How to create a worldwide communication advertising and retail monopoly worth trillions?

First, start early in 1998 by taking over Apple computer.

1. Invest in a unified software substrate, portable to multiple hardware platforms.

   You're going to need Apple's QuickTime and their recent acquisition of highly portable, Object Oriented System Software from Steve's then current computer company, NeXT.

2. Create monopoly by syncing all music or data to devices via your software only.

   Leverage an iTunes monopoly by immediately releasing a modest mp3 music player that synchronizes only from your software, and then follow that up quickly with an online music store to pave the way for retailing anything to any PC or Mac anywhere in the world.

3. Rollout hardware everywhere. Desktop, Handheld, Living Room TV

   Finally, while you're getting #2 going, invest a decade of software assets into a single set of object oriented frameworks, shared across hand-held, desktop or even server hardware. When you are just about ready to take over the world, release the hounds! iPhone for handhelds, AppleTV for the living room and iTunes on Mac or PC for the desk.

Apple has quietly put their "software stack" onto the desktop, server, hand-held device and also the large screen living room digital TV.

The table is set, soon, dinner will be served.

Yea, ok, but is this "software stack" exactly?

Consider "WebKit", Apple's developer name for the software "heart" of their Safari web browser. You might already know, this heart, is what makes web pages on Safari for Mac work just exactly the same on Safari Mac as they do on Safari PC.

Now consider that the iPhone has a very different seeming web browser, also called Safari. But it zooms in and out, and pinches to resize because it is designed for a hand-held device but again, it has this very same WebKit heart.

Same software runs in different places, not the same interface, the same "heart" that displays web pages is exactly the same.

It's not hard to imagine that shortly, we're going to see a version of Safari specifically designed for use on AppleTV.

This is all a commercial platform, a strategy for the new "Web 4.0" called WWR, or World Wide Retailer

As of today, I've heard no announcement of any version of Safari on AppleTV, but even the fact that the iTunes store is going to have video rentals for AppleTV should give you a hint about something important.

This is all a commercial platform, a strategy for the new "Web 4.0" called WWR, or World Wide Retailer. (yes, duh, of course I just made that up.)

Don't just rent, buy!

Today, Apple makes us think of the AppleTV as having a nice rental store, just like on your iPhone or iTunes on your desktop.

Is that all there is?

Imagine, you can watch an HD video podcast of the local Ballet on your AppleTV, a widget comes up to let you see the show times on a calendar, and two clicks later, you've purchased tickets for the Ballet on your AppleTV.

As you get to the show, your iPhone is already giving you directions, and also has all the information you need from the purchase you did at your TV.

One the way home, use your iPhone to start downloading the song you're hearing in Starbucks, but you're in a rush so the song completes on your computer at home.

This is a massive software development savings for Apple. They write software once, use it three times in three places for three different user experiences.

A single iTunes store can be used as a retailing device that is intimately connected to your hand-held device, your living room TV and your laptop / desktop.

These devices come together seamlessly as one digital VISA card, store included.