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DigitalEl · Aug 8, 2003, 12:52 AM

I just finished reading a book about the creation of the Segway called Code Name: Ginger by Steve Kemper. There is a ton of Apple stuff in the book and a lot of details about Steve Jobs' early involvement with the project.

Probably the most interesting fact about Apple in the book is about when they were trying to come up with a name for the Segway. They hired a firm called Lexicon Branding. This company has named a lot of stuff you've no doubt heard of, including our beloved PowerBook for Apple.

Of course they also came up with Pentium and Xeon.

By the way, Steve Jobs and Dean Kamen both come off like dicks in this book. If you're into the hero worship thing on either guy, this probably isn't the book for you. Both are brilliant... But obviously total head-cases.

Mods, move this to the Lounge if you think it more appropriate there. People are smarter here though. Figured it may be appreciated more in the PowerBook forum.

ae86_16v · Aug 8, 2003, 04:14 AM

So wait, Companies hire this firm Lexicon to come up names for their products?

DigitalEl · Aug 8, 2003, 05:13 AM

Yep. In marketing parlance, it's called "branding."

Other names conjured up by Lexicon include:

Blackberry (PDA)
Zima (alcoholic beverage)
OnStar (automobile info service)
Swiffer (floor sweeper)
Febreze (odor-suppresing spray)
Dasani (bottled water)
Optima (Kia automobile)
Outback (Isuzu automobile)
Forester (Isuzu automobile)
VUE (GM/Saturn automobile)
Embassy Suites (hotel chain)
Nexcare (hair product)

I'm not sure why I find this interesting, but I really do. Seems like it'd be a cool job. It'd probably be fun to be in on the meetings and focus groups where they test this stuff.

As far as the Segway goes, they wanted to call it the "Flywheel," but Dean Kamen didn't register the domain name in time. If you notice, the Segway logo looks like a backwards "F." They kept that, despite settling on a second-choice name.

HasanDaddy · Aug 8, 2003, 05:34 AM

btw ---

I talked to a really cool security guard at the Cupertino campus

he said that Steve Jobs is a really good man --- he treats everyone well and is very approachable

his rep around the campus is stunning! everyone loves him!

danbrew · Aug 8, 2003, 07:33 AM

Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
btw ---

I talked to a really cool security guard at the Cupertino campus

he said that Steve Jobs is a really good man --- he treats everyone well and is very approachable

his rep around the campus is stunning! everyone loves him!

Yeah, it's easy to be pleasant to somebody that you walk past a few times a day for a few seconds. A nod, a smile, a "Hello James" does not make you a nice person.

Go talk to the people who work with him on a regular basis. Go talk to the people who have been on the end of his wrath. There's a huge difference between disagreeing with someone and belittling someone for no good reason other than you can.

HasanDaddy · Aug 8, 2003, 08:00 AM

that's such a contradiction

if the guy (Jobs) wasn't friendly towards his fellow employees, then we'd call him a jerk for not being nice

but since he is nice to them, we have to find other faults within him --- like confusing a SHREWD business sense for being rude

do you guys HONESTLY think that people can go this far in business, while being such jerks??

the man is BELOVED on that campus --- known for striking conversations with the folks there and acting like any regular employee

the day YOU (accusers) guys spearhead the inventions of a 17" Powerbook and OS X, is the day that I'll believe your words over Steve Jobs's.....

DigitalEl · Aug 8, 2003, 11:12 AM

Dude, chill. I was just pointing out how he came across in the book... If your above l'il rant was directed at me.

And if we're going to do a reality check, do you think a security guard would have a real sense of the CEO's personality?

I'm sure Stevey J has some great qualities and I'm an admirer of what he and Jonathan Ives have come up with... Using their stuff every day... But I'm not so blinded by their business acumen that I think they're great human beings. Hell, I don't even know them.

That being said, they've both no doubt changed the world more than I'm likely to. So be it.

THREAD OFFICIALLY DERAILED!

fisherKing · Aug 8, 2003, 11:34 AM

Originally posted by HasanDaddy:

do you guys HONESTLY think that people can go this far in business, while being such jerks??

ha! that's a good one...

ZildjianKX · Aug 8, 2003, 11:53 AM

Can someone go this far in business, and not be a jerk? He wasn't the head of Apple for awhile remember, lol.

dreamBweaver · Aug 8, 2003, 01:08 PM

I've been meaning to check out "Pirates of the Silicon Valley" to learn more about Steve Jobs...and Gates. I'm curious: What did the book about the Segway have to say about Jobs's personality? Please describe because I won't probably read it

DigitalEl · Aug 8, 2003, 01:16 PM

I'm curious: What did the book about the Segway have to say about Jobs's personality?

Bro, it's a long story, without going back through the book (which has no index) and looking for specific quotes. I'd hate to take the author out of context.

One childish thing I remember is one of the first times he got to ride a Ginger, being in a big group. Like a two-year-old, he wouldn't share. He'd let somebody else try out the one Segway that was available for a few minutes... Then demand "my turn" and practically wrestle the machine out from under them. Hell, I love gadgets, too, so I may have done that, but sheesh!

In another instance, Kamen brought a Ginger to San Fran to show Jobs and some investment bankers. While Kamen - who was supposedly an ally of Jobs - was trying to impress the bankers, Jobs flipped and told the room the machine's design "sucked" and was all wrong and how Dean needed to fire a bunch of people and start all over.

I mean, it is just business, but he just seemed to lack tact. As HasanDaddy says, perhaps that kind of candor and ruthlessness is what got him to where he is today. Again, I wasn't passing judgment. I was just pointing out he didn't come across very "nice" in the book. And maybe that's a good thing.

chrisutley · Aug 8, 2003, 03:26 PM

I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through, "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" I'm here to tell you that it does not paint a very pretty picture of SJ, although as he matures some of the rough edges are wearing smooth. I'm eager to finish it and see what modern SJ is like.

Regardless, he is a freakishly intelligent guy, with the one thing most guys in his position have DRIVE.

ae86_16v · Aug 8, 2003, 03:46 PM

Originally posted by DigitalEl:

I'm not sure why I find this interesting, but I really do. Seems like it'd be a cool job. It'd probably be fun to be in on the meetings and focus groups where they test this stuff.

Yeah. It does seem fun

. Have you guys ever been in those groups and you were suppose to name your group. Damn even getting like 5 people to agree on a stupid name for 8 weeks could take forever.

Those are some pretty cool names though.