Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talk together at the All Things Digital conference

It has been widely regarded that there has been a deep rooted antagonistic falling out between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs for some years, which is mostly related to the competition between them at Microsoft and Apple. Interestingly enough, the interview (which can be downloaded and watched as a podcast in iTunes) presents a more harmonious relationship that has emerged fairly recently.

Steve Jobs refers to his relationship with Bill Gates to a lyric in a Beatles song:

"You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead."

Several excellent points were made in the interview, and both were asked quite soul searching questions about each other and themselves, which spoke volumes about their individual characters. Staggering really to get such open and honest responses, as the interviewers were quite poor at conducting the live interview on stage in front of several hundred people.

What was quite striking in the interview was Steve Jobs' understanding about people and what people want in a product, and Bill Gates' very geeky, technical detailed responses which didn't give much thought to what people actually wanted. For me, it kinda summed up the differences between Apple and Microsoft products.

The single most significant aspect about the whole interview, was Steve Jobs' reflection on what it takes to make a successful business. Steve was able to put into words what I'd been trying to explain to others for most of my working life.

Click on the image below to play the movie.

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