We knew Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a hot competitive streak, but it isn't pundits making fun of the iPad's name that are earning Jobs' ire. Apparently, it's Google and Adobe, both of which entered Jobs' crosshairs -- for being "bulls---" and "lazy" -- in a recent series of rants at a Town Hall meeting for Apple employees.
The details of the Apple meeting were reported by Wired which cited anonymous sources as saying Jobs took aim at both Google and Adobe and let 'em have it with both barrels.
Wired reported that Jobs said of Google, "They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won't let them. This don't be evil mantra: It's bulls---."
The comments were apparently in reference to Google's Nexus One, the proprietary Google Android phone Google launched in January as a competitor to the iPhone.
Some sources are already disputing the "bull---" portion of the quote, with employees who say they're from Apple entering the comments sections of articles posted at Wired and at other sites reporting on Wired's article to say that isn't what Jobs said.
No one has yet disputed Jobs' apparently choice words for Adobe, however, whom the Apple boss refers to as "lazy." Several observers speculated the Jobs line on Adobe was in response to criticisms that the just-released iPad doesn't support Adobe's ubiquitous flash.
"They have all this potential to do interesting things but they just refuse to do it," Jobs is reported to have said. "They don't do anything with the approaches Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it's because of Flash. No one will be using Flash."
Saltiness of his language aside, is anyone really surprised Jobs would be so candid in his assessments of other vendors? Apple and Google haven't exactly been the best of friends lately, and plenty of Apple observers could use a reminder that the company didn't get where it is now by being all rounded edges and slick packaging.
