Steve Jobs at the D

Not long after taking the CEO job at a troubled Apple Computer, Steve Jobs appeared on the first D stage to discuss his plans for the future, his changing role at NEXT, and his views of the technology landscape.

Apple had gotten into the music business, and with the launch of iTunes, had become the biggest legal music download system in the world. Steve talks about Apple, music, and what would come next.

Steve Jobs discussed the crucial need for setting product priorities, how mobile devices relate to desktop computers, and Apple’s fledgeling retail stores. He was asked the question that was on everyone’s mind—”What about an iPod Phone?”

After changing the name of the company to simply “Apple,” Steve Jobs joined us on stage again to discuss (and give a sneak peek of) the first unreleased iPhone.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates took the stage together to talk about their lives as collaborators, rivals, and the future of the technology business as seen from their unique perspectives.

Steve Jobs appeared for the last time on the D stage in 2010. He focused on the recently released and wildly successful iPad, but also touched on controversies with Adobe, intellectual property, Apple’s Chinese manufacturing, and maybe most notably, the end of the “PC” era.

Aside from a few short interviews and an investor conference, Cook’s session with Walt Mossberg was his first extended public talk as the newish leader of perhaps the most important and definitely most influential company in tech. Getting to see Cook in action is probably the most important part of this interview. While clearly playing it close to the vest, he ranged over a wide number of topics, from secrecy at Apple (it’s now apparently been doubled!) to the iPhone to controversies in China to a possibly more social partnership with Facebook to more television efforts to, of course, the legacy of Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, who died last year.