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Larry Ellison sees dismal future for Apple without Steve Jobs

In an interview with Charlie Rose set to air on Tuesday, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison gave a bleak outlook when asked how Apple will fare without his close friend Steve Jobs at the reins.


A short snippet of the "This Morning" segment was released on Monday by CBS, showing Ellison alluding to an anticipated dark time for the Cupertino, Calif., company.

Rose asked the tech mogul to share his thoughts on what Apple will become without Jobs. Ellison said "we already know."

"We saw — we conducted the experiment," Ellison explained. "I mean, it's been done. We saw Apple with Steve Jobs. We saw Apple without Steve Jobs. We saw Apple with Steve Jobs. Now, we're gonna see Apple without Steve Jobs."

Each time Ellison described Apple with Jobs, he gestured up with his hand; without Jobs, a trough. While not specifically stated, Ellison is most likely referring to Apple's founding in 1976, Jobs' ousting by John Sculley in 1985, and the visionary's return in 1997.

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When Rose asked what enabled Jobs, besides his love of and dedication to Apple, to make the company successful, Ellison said, "He was, he was brilliant. I mean, he was our Edison. He was our Picasso. He was an incredible inventor."

194 Comments

rogifan 14 Years · 10667 comments

FU Larry. Never could stand the guy. Really hate his guts now. And just what exactly did Steve INVENT Larry? :rolleyes:

robm 19 Years · 1065 comments

Nice words about Steve but as for the rest of the drivel - "You're wrong, Doofus !"

feynman 20 Years · 968 comments

Just because Jobs is no longer with us, he did instill spirit and character. People who worked closely with him know he would operate. Not that Jobs wanted that but, the DNA has been embedded into the longevity of the company.

sflocal 17 Years · 6154 comments

How's those cup races going Larry??  

red oak 14 Years · 1108 comments

I'm sure Jobs is looking down from heaven and shaking his head in dis-belief as his "friend" throws everything he held dear into the toilet without giving the team he personally handpicked and put in place a chance to succeed Fool