You remember that party you had a few months ago, where your buddy and his ex-girlfriend both showed up? You know, the ones that don’t ever get along, but they pretended to for your benefit? That’s what May 30 might look like, as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates take the stage together at the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference. But they won’t be discussing a joint venture, or even making speeches. They’re just going to chat.
The topic they’ll share will be the future of the digital revolution, something both men have had equal part in executing (no dig on Gates here; while Jobs’s camp invented much of the hi-tech we take for granted today, it was Gates’s Microsoft that put it into the hands of the masses). Also speaking will be AOL’s Steve Case, MS’s Steve Ballmer, George Lucas, and Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm. Despite the who’s-who list of tech leaders, all eyes will be on Steve and Bill.
It’ll be interesting to see what exactly these two will agree on, and equally interesting to see what they don’t. Officially, we’re hoping for a civil discussion between two luminaries who’ve known each other for decades about what’s next on the digital horizon, but secretly, we want blood on the stage. Bill? Steve? Step into the octagon.
[UPDATE] A reader has submitted this YouTube video that might actually depict what we’ll see from the two minds. Enjoy.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to Make Historic Joint Appearance At the Fifth Annual ‘D: All Things Digital’ Conference [Prime News Wire, via Loop Rumors]