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75 Comments
- WiseWeasel, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27I'm personally worried about what will happen to Apple once Jobs is gone, as a longtime Mac user, and as a shareholder. Apple has had a pretty decent track record of being fairly non-evil, and making good decisions with the user in mind. Who knows if Jobs' successor will share a similar vision, or will just let the legal department and MBA types make all their decisions. Maybe Jobs can sell out to Google or someone before leaving, just so some truly smart people are left to manage it. I would hate to see a return of Apple's dark days of uninspired wandering...
- brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18I think Microsoft will improve when Ballmer leaves.
- Shorties, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20I am sure there is another Steve Jobs in the world, the problem is finding him or her in the wild and bringing them to Apple.
- MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Since Steve Jobs isn't immortal (contrary to some uberfan beliefs), sooner or later, Apple won't have him at the helm. This current stuff about the backdating of stock options isn't going to do any lasting harm. As much as flag and some of the other anti-fanboys fanboys would like to see him in jail for God knows what reason, it isn't going to happen. Neither will he have to resign based on what's currently known about the "scandal". There's quite a few other companies currently going through the same thing, Apple is just the better known of most of them.
No, what will eventually happen is this:
1. Steve Jobs decides to retire
2. Steve Jobs decides that running Apple is boring and moves on to something else.
3. Steve Jobs dies.
Apple has enough users to go on without him. He is a great salesman and his keynotes and public addresses gets people fired up about Apple products. In the end however, the products have to stand on their own and since OS X came out, most of them have done so. The company will be fine as long they put out quality gear.
Microsoft is doing fine since Bill Gates started pulling back from day to day operations, in spite of some embarrassing moments from Steve Balmer. Apple will be fine with or without Steve Jobs. - DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8"I wouldn't worry too much about it. If Jobs is forced to leave he can always become a consultant to the CEO (again) or have an other function in which he has no official powers but still is of considerable importance."
It wouldn't work out in this situation. There would be a power struggle and the existing CEO would just force out Steve as happened before. If Jobs doesn't have complete control of the company then he might as well not be there any more. - TomFrost, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10As much as I love Google and trust their successes, though, I'd be seriously concerned for what they'd do to Apple products' style! They're not exactly known for making things look sleek.
- DeepDoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6To those that say Jobs is not Apple, I beg to differ. He has always been the public face of Apple. From the garage days on, he was the guy you thought of when you thought of Apple. I am not saying that Apple cannot survive without him. I am saying that it just will not be the same Apple. When he was not at Apple, those were Apple's darkest days. It is Jobs that lights the fire under everyone at Apple to innovate. I am not an Apple guy, but I am a big fan of competition. I would hate to see them wither again. Having said that, I do not think this current scandal will be the end of Jobs at Apple.
- vbagate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6DeepDoo is right. Jobs is Apple and Apple is Jobs. I fear the day the two split. As a life long apple guroo, I know the danger. However I think the stock thing is going to blow over... See you at Macworld!
- vjk2005, on 10/12/2007, -19/+24shareholders; users; everyone fear a future without Steve. Without him, innovation just .. ' dies '. I'm guessing he knows this more than anyone else. And to be fair he can't do anything about it. There's unfortunately only one Jobs.
- dotorg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Don't assume that... the 20th century is littered with tech companies that died or faded away when their founder or guiding force for their growth in the industry died or left.
Wang, Polarioid, etc. There are lots of companies that could not survive the loss of their leader. - noreturn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Tell that to the 90's.
- cinnix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I never trust what these bloody people say, ***** them all.
Anything could happen, but they have to go write the worst to scare the readers. If by chance Jobs does say byebye, then they will be bragging about how they got it right and such. If they got it wrong then they will say how they wrote it merely to portray a possibility.
Either ways they don't know whats going to happen, and the way they word the article it doesn't matter.
So again, ***** all these ***** rumour mongers and *****-talkers guys, I'm sure Jobs will be around for a long time yet. - SeBBBe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5They make far more money than Dell, and yeah, they are very competitive.
- brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I don't trust Jobs to pick a successor. He is a great CEO, and put Apple back on the map, but he picked a successor of sorts before, and we all know how that turned out.
- zang74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Again flag? MS owned some (not the majority share, or even close to) non-voting Apple stock, which they bought as part of an out-of-court settles for a lawsuit Apple had against MS. Those are the facts. On top of which, MS signed a contract to continue to produce Office for mac for 5 years following. It was a move by Apple to try and get investor confidence back up. And it worked.
Stop letting your anti-Apple bias get in the way of the truth. - DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Sorry but you apparently haven't looked into Apple's history or how Apple is run. Steve Jobs IS Apple.
- djSyndrome, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"the iPod (apple's lone product)"
What do you call the iMac I have on my desk at home then? Stop trying to marginalize the importance of the Mac. - Maarek, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Jobs is not and has not ever been an innovator in the realm of technical innovation (Now Woz on the other hand....). He has been a genius at taking technical innovation and making it "hip" which is not a knock on the man. A lot of smart people can innovate but not many can find a way to make that innovation desirable by the general public. That is what Steve Jobs has done and if he goes Apple will be hurt a lot by it. Still, let's not kid ourselves here.... he has become (at least in the public eye) nothing but the head pitchman for Apple and a damned good one at that. He has managed to turn public perception of Apple (you know, the company that locks its users into hardware and software more than even Microsoft) into one of being a "friend of open source" (just check slashdot for confirmation of that) and a "friendly company". That is the part that will be missing if Steve Jobs goes, Apple will likely lose a lot of what makes them the darlings of the media and that is dangerous for a Company that is on the verge of making huge gains.
- ragipy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't know about apple but Jobs would be fine. I guess he'll go out have a new start-up computer company for himself maybe also invest in a film studio (3d animation is cool this days he should look into that).
(Now that I got this pointless comment out of my system I feel better, if you wondered) - nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Steve Jobs pushes his employees to do better, to do their best. Obviously Apple has talented coders and designers on their payroll so with a CEO who can motivate them the same way I see no reason why Apple couldn't be successful without Steve Jobs. He has become so much of an icon that people attribute all of Apple's success to him. When you look at their track record with and without Steve Jobs it's really not surprising that they arrive at that conclusion though. Sculley and Amelio didn't do Apple any wonders, but that doesn't mean they can't find a decent CEO besides Jobs. They certainly do exist.
brstilson: Let's /hope/ that the next MS CEO will improve on Ballmer, at least in charisma, eloquence and general non-monkeyness. - MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What many people also forget *cough..flag..cough* is that Apple didn't NEED the money. While they were certainly losing money hand over fist and had for some time, they had almost zero debt and plenty of cash in the bank.
Zang got it right in that the technology sharing agreement with Microsoft for 5 years (which was renewed recently for another 5 years) got Apple updated versions of MS Office for the Mac and upgraded versions of Internet Explorer. This was far more important than the 150 million MS paid for non-voting Apple stock (which they have since resold for a substantial profit).
At least attempt to get the truth right flag - captjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@brstilson
It was nice knowing you...Ballmer is now on his way to ***** Kill (tm) you.
Besides, Ballmer will (much less can) neither leave nor die. He is an immortal fueled by a hatred of Mac, Linux and Google...and a steady diet of everything. In fact, a series of movies were made based on a few productive trips he made to Japan...you may know the character that portrayed him as Godzilla.
For more information: http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ballmer - TomFrost, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Oh, and I certainly don't disagree with you! What I was referring to was the visual aesthetic. *That* is what makes the iPod and OS X what they are. Log into Gmail and you see monochromatic backgrounds with sharp edges, or look up screenshots of how they tried to (arguably) downgrade YouTube's graphic scheme after they were acquired. Their interfaces are second to none, their innovation drives a large portion of the industry. Their aesthetic and digital beauty of design.. is nowhere near what Apple has achieved.
- organicsalsa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The proof is in the pudding people. You can see the decline of Apple after he left the company originally as well as the decline of innovation in the product. No, Steve does not create the items that Apple puts out, but he is incredibly tough on the designers and pushes them to release only the best designs. You can see in the timeline of Apple that as soon as Steve returned to the company in the 90's that the innovation came back with him as well as the money because the company began a rapid incline which drove them into the current spotlight. Will Apple instantly decline if Steve were to leave again? Probably not, but it would probably happen over time because it's tough to find a visionary and saleperson as good as Steve, he is one of a kind.
On another note, after an internal investigation within Apple it was found weeks ago that Steve Jobs has performed no wrong doing and it appears that this is on the hands of the board. - MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Once Amazon starts selling un DRM music, and the players become commodity items, most people will opt for a no-frills MP3 player."
Amazon has always sold un-DRMed music....they're called CDs - Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3And I introduce to you: The iRot
The new rotary system phone from apple announcing Job's retirement. - griffindj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@ impossible
Jobs hired John Sculley, former CEO of Pepsi. Sculley turned around and relieved Jobs as head of the Macintosh division, effectively firing the man who hired him. Jobs sold all but one share of his apple stock and started NeXT and the rest is how us fanboys say history.
So yes, Jobs was directly responsible for choosing his sucessor. - PhillyMJS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33. Steve Jobs dies.
I'm not too worried about this one, he'll only be out of action for a couple days and then he'll rise again. If it happens on a Friday, we'll hardly even notice. :-)
~Philly - Maarek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually running a cult is a great way to run a company. Now you have a huge rabid fanbase to make the less kool-aidy types wonder what all the fuss is about. There is the problem with the one person being able to destroy the company, but hey that is all outweighed by the ability to pose as David (as in David V. Micros..erhm Goliath) when it comes to public perception while actually behaving more like the Lion (as in Lions V. Custome...erhm..Christians) when it comes to business practices.
- ChefGroovy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Maybe Microsoft could buy Apple and bail em out.
- supervapio, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Amazing. This makes me smile.
- superKduper, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2
Apple stock is hyperinflated because of one fad product. And a "fad product" that already had at least two prior historical booms and busts:
1. "Japanese Transistor Radio" fad of early 60s.
2. "Sony Walkman" fad of early 80s
3. iPod fad of early 2000s.
It's even funny how these are spaces 20 years apart!
Once Amazon starts selling un DRM music, and the players become commodity items, most people will opt for a no-frills MP3 player.
And even with the huge sales of iPod, remember that Motorola sold more RAZR phones than Apple sold iPods. Put things in perspective here. - LeeVal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think everyone fears for apples future because of what happened in 1985 when he was fired then the company and nearly went bust in 1996, i don't think that will happen again with all those innovative people at apple. Is Microsoft future feared because Bill Gates is leaving in 2008?.
- Electric_Sheep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1At the Worldwide Developers Conference, didn't Steve let more of the other leads inside Apple do demonstrations of hardware and developments in Leopard? Suggesting that if Steve was to go, there wouldn't be a single person like Steve, rather a conglomerate of people for events to demo and reveal things, just in case something did happen?
I'd hope someone like Jonothan Ive would take over in more of a lead role, they both share the same ideals and goals for the company and are almost identical in design thought and direction. But he's rather shy, and i've only heard him talk about the products and his team, rather than Apple as a company. So it would be a huge leap from Senior Lead Industrial Designer to CEO, also he wouldn't has as much time dedicated to making more shiny goodness. So, without Steve, i can't see there being an immediate overall leader, so it must be scary for the shareholders. - DanTheMacMan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Steve isn't going anywhere, the news for Apple is starting to look better if you've read any of the newer news stories and the stock is up 5% today. Why is everybody so worried?
- theImposs1ble, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I dont get what you mean? A google - apple merger? or an acquisition? apples market cap is like 78b and google is like 108b.
im no expert but im not sure if google could afford to buy out apple even if they wanted to, which i dont see why they would. Apple is a great company and if you invested in them in the past 2 years your shares have gone up 75%. A google-apple synergy would be great, however I dont think it would happen. Apple is doing fine and im sure you will see a dip in the stock price when jobs leaves, however im sure jobs will have a lot to do with picking the new CEO. I dont know the whole story of when the investors booted him from the position years ago, but i wonder if he had much to do with choosing the new CEO during that debacle.
fanboys, im actually asking for your input here. - Morky, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Hopefully he has the vision to find a successor with vision
- superKduper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1His cancer, while in remission, is still a BIG risk, too
- merien, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9I wouldn't worry too much about it. If Jobs is forced to leave he can always become a consultant to the CEO (again) or have an other function in which he has no official powers but still is of considerable importance. Much like the function Gates had the last few years at Microsoft.
If Jobs dies or leaves completely I still think Apple would cope. He brought in a lot of talent. Look at how he managed Pixar, he didn't. He gave the talented people at Pixar the freedom to do what they do best.
Apple is not Jobs and Jobs is not Apple - zeiben, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I firmly believe that tech purchases should be equal parts emotional and rational. It is important to me that I love my gear and enjoy using it, not just that I get the most powerful machine for my money. I am a windows user to the core, but will buy a macbook for my next machine because I appreciate the aesthetic of the hardware.
That said, I think Apple needs Jobs because their "customers" are largely "worshippers" and without a charismatic leader to shape the group mindset, the zeal for Apple's design and features will wane. When you buy an apple, you are buying a religion, as much as a product. The fervor of the group makes you enjoy your purchases more and feel good about the money you spent.
If Jobs wants to secure the future of Apple, he needs to anoint a successor, someone with the charisma to excite the fanbase and keep that good mood going. He won't be around forever, and the company needs to think of its future. - rickcarson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It is an interesting question about finding another Steve Jobs.
Look at his career path - dropping out of (and then back into) college, hanging out with a quirky but brilliant engineer, spending the summer perving over consumer items and becoming obsessed with design.
These are not the sort of things that make a resume stand out in the crowd, but rather send it straight to the bottom of the pile in the 'circular filing cabinet'.
And if there was 'another' Steve Jobs, would he be willing to work at Apple, or would he be out doing his own thing? Isn't Steve a bit of a control freak? Would a proto-Steve-J be willing to play second fiddle?
Would he even be in Computer manufacturing? Would they have even bothered founding Apple if there had been a Dell around in those days? Selling cut price beige boxes? The answer is probably no. Woz would have bought a beige box, and been king of the modders and overclockers, and amounted to nothing.
What I find interesting is that from what I can tell NeXT was basically a failure up until it got bought up by Apple. Like BeOS they had some interesting stuff, and were big in one or two niches, but so what?
Think about it another way - if the price of a company like NeXT or BeOS is in the $400 million range, for a whole brand spanking new operating system _and_ hardware... but some dirty hippy can in a weekend put up a crappy site like YouTube, MySpace or FaceBook and it is valued at 1.6 Billion... where do you think a modern day Steve Jobs would be putting his effort? - noreturn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So Sony didn't repeat its past mistakes of proprietary media and file formats?
- jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4A perfect example of the treat the customer first is how amazing it is that OS X doesn't force us to have a serial (cd key) in order to install or use it. In other words there is no prevention from anyone just using the operating system on their computers.
- CannedCorn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1agreed, I have held the stock since he returned and will sell when he leaves
- Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Guru?
- brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"the 20th century is littered with tech companies that died or faded away when their founder or guiding force for their growth in the industry died or left."
If you're talking to me, I hardly consider Ballmer a "guiding force." Gates was the brains behind Microsoft's business deals. Ballmer is a big, sweaty, bald ex-jock along for the ride. - gropo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Irony: that article being hosted on "Smart"Money.com
- redxii, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah you don't need a serial key but you're severely limited to the hardware you can install OS X on.
- srodolff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And I thought that Apple was an unstoppable juggernaut gaining neverending market share.
Silly me. - Maarek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Apple was not cleared. Apple merely stated that an internal review of their actions has given them "complete confidence". In other news a man accused of robbery has announced that he has completed an personal audit of the information and has "complete confidence" in his innocence.
Let's wait for the SEC and Justice Dept. to make their conclusions first. -
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