Mac Guy v PC Guy - Sartorial and other Lessons for the Digerati

We have reflected before on the different sartorial codes of the various organisms building the New New Media, and here it is writ large. Mr Jobs is resplendent in Start Up Uniform while Mr Gates wears Big Corp Groovy.

For those deep people actually interested in content, not fashion 2.0 , the interview on the D5 Conference is over here. It's well worth the read.

In fact, for would be company builders I thought one of the Q&A answers was very interesting.

Q: What do you wish you’d learned from each other early on?
Gates: I admire Steve’s taste. And that’s not a joke.
Jobs: If Apple could have had a bit of Microsoft’s knack for partnerships early on, we would have been better for it.

Another interesting snippet is this vignette on the evolution of Web service and Mobile based devices.

Walt - You’re the guys that represent the rich client, the big operating system, but there’s the notion these days that all that is migrating to the cloud. In five years, will the PC still be the linchpin of all this stuff?

Gates: Remember the single-function computer? Larry Ellison’s network computer? As you look at the device that’s connecting to the TV set of the car, but when you come to the full screen … in a living room … we’re nowhere near leaving that.

Jobs: Here’s an example. The Google Maps app we wrote for the iPhone is way better than Google Maps itself. Why? Because you’re running the app locally. You can do so much more with a rich client than you can with a browser. At the same time, rich clients are improving and their cost is declining. The marriage of these services with a powerful client is a very powerful marriage.

(Question) - What are the devices you might carry around five years from now?

Gates: I think you’ll have a number of devices. A tablet and then another smaller one that you can carry around in your pocket. Those are natural form factors.

Jobs: The PC has been very resilient. Its death has been predicted many times. But the Internet came around and invigorated it. And then it plateaued again. And then digital media came around and invigorated it again. And so I think the PC is going to continue to be with us. But then there’s an explosion in post-PC devices. There’s a category of devices that aren’t general purpose. They’re more focused and that category is going to continue to be very innovative.

As to who has done the most in the industry, thats a Beatles v Stones argument - they have both done a lot in their own ways. Apple has always been the pathfinder to the next way forward, Microsoft have been the guys who make it possible for the mass market (look at the mess mobile is in right now - they need a MSFT style single OS stack play !! )