Wtf, Apple?
Saturday, December 20th, 2008
Me at Apple HQ
So I’m sure everyone has read about Apple saying Macworld ‘09 will be the last Macworld they attend. Also, that Steve Jobs will not be giving the keynote address in this last appearance. Instead it will be Phil Schiller. Now, I love Phil. I think he’s really excited about Apple and that shows when he’s on stage. It just shows a little too much. Compared to Steve he’s just not polished enough. I’m having a hard time figuring out why he was picked over someone like Jony Ive or even Tim Cook. Maybe they’ll make mention of it in January, but maybe not. I’ve read some things about why Apple decided to pull out (trade shows aren’t really the most effective way to get their message out to customers anymore, etc.). However, the keynote addresses have been a mainstay of Apple culture for so long now. This is why I’m so nervous about what it all means.
I started getting concerned about Apple and their direction when they postponed the introduction of Mac OS X Leopard because of engineers being tied up on the introduction of the iPhone. I gave Apple some slack on this, though. While putting of the introduction of a major OS upgrade and seemingly neglecting what I feel is their most important product line, the Mac, getting the iPhone just right was probably worth it.
Then, the last week I was working at the Apple Store in San Antonio, Apple came out with the new Aluminum iMacs and new keyboards. Now people who know me know I complained about what was lacking on the new keyboards. The Apple icon on the Apple Key (command key if you’re a PC person trying to talk about Macs) and replaced it with the word ‘command.’ I was getting mad especially since I had just purchased one of the new keyboards to use when I have my laptop hooked up at my desk. All the blogs talked about how so many people were coming over to Mac from Windoze that they wanted to make it easier for switchers to know where the ‘command key’ was. Apple caving to PC users? Really?
Among other little things, like Steve Jobs letting Scott Forstall talk in public, pulling out of Macworld is huge. I know trade shows are losing their usefulness. But the Stevenotes are big. Really big. Apple could go to the Moscone Center, give an amazing brainwashing presentation, and head back to Cupertino…no booth required. All of this in addition to the effect this has on the media’s perception of Steve’s health which in turn has an effect on the stock price of AAPL. Wtf, Apple. I’m a loyal-ass customer/fan. I just hope this decision isn’t what it seems: a slap in the face to all Apple fans out there!
Look around on any college campus or anywhere really and you’ll see iPhones, iPods, and MacBooks galore. So I guess you can say Apple isn’t doing too bad for itself. I’ve been a Mac user since the Performa days (1994 for all you people who got their Mac after getting their iPod a few years ago) so I’ve seen a lot of changes. Still, what’s a blog if not a place to gripe about something probably not worth the time to type? 