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Steve and Bill met a couple of days back at the all things digital conference. An uncharacteristic Jobs showed up. Walt asking about the iPhone received an uninspired talking points from Steve. Then during the discussion Walt forayed away from his point of focus and took a witty stab at old Steve’s sales pitches.

[ on what they expect from Apple in future]

Walt: we’re sure you’re working on something that’ll be beautiful

Kara: yeah it’ll totally BLOW us away! [giggle]

Walt: it’ll be amazing!

Jobs with his famed short temper however, remained unreactive to the light-hearted sarcasm and continued talking about what Apple foresaw in the future technology space.

Jobs vs Bill

When Gates and Jobs took center stage there was a handshake before both men sat down comfortably next to each other. At this point the legions of fanboys tasted a bitter disappointment. ‘Where’s the tension?’. As the conversation flowed Gates and Jobs showed mutual agreements, recognised the importance of each other’s companies and even went as far as to compliment one another. This was something many weren’t familiar with. I’m sure many almost expected (and hoped) Jobs and Gates would explode into a fiery argument about their past history. Rather we were treated to a calm, relaxed Gates and a sentimental, funny Steve.

Kara: What’s the greatest misunderstanding about your relationship (short pause)

Steve: We’ve kept our marriage a secret now for over a decade

[laughter bursts out from the crowd]

Jobs laughed along merrily with the crowd, and Gates understandably stared blankly at Jobs, bedazzled.

Fortunately, (for the sake of nostalgia) Steve didn’t leave us entirely disappointed. When one-on-one with Walt he left us with this gem.

Walt: so the majority of itunes software is on the pc
Jobs: statistically yes
Walt: isn’t it ironic?
Jobs: its like giving a glass of iced water to someone in hell!
[laughter]

But this time the tone was notably different. This wasn’t an angry Steve speaking, it was simply a humorous jab at Microsoft…

For a conference that accumulated a lot of press and attention with the anticipation of a showdown most likely headlined “Jobs Vs Gates” it couldn’t have gone any more sour. But nonetheless the crowd was treated to something spectacular that night. Here they were, the richest man in the world and his business rival. PC and Mac. The tech geek and the cool hipster. Not at each other’s throats but both heralding a great sense of respect for one another. Both sharing a lifetime of sentiment. Jobs summarised it perfectly in the concluding statement of the D5 Conference. In reference to Bill he quoted a Bob Dylan lyric:

“you and me have memories longer then the road ahead”

But now the question is left begging. Who is this man? The man we saw that night wasn’t the awe-inspiring Steve Jobs who seemingly revitalised mac computers single-handedly. This wasn’t the man that effortlessly garners rapturous applause and encapsulates an entire crowd’s attention at his presentations. Most importantly, this isn’t the man many know as a business tyrant. The man who demands nothing less then perfection from his workers who struggle so hard to please him. No, this was a new Steve that we saw.

Perhaps its his wealth of life experience thats humbled him. He Survived cancer, a stock-options scandal investigation, a mutiny from his own company and watched it crumble from the hands of poor management. At the end of the day though, he’s triumphed over all the adversities and its this thats helped changed him. The tyrannical dead-serious businessman turned sentimental funny guy. Though he may never justify his history of tyranny one thing is true that remains for the better. The revitalisation of Apple has brought with it, its greatest invention.

The dawn of a new Steve Jobs.

– via allthingsd.com