Contests claim by Page that fury was 'for show'

Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson is challenging comments by Google CEO Larry Page, who recently claimed that Jobs' anger at Android was "for show,", according to Macworld. Isaacson spoke at the UK's Royal Institution on Wednesday night, and drew parallels between the Android situation and Apple's conflict with Microsoft in the 1980s. Isaacson remarked during his speech that Jobs believed in a closed product ecosystem, in which software and hardware are intertwined. Jobs was allegedly upset not only at Microsoft imitating the GUI used for Macs, but also for licensing out the interface "promiscuously" to companies like Dell and IBM. This helped to make Microsoft the dominant computer platform.

After Jobs returned from his exile from Apple, he successfully resumed the strategy of a closed system with products like the iPod and iPad. "But what happens? Google rips it off," Isaacson commented during his talk. "It's almost copied verbatim by Android. And then they license it around promiscuously. And then Android starts surpassing Apple in market share, and this totally infuriated him [Jobs]. It wasn't a matter of money. He said: 'You can't pay me off, I'm here to destroy you'."

Isaacson added that he doesn't think current Apple CEO Tim Cook will be as hostile as his predecessor. "Tim Cook will settle that lawsuit," the writer stated.

By Electronista Staff

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