Tomas Chlebek Jon Rubenstein is a former Apple employee who was heavily involved in the development of webOS and their family of products. He is now leaving Hewlett Packard.
Have you been planning to leave for a long time, or did you decide to do so recently?
I've been planning to do this for a while—when Hewlett Packard bought Palm, I promised Mark Hurd, Shane V. Robinson, and Todd Bradley (the HP presidents, ed.) that I would stay for about 12 to 24 months. Shortly before the TouchPad launch, I told Todd that after the tablet launch it would be time for me to move on. Todd asked me to stick around and help them with the webOS conversion, not knowing at the time that the Personal Systems Division (PSG) was dragging out the conversion. I like Todd so I told him I would stay and give him some advice and help. But now everything is settled and we've found out what's going on with everything and everyone - I've done what I said and it's time to move on.
Was this your plan from the beginning? I mean your leaving?
Yes. This was always part of the plan. Who knows? You can never predict the future. But the conversation I had with Todd, getting the TouchPad out, webOS on the TouchPad and then I'm leaving for a while, we'll see what happens. It was never definitive or solid, but Todd didn't mind.
But isn't it unthinkable that you would stay if things went smoothly?
Purely speculative, I have no idea. When I told Todd I didn't want to stick around after the TouchPad launch, no one knew if it would be a success or not. My choice preceded it. That's why the transition to Stephen DeWitt was so quick. We talked about it for months. This was decided before the TouchPad was introduced.
There were things that didn't work out the way everyone expected - can you talk about what caused these problems?
I don't think this matters now. It's an old story now.
Don't you want to talk about Leo? (Leo Apotheker, former head of HP, editor's note)
No. In webOS, we have created an amazing system. He is very mature, he is where things are going. But when we went off the runway and ended up at HP and the company itself was not in good enough shape to support our efforts. I had four bosses! Mark bought us, Cathe Lesjak took over as interim CEO, then Leo came and now Meg.
And it's not even that long since they bought you!
I worked for them for 19 months.
So what's next in the pipeline? You'll probably take some time off.
It's not what I want, it's what I do.
Are you going to Mexico?
That's where you're calling me right now.
Are you sipping a margarita as we speak?
No, it's too early for a margarita. I just finished working out. I'll go for a swim, have a little lunch…
But you're a creative, ambitious guy - will you get back into the game?
Of course! I'm not retiring or anything like that. I never really finished. I'll take a break for a while, I'll calmly decide what I want to do next - I mean, this was a four and a half year long haul. What we have achieved in four and a half years has been amazing. And I don't think people understand that - that what we achieved during that time - was great. You know webOS started six months before it got to Palm. They were just getting started. It wasn't what webOS is today. It was something else. We developed it over time, but it was an enormous amount of work for a large number of people over many, many years. So four and a half years… I'm going to take a break.
Wait, did I hear the webOS sound in the background now?
Yeah, I just got a message.
So you're still using a webOS device?
I use my Veer!
You still using your Veer!?
Yeah - I keep telling everyone that.
You know, there's a lot of things you've done that I think are great, but I can't understand your love for these tiny phones. Why do you like Veer so much?
You and I have different usage patterns. I have Veer and TouchPad with me. If I want to work with large emails and browse the web, I prefer a device with a screen the size of a TouchPad. But if I only call and write short messages, Veer is perfect and does not take up any space in my pocket. Just you "tech guys", every time I pull this out of my pocket people say "What is this!?".
So we're the ones with the problems?
[laughs] Look, one product doesn't cover everything. That's why you have Priuses and Hummers.
Will you continue to use webOS devices? Are you not going to buy an iPhone or a Windows Phone?
You tell me that. When the iPhone 5 comes out, what will it give me? Obviously as technology evolves I will have to get something newer too. When that time comes, I will choose what I will use.
When you go back to work, do you think it will be this position again? Or are you tired of working in the mobile world?
No no, I think mobiles are the future. Of course there will be something else that comes after them, there will be another wave. It could well be home integration, but mobile devices will continue to be very important. But I have no idea what to do next. I haven't spent a minute thinking about it yet.
Aren't you going to go help RIM?
Uhh [long pause] you know, Canada is the wrong direction for me, my friend. It's cold there [laughs]. I went to college in New York and after six and a half years in upstate New York…never again.
True, it doesn't look like a nice place you'd like.
It brings to mind a scene from that movie and the Jamaican bobsled team…
Cool Runnings?
Yeah, when they get off the plane and they've never seen snow before.
You're actually one of that team.
Exactly.
How do you feel about webOS going open source?
We were already on the way to the open source Enyu (javascript framework covering mobile and web applications, editor's note) as a cross development platform. That was already planned, so I guess that's a good thing.
So you're obviously glad he's not dead.
Of course. I put blood, sweat and tears into this thing. And look, I think it had a lot of potential, if people just put real effort into it, I think you'll see a recovery of the facility over time.
Do you think there will be new webOS devices?
Oh yeah. I don't know from whom, but for sure. There are a lot of companies that need an operating system just for them.
Who is who:
Jon Rubinstein – he worked with Steve Jobs already in the early days of Apple and NeXT, he was largely involved in the creation of the iPod; in 2006, he left the position of vice president of the iPod division and became chairman of the board at Palm, and later CEO.
R. Todd Bradley – executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard's Personal Systems Group
That was translated by Google translator, right? :D
For a while, I wondered if the person is so complicated and always a few steps ahead or if the translation is so sloppy... Otherwise, great, thanks for the article!
Who translated it????
By the way… have any of you read the original interview? According to most comments, no one.