I know the timing isn’t good, but permit me a few lines in the middle of all this gush. Here are myths about Apple that persist, with accompanying clarification from yours truly:
Apple is Cool.
It is? At my job, the ownership of a Mac divides the supposedly cool (creative) from the PC uncool (administrative). Admittedly, the Mac is a gorgeous device for displaying graphics. And the user interface is certainly user-friendly. But the next thing most people find out during their excited transition from PC to Mac is the things it CAN’T do. Did you remember to bring your converter to connect your computer to a projector or LED? And, oh yeah, by the way, that software doesn't work on a Mac. And here's the path where I'm storing files, if you can possibly figure it out.
Apple marketing is cool.
Apple Means Freedom
Remember that awesome "Big Brother" commercial that introduced the Mac? A diversion.
Apple fell on hard times before because of its refusal to compromise, that is, integrate. When you control the universe, you can protect it, and profit from it, and this has been the model from the beginning. In its initial offering Apple owned the PC, the operating system, and heavily controlled the software that ran on it (I had an Apple II e). This strategy kept the computer from collapsing (no "Blue Screen of Death"), and it was also profitable -- for a while. But neither could it integrate. Apple sews the seeds of failure in all of its products when it ignores open standards and integration. That means the company must continue to survive on the introduction of "cool" new products, because "open" things like Linux and the Android eventually knock Apple off its pedestal. A lot of pressure for anyone who follows.
The iPod was Revolutionary
The iPod is a digital version of a transistor radio. Nicer dials.
The iPad Will Be Revolutionary
Hey, listen to a song I can play with only fourteen keys of a piano. And I'll accompany myself by strumming a guitar that has no fret board.
I've seen the device in action twice by proud users, and subsequently, neither surfaced again. I admit, the iPad is appearing to finally find its niches, just like the palm pilot did. My guess is that the iPad will likely replace the last vestiges of that once highly-touted device.
But that's it.
The iPhone is Revolutionary
No myth here. If any product Apple introduced could be considered revolutionary, it would be the iPhone, which gave us the ability to run applications remotely. Essentially, the iPhone is a computer on a mini-scale, and I do believe that world has just started to take off. But with its closedness, will the iPhone be able to exploit the vision? History is likely to choose its open doppelganger, the Android. Again, the closed system sewed the seeds for Android, which is likely to upset the iPhone in the long run.
Apple is Good for America
Admittedly, thousands are employed at the 245 Apple stores in the US. These stores are staffed by "geniuses" who sell Apple products -- that are manufactured in other countries, I’m irritated that Apple does no manufacturing in the US. I don't preach “made in America”, and certainly the Gen X’ers do not feel the loyalty to buy US-made products like their forefathers do. But, hey, a little sniff wouldn't hurt.
Gates Did Not Save Apple
Baloney. I don' know why he did it, but he did it. I loved the argument that “Gates loaned Apple the money, but what he really did was expand the market for Microsoft products.” Really? If Gates hadn’t loaned Apple the money, no one would have Macs. That would be forced to buy PC’s. What Gates did was either an exceptional personal favor, or a nice strategy for keeping government monopoly busters off Microsoft's tail. You can figure that one out.
Jobs was a Genius
If Jobs was a genius at anything, he knew how to create a cult. He knew how to pander to it and, even more important, how to sell to it. He understood how to elevate one’s status; how to make someone cool simply by having an Apple product in their possession. That will be his legacy.
