My 30 Second Interview With Jonathon Ive

No, I'm not kidding. This actually happened.

On the way out of the Moscone Center this morning - as streams of people are leaving to get some fresh air and digest all of the announcements from the WWDC 2009 keynote address - I see a familiar face walking towards me. It's Jonathon Ive. I can't friggin' believe it. This guy is design royalty.

But I'm from Los Angeles: we're not afraid to approach the rich of famous in my city. Heck, I produce theatre with lots of famous actors & comedians, so I often have to work with known personalities. This was a rare opportunity and certainly not a time for sudden shyness, so I approached the master designer and introduced myself.

The following is an EXACT transcript of what transpired:

Me: Jonathon...?
Jonathon: [turns, sees I'm no one he knows] Yes...?
Me: David Koff. Nice to meet you.
Jonathon: Thank you.
Me: May I snap a photo with you?

[beat. he pauses, looks around, unsure of what to say, clearly uncomfortable.]

Me: It's not a big deal. If you'd rather not, it's quite OK.
Jonathon: Well, there are others here who are also deserving of a photo but I can't accommodate them as well, so... how about we just shake hands?
Me: That would be lovely. I'm a great fan of your work.
Jonathon: Thank you, that's very kind.
Me: You're welcome. Keep up the good work.
Jonathon: [looking at me like I'm insane] I'll do that. Thank you.

[He walks off. I wait a moment. I follow calling after him, running and waving my arms wildly as if in a Seth Rogan romantic comedy...]

Me: Godspeed, Jonathon! I love you! Have my babies...!

OK, well maybe that's not how I ended the conversation, but everything before that was accurate. Ive is a notoriously private and quiet individual which is why I was surprised to even see him out and about with the crowd. And which is why I was surprised he even stopped to turn and speak with me.

But that's your dutiful Mac Dweeb, folks. Always willing to find the hard-to-get interviews... even when the interviewee doesn't know they were scheduled to meet me in the first place.

WWDC Updates - part 2

iPhone 3.0:

+ rentals and purchasing of movies/tv shows/iTunesU on phone
+ tethering: use your iPhone to connect to the web - wired or wireless
+ AT&T to support tethering...eventually
+ streaming video over http
+ auto-fill (to remember usernames/passwords)
+ support for hebrew, arabic, thai, greek, chinese... over 30 languages supported
+ Find My iPhone feature - use MobileMe to locate your phone with google maps and to send your phone a message and play an audible noise. or.... to remotely WIPE the phone in case of senstive data.

WWDC Updates

Follow me LIVE on twitter right now at @themacdweeb. Moment to moment updates. Already streaming live.

More from WWDC

Folks are saying they've seen Steve Jobs here. Unconfirmed. But I personally expect him to be a part of the keynote at some point. My prediction: look for him in a "one more thing" segment.

WWDC 2009

Well, folks: it is nearly 8am and your humble Mac Dweeb has arrived at WWDC, or the World Wide Dweeb Conference for Apple fans. Thousands here already. It's nutty. More dweebs than you can shake a stick at. In fact, I forgot my stick. Left it at the hotel. Damn.

The keynote begins at 10am sofor the moment, we sit and wait. Most of us on the floor of the Moscone Center. Now I know what you're thinking: you paid $1200 for a conference ticket to sit on the floor?!

Lookit: sitting around and waiting is a time-honored tradition for ANY sysadmin or tech wizard, trust me. This yearly pilgrimage to the floor of the Moscone Center is just part of the deal. More later when we're in the main hall. 

And now: coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. 

Sssssh: It's a Secret - Buy a Cheap Mac

The Mac Dweeb has no patience for ignorance or laziness: both are easily avoided or remedied with something I like to call "The Internet".

That being said, how many douche bags do you know in middle management that tell you, "I'm sorry, buddy: we can't afford to buy Macs for our end users because they cost much more than PC's." Honestly, I want to lock all of these lazy, ignorant people in a big room and smack each one in the face with a kielbasa.

The myth that Macs are more expensive than PC's is just not true anymore. Hasn't been for a while. And you can read all about that here... or here... or here... or even here.

What is absolutely true is that Apple doesn't make flimsy, cheap computers. They never have. For that reason, you won't find a brand new $299 Mac no matter how hard you look. Apple's cheapest Mac is the Mac Mini which starts at $599. And sure, you can buy a Dell Mini for $299, but it won't have the same computing power, features, or accessories as the cheapest Mac portable.

This is because Apple's never been interested in competing in a "race to the bottom". Instead, they've elected to create higher-quality computers that sell for more money than the cheapo models. However...

Apple does have one very interesting secret which I rarely, if ever, hear anyone talking about. And The Mac Dweeb loves a good secret (like the time when Re-Run secretly bootlegged the Doobie Brothers concert - scroll to min 12:30). So here's the big reveal: surf on over to the Apple Store and pick up a cheap Mac. That's it.

"Wait, a second, Mac Dweeb," you say. "Doesn't the Mac Store only sell the same computers that I see in all of the other computer stores?"

Yes. Only, they also sell refurbished Macs with full one-year warranties as well. Usually for $300 less than the exact same but brand new model. Think I'm kidding? Check THIS out over at The Apple Store. While you can find used Macs for sale in a variety of unregulated places, none of them come with a one-year hardware warranty. And trust me, I've checked.

Thank me later.

Seriously, buy me a latte or something.