service
- 2000
- Mac OS X
- 2001
- iPod and iBook G3
- 2003
- Xcode
- 2004
- iPod mini
- 2005
- Mac mini, iPod shuffle and iPod nano. The transition from PowerPC to Intel Processors was announced.
- 2006
- the first Intel-based Apple computer, the iMac Core Duo and the MacBook Pro
- 2007
- Apple TV, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPod classic
- 2008
- MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, and second generation aluminum 13" MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro notebooks
- 2009
- iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3rd generation, the 5th generation iPod nano, and multi-color iPod shuffles
- 2010
- iPad, iPhone 4, and revised versions of iPod shuffle 4th generation, iPod nano 6th generation, iPod touch 4th generation, Apple TV 2nd generation (As "one more hobby") and MacBook Air
- 2011
- iPad 2, Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, iCloud, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch in white with iOS5 and iPod Nano with a software update to version 1.2.
- 2012
- IPad (3rd generation), OS X Mountain Lion
"One more thing..."
An archetypal Steve Jobs keynote started with Jobs presenting sales figures for Apple products, and a review of Apple products released in the past few months. He then moved on to present one or more new products of moderate importance. In a manner some found similar to Peter Falk's Columbo character[2], he typically feigned some concluding remarks, turned as if to make a false exit from the stage, then turned back to say "but there's one more thing". Usually the audience had some idea as to what product would be unveiled due to the Apple rumors community but this was not always the case.
Some of the products which were revealed as "but there's one more thing":
- Apple's return to profitability at MacWorld Expo San Francisco 1998
- The 22" Apple Cinema Display at Seybold 1999
- The AirPort base station and AirPort card after the iBook was introduced at MacWorld Expo New York 1999
- The iMac DV Special Edition in a special event in October 1999.
- At MacWorld SF 2000, Jobs announced that he would be continuing in his role at Apple on a permanent basis, dropping the "i" (for "interim") from his title "iCEO"
- The Power Mac G4 Cube, at MacWorld NY 2000
- The PowerBook G4, at MacWorld SF 2001
- The 17" iMac G4, at MacWorld NY 2002
- The Power Mac G5 at WWDC 2003
- The 12" Aluminum PowerBook G4 at MacWorld 2003
- The iPod mini, at MacWorld 2004
- The iPod shuffle, at MacWorld 2005
- The fifth generation iPod with video, announced at a press conference self-referentially titled "One more thing..."
- The MacBook Pro, at Macworld Expo 2006.
- Introduction of selling movies via the iTunes Store in September 2006; a second "One more thing" in the same presentation also unveiled an upcoming product dubbed iTV (renamed to Apple TV at Macworld 2007). A third "One More Thing" was the lead-in to introduce a live performance of the song "Waiting for the World to Change" by John Mayer at the conclusion of the presentation.
- Introduction of Safari for Windows beta, at WWDC 2007
- The Aluminum Unibody MacBook, at a notebook event in October 2008
- The video camera and speaker in the fifth generation iPod Nano at the Apple Music Event in September 2009
- FaceTime video calling for the iPhone 4 at WWDC 2010
- The second-generation Apple TV at the September 2010 Apple Music Event
- A revised MacBook Air at a press event entitled "Back to the Mac" in October 2010
- The iTunes Match service at WWDC 2011
References
- ^ Marshal, Katie (2007-05-23). "Apple seen unloading new MacBook Pros and (possibly) iMacs at WWDC". Apple Insider. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/23/apple_seen_unloading_new_macbook_pros_and_possibly_imacs_at_wwdc.html.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Steve Jobs' black turtleneck reportedly explained in biography". The Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/10/steve-jobs-explains-black-turtleneck-in-biography.html.
