A chat with Robert Scoble, and his son Patrick, after MacWorld 2008
Dave and Robert Scoble discuss their impressions of the Macworld conference, with Robert’s son Patrick sharing his views on the new Apple products (including the first look at the MacBook Air) and his interest in potentially working for Apple in the future. Patrick reveals that he skipped school to attend the conference.
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Transcript
This transcript was automatically generated.
Hey, Dave Winer here. Okay, so
I’m going to try another
experiment,
and I’m going to try to put
this call on hold for a second,
and call Skobal and see if I
can’t conference him in, and we
can do a little podcast here.
So pardon me for the white space here, but still digging, okay? Be right back.
[silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] Okay, no, we weren’t doing a podcast then, but now we’re doing a podcast.
Excellent, our first podcast.
Maybe, I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer, praise Murphy, you know .
And we’re just walking out of the Moscone Center at the Mack erel Show.
Oh, really? So how was that? It was really lame. Really? Yeah, the air was pretty cool.
I think I’ll get one of those, but other than that, I was like, man, there’s nothing there, you know? Really? I was expecting you to say something else. Like, oh man, it’s really cool.
I saw these great people that I haven’t seen in a long time.
Oh, oh, yeah, that’s absolutely , I mean, you know, if you’ve been watching my quick channel, I interviewed Ryan Block and Kelly Littlewitz, and I don’t know, a bunch of other people I met in the hallway, and got a few cool demos, but man, there’s just no excitement in the hall. You know, usually, if you think, you guys, people who are, you know, are companies who are really getting the crowds going , with, you know, actors and noise, and getting people to cheer for t-shirts, there was none of that this time.
Really? Yeah, it’s just a… Now, this isn’t what you normally talk like when we’re talking on the phone with each other, right? I don’t know.
I was just listening to you, and I was like, “Oh, yeah, I don’t know. " I’m asking a little bit for your podcast.
Well, you know, I suppose, yeah , you know, nobody’s listening to this, right? Of course nobody’s listening to this, but why did that ever stop me from talking before? Well, no, I mean, people must have been listening to you when you’re on CNBC, right? My hits on my blog didn’t change at all.
Yeah, that’s pretty funny.
So what is Patrick? Is Patrick with you? Oh, yeah, Patrick’s right here.
So what does he think of all this? What do you think, Patrick? Lame.
Really? The air was cool.
Yeah, but you know what? You can’t replace the battery on it .
Yeah, that’s true, but Apple can replace it for you for the same price it cost to get a new battery.
It’s never free if it’s still under warranty.
But what happens if I want to take it with me to Europe and I want to take two batteries with me? Yeah, then you’re screwed.
I don’t get why they did that exactly, but you know… It’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? Yeah, it’s a really nice design , though.
It feels really good in your hands, and it’s very small, and it’s very light, so I mean, you can take it anywhere, really.
So what was the left factor on it? What was the left factor on a scale of 1 to 10? How much did you want this? I wanted it the first time I see it, and I didn’t even need it a little bit.
No, okay, on a scale of 1 to 10 , where 10 is… 9.
9 or 8.
And what was the iPhone when you first saw the iPhone? The first time I saw the iPhone , 0.
Really? You didn’t like it? I thought it was wasting the keynote time, but as soon as summer hit, I wanted the iPhone like crazy.
Really? But the first time I heard about the iPhone, 0.
No, I didn’t want it at all.
You thought it was a waste of the keynote time, huh? Waste of keynote time. I wanted a new Mac or something, or new Macs come out, new software to come out.
Right.
So you weren’t at the keynote today, were you? No, I could have made it in because I have a press badge, but we didn’t make it.
Now, how did you get a press badge? On my dad’s assistant.
So you’re a Scobalizer Junior then, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’re the mini Scobalizer.
Yes.
Okay, so what did you think overall of the announcements that this year’s Mac World? I think all of them were very good, but the air was the only thing that got you really pumped.
Yeah.
You know? I mean, all the other stuff was like software updates, which were nice and great, but they really didn’t get you into it.
So what’s still missing? I mean , what should Apple be working on right now? MacBook Pro is what they should be doing right now.
What would you like for the MacBook Pro? Multi-touch trackpad, semi-fin ner design, sharper screens, better graphics.
Those are what they need.
Now, what about revolutionary products? I mean, that’s evolutionary, right? Well, what about something new like an iPod was new when it came out? What do you think? Do you think there’s anything there? No, I don’t think Apple really needs to do anything revolutionary right now.
Do you think they ever will? Will they ever? Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, of course they will. I just don’t see the need for it right now.
Interesting.
Would you call yourself an Apple fanboy? A fanboy? It depends on the day . There’s times where I hate Apple and there’s times where I love Apple.
Really? So I know I’ve certainly heard the times when you love them, but when do you hate them? Whenever my MacBook Pro had to get repaired and they weren’t great service.
You know, things like that, you know, little things that they should have put in and could have put in but didn’t put in.
That’s really got me.
Nothing that I can think of right now, but I mean, I’ve had experiences like that in the past for, you know, you probably should have had this or that, you know.
I see. Interesting. I didn’t know that. I thought you were like, I thought you always loved them.
No, no.
Now, do you still want to go work for them someday? Work for who? For Apple.
Oh, yeah. I mean, sure. Of course I would, depending on what I was doing.
Well, what would you like to do ? Marketing for them would be cool. Like a hardware designer would be cool.
Engineering sort of stuff might be cool.
So what are you doing to do that? Are you going to like major in something like Apple studying? I really don’t know what I’m going to be studying or where I ’m going to be going.
Well, what’s taking you so long , man? You’re going to be doing that pretty soon, I just think.
Yeah. You know, once I get into high school, everything will start to, you know, fall into place, I think.
Oh, you still got some time, actually. I’m just kidding. You can be a kid for a little bit longer.
Yeah.
Yeah. That’s good.
All right, man.
Yeah, yeah, thanks.
You know, we’re doing a podcast right now. Did you know that? Oh, we’re on a podcast right now? Yeah, we’re doing a podcast.
Oh, cool.
Yeah, I’m using this thing called Drop. io.
They have this thing where you can call into them and they’ll just record the phone call and you get an MP3 out of it.
Oh, that’s cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, this was fun. We’re in the loud conference hall right now.
So I can’t really hear anything .
Yeah.
Well, if you see anybody, I know to say hi for me, okay? Okay.
All right. Hey, one more thing.
How come you’re not in school today? I skipped school today.
I’m going to turn you in.
Actually, today’s a holiday, isn’t it? Oh, it is.
Isn’t it Martin Luther King’s birthday or something? Oh, no, that’s next week.
That’s next Monday.
Oh, interesting.
So you are playing 50.
Yeah.
So what’s your name and what school do you go to and who’s your teacher? Patrick Scoble, Petaluma Junior High.
I have six teachers and I’m not going to name them all right now.
Good idea. Good thinking.
All right, Patrick Scoble, Pet aluma Junior High.
All right.
See you.
I’ll talk to you later.
All right, cool.
All right, man.
All right, see you.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
Well, that’s it.
That’s our little podcast for today.
I suppose I should play some theme music, shouldn’t I? As we’re going out.
Hold on. Don’t go away.
This is Harry Dilsen and I guess the Lord must be in New York City.
Come on, Harry.
[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]
So pardon me for the white space here, but still digging, okay? Be right back.
[silence] [silence] [silence] [silence] Okay, no, we weren’t doing a podcast then, but now we’re doing a podcast.
Excellent, our first podcast.
Maybe, I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer, praise Murphy, you know .
And we’re just walking out of the Moscone Center at the Mack erel Show.
Oh, really? So how was that? It was really lame. Really? Yeah, the air was pretty cool.
I think I’ll get one of those, but other than that, I was like, man, there’s nothing there, you know? Really? I was expecting you to say something else. Like, oh man, it’s really cool.
I saw these great people that I haven’t seen in a long time.
Oh, oh, yeah, that’s absolutely , I mean, you know, if you’ve been watching my quick channel, I interviewed Ryan Block and Kelly Littlewitz, and I don’t know, a bunch of other people I met in the hallway, and got a few cool demos, but man, there’s just no excitement in the hall. You know, usually, if you think, you guys, people who are, you know, are companies who are really getting the crowds going , with, you know, actors and noise, and getting people to cheer for t-shirts, there was none of that this time.
Really? Yeah, it’s just a… Now, this isn’t what you normally talk like when we’re talking on the phone with each other, right? I don’t know.
I was just listening to you, and I was like, “Oh, yeah, I don’t know. " I’m asking a little bit for your podcast.
Well, you know, I suppose, yeah , you know, nobody’s listening to this, right? Of course nobody’s listening to this, but why did that ever stop me from talking before? Well, no, I mean, people must have been listening to you when you’re on CNBC, right? My hits on my blog didn’t change at all.
Yeah, that’s pretty funny.
So what is Patrick? Is Patrick with you? Oh, yeah, Patrick’s right here.
So what does he think of all this? What do you think, Patrick? Lame.
Really? The air was cool.
Yeah, but you know what? You can’t replace the battery on it .
Yeah, that’s true, but Apple can replace it for you for the same price it cost to get a new battery.
It’s never free if it’s still under warranty.
But what happens if I want to take it with me to Europe and I want to take two batteries with me? Yeah, then you’re screwed.
I don’t get why they did that exactly, but you know… It’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? Yeah, it’s a really nice design , though.
It feels really good in your hands, and it’s very small, and it’s very light, so I mean, you can take it anywhere, really.
So what was the left factor on it? What was the left factor on a scale of 1 to 10? How much did you want this? I wanted it the first time I see it, and I didn’t even need it a little bit.
No, okay, on a scale of 1 to 10 , where 10 is… 9.
9 or 8.
And what was the iPhone when you first saw the iPhone? The first time I saw the iPhone , 0.
Really? You didn’t like it? I thought it was wasting the keynote time, but as soon as summer hit, I wanted the iPhone like crazy.
Really? But the first time I heard about the iPhone, 0.
No, I didn’t want it at all.
You thought it was a waste of the keynote time, huh? Waste of keynote time. I wanted a new Mac or something, or new Macs come out, new software to come out.
Right.
So you weren’t at the keynote today, were you? No, I could have made it in because I have a press badge, but we didn’t make it.
Now, how did you get a press badge? On my dad’s assistant.
So you’re a Scobalizer Junior then, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’re the mini Scobalizer.
Yes.
Okay, so what did you think overall of the announcements that this year’s Mac World? I think all of them were very good, but the air was the only thing that got you really pumped.
Yeah.
You know? I mean, all the other stuff was like software updates, which were nice and great, but they really didn’t get you into it.
So what’s still missing? I mean , what should Apple be working on right now? MacBook Pro is what they should be doing right now.
What would you like for the MacBook Pro? Multi-touch trackpad, semi-fin ner design, sharper screens, better graphics.
Those are what they need.
Now, what about revolutionary products? I mean, that’s evolutionary, right? Well, what about something new like an iPod was new when it came out? What do you think? Do you think there’s anything there? No, I don’t think Apple really needs to do anything revolutionary right now.
Do you think they ever will? Will they ever? Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, of course they will. I just don’t see the need for it right now.
Interesting.
Would you call yourself an Apple fanboy? A fanboy? It depends on the day . There’s times where I hate Apple and there’s times where I love Apple.
Really? So I know I’ve certainly heard the times when you love them, but when do you hate them? Whenever my MacBook Pro had to get repaired and they weren’t great service.
You know, things like that, you know, little things that they should have put in and could have put in but didn’t put in.
That’s really got me.
Nothing that I can think of right now, but I mean, I’ve had experiences like that in the past for, you know, you probably should have had this or that, you know.
I see. Interesting. I didn’t know that. I thought you were like, I thought you always loved them.
No, no.
Now, do you still want to go work for them someday? Work for who? For Apple.
Oh, yeah. I mean, sure. Of course I would, depending on what I was doing.
Well, what would you like to do ? Marketing for them would be cool. Like a hardware designer would be cool.
Engineering sort of stuff might be cool.
So what are you doing to do that? Are you going to like major in something like Apple studying? I really don’t know what I’m going to be studying or where I ’m going to be going.
Well, what’s taking you so long , man? You’re going to be doing that pretty soon, I just think.
Yeah. You know, once I get into high school, everything will start to, you know, fall into place, I think.
Oh, you still got some time, actually. I’m just kidding. You can be a kid for a little bit longer.
Yeah.
Yeah. That’s good.
All right, man.
Yeah, yeah, thanks.
You know, we’re doing a podcast right now. Did you know that? Oh, we’re on a podcast right now? Yeah, we’re doing a podcast.
Oh, cool.
Yeah, I’m using this thing called Drop. io.
They have this thing where you can call into them and they’ll just record the phone call and you get an MP3 out of it.
Oh, that’s cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, this was fun. We’re in the loud conference hall right now.
So I can’t really hear anything .
Yeah.
Well, if you see anybody, I know to say hi for me, okay? Okay.
All right. Hey, one more thing.
How come you’re not in school today? I skipped school today.
I’m going to turn you in.
Actually, today’s a holiday, isn’t it? Oh, it is.
Isn’t it Martin Luther King’s birthday or something? Oh, no, that’s next week.
That’s next Monday.
Oh, interesting.
So you are playing 50.
Yeah.
So what’s your name and what school do you go to and who’s your teacher? Patrick Scoble, Petaluma Junior High.
I have six teachers and I’m not going to name them all right now.
Good idea. Good thinking.
All right, Patrick Scoble, Pet aluma Junior High.
All right.
See you.
I’ll talk to you later.
All right, cool.
All right, man.
All right, see you.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
Well, that’s it.
That’s our little podcast for today.
I suppose I should play some theme music, shouldn’t I? As we’re going out.
Hold on. Don’t go away.
This is Harry Dilsen and I guess the Lord must be in New York City.
Come on, Harry.
[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]