Tim: It depends on the size of the deal. If I don't have to, I don't.
by Rafe
Kara: Did you look at Instagram?
by Rafe
Tim: No, we didn't look at Instagram.
by Rafe
Kara: Do you see other big acquisitions?
by Rafe
Tim: I wouldn't rule it out, but I'm not looking at anyone.
by Rafe
Tim: We haven't bought a content for revenue. We look for technology, skills. We've done several of those and I think we wil do several more.
by Rafe
Tim: I wouldn't say we'd never do one for revenue, but we're not wired for that.
by Rafe
Walt: So you bough Siri. It launched here. It's in your ads. It's your principle way of selling the 4S....
When it works, it works really well. It's kind of like magic. But a lot of times, it doesn't work. And that's not what people have to think with apple products. Is it up to your standards?
by Rafe
As for looking at buying Instagram, Cook said nope, didn't look at it.
by Paul Sloan
Tim: Customers love it. But there's more that it can do. We have a lot of people working on this. I think you'll be pleased with some of the things you see in the coming months.
by Rafe
Tim: We've got some cool ideas on what Siri can do.
by Rafe
Tim: Siri proves that people want to relate to the phone in a different way. Voice, when it understands context....
What makes Siri cool is that she has a personality.
by Rafe
Tim: I think you're going to be pleased with where we're taking Siri.
by Rafe
Kara: So more responsive, bossier, what?
by Rafe
Tim: I'd put it in the "profound" list.
by Rafe
Walt: It's the context, it's the AI, that's what you're talking about?
by Rafe
Tim: That's what I'm talking about. This is something people dreamed of for years. And it's here, it's really here. It can be broader and so forth, and we see unbelievable potential. It's moved into the mainstream.
by Rafe
Tim: I think you're going to be really happy with where it's going. We're doubling down on it.
by Rafe
Kara: What do you do all day? What do you see your role as? And do you consider yourself a visionary?
by Rafe
Sure seems like he's teasing new announcements about Siri. Perhaps a WWDC announcement is coming.
by Paul Sloan
Tim: Steve was a genius and a visionary and I've never viewed that my role was to replace him. Steve was an original. I've never really felt the weight of trying to be steve. It's not my goal in life. I am who I am. I am focused on that. On being a great CEO of Apple.
by Rafe
Tim: I spend my day working with the smartest and most creative people on earth. And many things that go with running a company of Apple's size in all the geogreaphies we're in.
by Rafe
Tim: I love every minute of it. It is my oxygen.
by Rafe
Walt: Who's the curator on products? The understanding was that Steve was an editor, a curator.
by Rafe
Tim: The curator role moves. It always moves.
Walt: It's a myth that he was the curator?
Tim: He'd agree that it moves. Look at what we're doing. It's not possible. You could have an S on your chest and a cape on your back.
by Rafe
Tim: Steve's legacy will always be in the DNA of the company, of bringing in the best people. I wouldn't get overly focused on who does what piece. There are a lot of key people. There have always been a lot of key people.
by Rafe
Kara: So what's your goal? Become a trillion dollar company?
Tim: I just want to build great products. There's not a revenue goal. If we do that, the other things follow.
by Rafe
Tim: Companies that get confused that think their goal is revenue or stock price or something. You have to focus on the things that lead to those. For us, that's great products. So all our energies are on that, not the result of that.
by Rafe
Now that's a very Steve Jobs answer. And, of course, if he succeeds, Apple will become a trillion dollar company.
by Paul Sloan
Kara: What or who do you look up to?
by Rafe
Surely he has to say Steve Jobs.
by Paul Sloan
Tim: If you walked in my office you would see Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. If you're talking about CEOs, I have incredible respect for Bob Iger and what he's done at Disney and it's great to have him on the board. And that list is growing.
by Rafe
That's it for the Walt and Kara segment. Opening up to audience questions....
by Rafe
I want to hear from Murdoch. Rafe, nudge him...
by Paul Sloan
Guy from Brandeis Univ: Deep discounts for higher ed have dried up. Do you see that coming back?
Tim: Each year during back to school, we sweeten the discounts we have. Education is very important for us.
by Rafe
Tim: Last year, our discounts or donations were 3/4 of a billion dollars.
And we're doing other things that have a profound effect... I encourage you to take a course on iTunes U. We think it can really make a difference. We're doing it for free.
We launched iTunes Author. We're giving it away for free. We're gonna continue to do things that we think can really change teaching and learning.
by Rafe
Tim: We're proud of what we're doing.
by Rafe
Adam Lashinsky, Fortune: Would you talk a little about your strengths as a CEO and as a person?
Tim: You're best to do that, Adam. I think you should do it. I'll leave it for you.
by Rafe
Adam: Steve was very involved in marketing and design as CEO, less so in supply chain, since that was your expertise. Are you as involved in marketing?
Tim: No, Steve spent almost all his time on those.
by Rafe
Dan Frommer, SplatF: Your devices are using more and more bandwidth. Is that something you think you need to have an ownership stake in?
Tim: Do we need to own a carrier or the pipe? No, I don't think we need to that. The vast majority of your business is outside the US, so owning something just in the US wouldn't have great value.
I want to make great devices and use the bandwidth. I think we can partner with the pipe owner.
by Rafe
Lance Ulanoff, Mashable: In 1998, when you joined Apple, what did Jobs tell you to encourage you to join? And did you see the future at the moment?
Tim: It was a very interesting meeting. Steve had hired a firm to find someone to run ops. I'd said No a few times. And they kept calling. I eventually said I'd talk.
I flew out Friday on a redeye for a Saturday morning meeting. The honest truth is that five minutes into the meeting I wanted to join Apple.
by Rafe
Tim: I saw someone that was unaffected by money, and I've been impressed by that. I resigned (Compaq) immediately. I saw that Apple was the only tech company that I knew of that if a customer got angry with the company, they would yell, but they would continue to buy.
by Rafe
Tim: An Apple customer was a unique breed.
by Rafe
Stuart Alsop: How do you name products? What's with the New iPad?
Tim: Good question. If you look at how products change over time (iPod, Macbook)... you can do it either way, is the story. You can stick with the name, or you can put a number that denotes a generation of whatever.
by Rafe
