For those who’ve been stuck under a rock the past two weeks, today marks the official release of the Steve Jobs self-titled autobiography. But as the book hits store shelves, there is a ton of information already hitting the Net, which is mostly impart to self-appointed autobiographer Walter Isaacson. According to excerpts from an online interview done with 60 minutes, Jobs discussed with Isaacson his mentoring duties with some of Silicon Valley’s most brightest techies, as well as his criticisms of the competition. Facebook capo Mark Zuckerberg was one of Jobs most admired pupils, as the former Apple CEO states how he took a liking to his rebellious outlook of not “selling out”:
“We talk about social networks in the plural, but I don’t see anybody other than Facebook out there…Just Facebook, they’re dominating this…I admire Mark Zuckerberg…I only know him a little bit, but I admire him for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that, a lot.”
Encouraging words for the young Zuckerberg to embrace as he continues his dominance of the social media conglomerate, but Jobs doesn’t share the same affection for his competition, particularly Microsoft and Google: “Microsoft never had the humanities and the liberal arts in the DNA; it was pure technology company, and they just didn’t get it…Google’s the same way. They just don’t get it.”
Oh, but the bashing doesn’t stop there. Jobs throws a few jabs at frenemy Bill Gates and questions his motives as a tech visionary: “Bill ended up the wealthiest guy around, and if that was his goal then he achieved it…But it’s never been my goal, and I even wonder in the end if it was really his goal. I don’t know.”
For those who’ve missed yesterday’s 60 Minutes special, you can click here and see the must-see interview with autobiographer Isaacson as he shares audio clips of his personal interviews with Jobs, or you can just pick up the book in stores right now. You can’t go wrong with either option.
