Hyped Talk: steve jobs

By Miguel Helft, NYT News Service,

For Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, the timing of his public appearance at the D8 conference could not have been better. Last week, Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable technology company. A little more than a decade ago, Apple was struggling for its life, and many tech pundits were predicting its demise.

So Mr. Jobs's wide-ranging interview with conference hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher began, appropriately, with a softball question: How did it feel to stand at the top of the technology heap.

"For those of us who have been in the industry a long it is surreal," Mr. Jobs said. "But it doesn't matter very much. It is not what's important. It is not why any of our customers buy our products. I think it is good for us to keep that in mind. But it is a little surreal."

Mr. Jobs then hit on all the news that has surrounded Apple recently -- the stolen iPhone prototype, the war over Flash with Adobe, the suicides at Chinese contract manufacturer Foxconn, AT&T's network problems, the rivalry with Google and more. He didn't make any news or announce any new products or partners, but he delivered some interesting tidbits. Perhaps most significantly, he said Apple has no plans to get rid of Google's search and maps services on the iPhone or iPad.

"We have some Google properties on our phone," Mr. Jobs said. "Just because we are competing with somebody doesn't mean you have to be rude."

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