Apple CEO Likens Microsoft to Medieval Catholic Church

Apple CEO Likens Microsoft to Medieval Catholic Church
Cites bondage, mind control
 

CUPERTINO, CA – Just when it seemed the ongoing clash between Microsoft and Apple Computers had calmed, Apple CEO Steve Jobs launched a harsh verbal attack on the Windows world, calling his trendy California company "the Protestant Reformation of the computer world" and likening Microsoft's business practices to the abuses of the medieval Roman Catholic church.

The remark came in answer to a question from a technology reporter at Apple's World Wide Developers' Conference (WWDC) in late June. When the reporter asked him to describe the legacy of Apple Computers in a tech culture that is largely dominated by Microsoft, Jobs replied, "If you look at the past ten years of technological trends and development, it's clear we've been on the cutting edge, always offering an alternative.

"And with the other guys, it's more like a type of bondage, of mind control. I guess in that sense, Apple is sort of like the Protestant Reformation. You've got this one giant institution, sort of like the medieval Catholics, that has people mentally and financially enslaved, and we're saying, okay, look, there is another option here, if you'll only open your eyes and your mind."

Reaction from the Christian world was swift and severe, with leaders from both sides of the Protestant-Catholic divide calling for an apology.

The comment also met with disapproval from the general computing world. Wired Magazine managing editor Rachel Pinkham called the comment a public relations nightmare. "Basically, with one ill-advised comment, Mr. Jobs has managed to offend Protestants who use Windows, Catholics who use Macs, and religious people who don't have a computer preference—not to mention atheist computer users who reject all forms of Christianity. That means he offended pretty much everyone who is now or might ever be a customer or stockholder. Bad idea."

The brash and assertive Jobs remains unapologetic, however. Reporters recently cornered him outside his San Francisco home, sporting a WWJD? bracelet as he stepped into his BMW 760Li.

When asked if all the controversy made him feel like a modern-day Martin Luther, Jobs smiled and said, "Just show me the pope's door, and I'll hang a note on it for him. I'll walk all the way to Seattle to do it. I've got way more than 95 reasons why Microsoft is evil!"

When another reporter inquired about the bracelet, Jobs winked and replied, "What would Jesus do? I think the answer is clear. He'd go out and buy a new liquid-cooled, dual processor G5."

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates responded with good humor. When told of the WWJD comment, Gates quipped, "Those things cost what, about four thousand dollars? And Jesus was a carpenter, right? It would take a miracle for him to come up with that kind of cash!"

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