Why is Apple Getting a Bad Rap?
Back when the Steves started Apple and made it what it is today, this strange stigma surrounded them. The bad boys of Silicon Valley were merely kids trying to reinvent what they thought was a corporate monopoly controlled by “suits.” We all know the story of what occurred next, but what really happened was an unhealthy backlash towards what they thought was an innovative company.
Steve Wozniak left and Steve Jobs went into overdrive trying to market a product that was focused on making great computers for the elite. No doubt the computer industry noticed, but the public reacted in a very different way. Apple attracted an incredible following of fanatics (which had never been seen for a tech company before) but also garnished an army of opposition.
Is Apple directly to blame for that uproar of negativism or is Steve Jobs’ perpetual drive to diminish the competition and ridicule the big bad blue: IBM? One can argue that Jobs had a huge part of the blame to put on himself. He purposely promoted the Apple lifestyle and values, often priding himself on having a low percentage of customer base compared to DOS-based machines (later Bill Gates’ Windows), making his fan base feel special and fortunate in owning a Mac.
A Hard Sell for the Board
In the 1980’s, Apple’s board of directors didn’t take Steve Jobs’ uncontrollable fanatic attitude as a positive move forward for the company and decided to later remove him from his position of CEO. He was hurt but never lost his drive and creativity. Although Apple was left without its creative seed, the fans were still chanting Jobs’ name. The company fell into a deep hole in the 1990’s without Steve Jobs and had a slew of very forgettable products.
Bringing Steve Back
In 1997, Steve was named the interim CEO and brought back to “save” the company with the very public announcement of a joint capital venture with Microsoft. As many remember, Steve had to explain his reasoning and calm the furious crowd with this new Steve we had never seen before. Jobs had become more subdued, perhaps because of the humbling experience that NEXT had been. A couple of years later, Jobs again became the full-fledged CEO he was destined to be and brought to the table, for the first time in years, an incredible computer revolution: the iMac.
The Rebirth of the Old Steve
With the insane success Apple had with the iMac, OS X, and the iPod, Steve Jobs regained confidence and started preaching again. His arrogance came back as the cool products kept rolling in, along with the profits. The fan base had never died, but its king was back on top again and they could not have hoped for a better resolution. The competition between Microsoft and Apple became ferocious and the old Steve, who asked Gates for a helping hand 5 years earlier, was biting the hand that fed his company, and biting it hard. Many new computer owners were clearly turned off by his approach yet still so many more bought into it, making Apple a company to be reckoned with.
The Future
With Steve Jobs at the helm of Apple, the company regained the trust of its stockholders and Jobs now stands as one of the great visionaries of an ever-changing industry. His arrogance will probably always remain; Apple’s market share may never get higher than 20% because of it and in the end Steve Jobs may get replaced again for bashing the competition with his relentless attitude. But one thing will never be forgotten: how one man could singlehandedly change the market place with his vision and compulsive drive for perfection. Some say Jonathan Ives (the head designer of the great iMac and iPod) may rise up to replace his mentor and boss. Anything is possible.
Whatever happens to Steve Jobs, he can be proud to have made a mark, with his teeth, with a small company that grew bigger and bigger while never forgetting to always keep pushing the boundaries no matter the consequences, and to always… Think Different.
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Comments
I never thought my article would start a “writing riot”.. hehe.
Where do I start?
1) I’ll be the first guy to accuse Leopard of its flaws having used it ever since the Beta version and now the the full version since its release. I do love all the new cool gadgets on there (no Time Machine is not my favorite) and personally my macbook is quite faster on it, although I realize it is not the same for everyone. The thing that bugs me too is the fact that it does contain many more bugs than its previous version and Apple seems to not come up with answers or updates for them. I have also used Vista and have laughed at the gruesome disaster the whole platform has been since the get go. Still, that doesn’t give the right for the Mac Community to come out and feel better than the rest when our own OS is not fully functional.
2) As for this dispute over my blind allegiance to the Apple Gods? Simply not true. How can any reader make that assumption after one article and not knowing anything where the writer is coming from? I have used a Mac since the 1980’s as well as PC’s DOS and Windows based machines. I will not stand for being called ignorant when it comes to this subject. It is not a question of ignorance but more of opinion. Clearly some of you did not make it through the post without cringing or swearing at your screen - understandable.. I do that on a daily basis but never do I comment on the writer’s competence but more on his point of view. As you already know, I welcome criticism openly and readers have often made me change my mind on various subjects - just try and be a little more eloquent next time.
3) Free positive press? Agreed. Too much? Perhaps. BUT who cares? As long as the products are there to back it up, I have no problem with that. That’s where Apple needs to work on a bit more for future releases: better products equivalent to their great PR staff.
4) Biting the hand? I read the linked article and found it to be very interesting. What I meant by saying that Apple “bit Microsoft’s hand” was that for the ordinary every day computer user, it appeared that way, hence generating heat towards Apple from the PC groups. Obviously that article by Daniel Eran Dilger was well researched and well written but not common knowledge for most users hence the appearance of Apple bitting Windows hand. I wasn’t implying that other tech companies wouldn’t give their souls to be in Apple’s position but more so, again, on the user base; customers watching these MAC vs PC ads and being pitched on switching every time they want to buy a new computer.
Now I’m left wondering if I just post old rambling news on AppleMatters from now or go on and write whatever can spark up a discussion like this one. I personally would love to be as opinionated as I was here without being a disservice to this blog. Thanks again for reading guys and keep those comments coming if you like, as you know I’m reading them.
Take care and Merry Xmas.
As for this dispute over my blind allegiance to the Apple Gods? Simply not true. How can any reader make that assumption after one article and not knowing anything where the writer is coming from?
Gee…“But one thing will never be forgotten: how one man could singlehandedly change the market place with his vision and compulsive drive for perfection”...where could we ever get such an idea?
And as a bonus, you top the whole thing off with a regurgitated marketing line from the company as if it’s some mantra to live by.
Free positive press? Agreed. Too much? Perhaps. BUT who cares?
The title of your article, in case you forgot, is “WHY IS APPLE GETTING A BAD RAP?” So YOU seem to care. Now you not only admit that Apple might actually be getting too much positive free press and that you DON’T care.
Please make up your mind.
Now I’m left wondering if I just post old rambling news on AppleMatters from now or go on and write whatever can spark up a discussion like this one.
It’s easy to spark discussions with bone-headed articles, especially on polarized subjects like this one. If your goal is to become the Ann Coulter of Applematters, then by all means continue down this path.
BeebleBrox:
Yikes!! Ok ok..
My opinion (like many others): Steve Jobs did change the market place and drive his company to the top. Am I worshipping Steve? I don’t think so. He’s as flawed as me and everyone else… even you perhaps
Humm As for the press comment? YES! I DON’T CARE - as most people should. My mind is made up sir. I agree they have too much yes AND I don’t care. The title is correct and stands since it’s an opinion on people’s perception.
Bone-headed articles? Ann Coulter? Yeah, Sure, Ok. I’ll leave that one be my friend. I’ll just agree to disagree since there is no point really
Thank God (or is it Steve? lol) for polarized subjects, where would this world be without them.
All the best!
My opinion (like many others): Steve Jobs did change the market place and drive his company to the top.
Really? I couldn’t tell, because if there’s anything Apple fansites really need MORE of, it’s blathering tributes to the glory of Steve Jobs.
I agree they have too much yes AND I don’t care. The title is correct and stands since it’s an opinion on people’s perception.
So let me get this straight. You are asserting both that Apple gets a bad rap AND that they get too much positive press? And you wonder where I get the idea that the article is bone-headed?
So let me see if I can do this:
Title: Why is the sky blue?
Article: Steve Jobs is awesome. I will not address the question of the sky color because I don’t actually care. Steve Jobs is awesome.
Hahah. I’m going to do my Lenin speech again. Yes, I do think that rather than the freedom fighter that he claims to be, The Jobs will—if he lives long enough to see his revolution become mainstream—prove to be what Lenin was to the Russian proletariat.
It won’t be the first time in history that a man lauded as a saviour turns out to be actually a rotten despot at the core. He’s fighting for tha cause of the Everyman now because he wants that power base that someone else in Redmond has. Once he’s got that, he’ll lock you into a gulag worse than the one we had under The Gates.
As the recent iPhone-bricking shows, the crafty leopard is already showing its spots now. If people think it’s bad enough now, wait until Apple gets into an actual dominant position.
Mr. Roberts, you said more in those three paragraphs than Sebastien did in his entire drooly “Love Letter To A CEO”, and you really nailed it on the head.
If you want a true nightmare scenario, imagine a world with a Windows-like monopoly, only the same company not only owned your O.S., but the hardware it runs on (refusing to license it to anyone else), your TV box, your music devices, and your cell phone.
reinharden said:
The entire low market share mantra was adopted in defense of having lost 100% of the personal computer market (when Apple was the only computer) to DOS.
Actually, as the Ars Technica article on the history of personal computer market-share shows, Apple has never ever had 100% of the personal computer market, nor been the only computer.
The Apple ][, which I assume you refer to, at best only managed to nudge 20% market share - a long way short of 100%.