A Picture's Worth 100M Users???
Steve Job's keynote at WWDC this year inspired some and was disappointing to others — but, as usual, it was interesting & entertaining. I've always liked Apple's products, and spend an embarrassing amount of my own money on them. So I'm interested in what he's got to say.
Context & Ripple Effects
Steve Jobs has spent two years positioning Apple beyond the Mac — his 2005 Fortune conversation on what's next for Apple set the stage, and this year's WWDC keynote delivers the next step: a free public beta of Safari for Windows, aimed straight at the platform he does not control.
The reception split immediately. The beta cleared one million downloads in its first 48 hours, but three Windows-specific vulnerabilities surfaced within hours of launch, forcing a 3.0.1 patch release — while mobile developers voiced disappointment at how Apple wants iPhone applications built.
First-order effects
- Safari for Windows gives Apple an immediate foothold on machines running Microsoft's OS, evidenced by one million downloads in the first 48 hours despite beta status.
- Apple is on the hook for Windows security response cadence: three vulnerabilities found hours after launch had to be patched in the 3.0.1 beta release, not on Apple's usual schedule.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft and Mozilla face a renewed four-horse Windows browser field, with Apple bundling distribution through the iPhone claim that Safari will reach tens of millions of users across Mac, Windows, and handheld.
- Developers disappointed by the iPhone development path are steered toward web applications delivered through Safari, making Apple's browser quality on Windows a precondition for third-party goodwill rather than a side project.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Apple competes at the access layer on every OS rather than only where it sells hardware — browsers becoming the strategic surface, with security response speed as the price of entry on a rival's platform.
- A browser-first application model for the iPhone, if it persists, pushes the industry's platform question toward who controls the runtime: device makers shipping the browser versus operating-system vendors shipping the SDK.
The trend: Apple is expanding from selling integrated hardware to contesting the browser-and-access layer on any operating system, with Safari's Windows beta and the iPhone's web-app push as the opening moves.