Is Apple Rotten to the Core?

Tagged Articles, Mac in the Media by Brent on October 10th, 2007

Tonight on AOTS, they aired a segment titled “Is Apple Rotten to the Core?” They paired it with their home page poll and a blog post from the loop. In my opinion, they kind of played the “don’t upset the Apple cart” role and didn’t sway one way or the other by presenting both sides with enough quality time that only TV can provide so I decided to extend my opinion as well as open up the virtual round table here on iBAM for continued discussion. First, let’s start with my thoughts, then most importantly … Your opinion.

Here’s what I think:

First, I would like to say that over the last 11 months, I have become a very loyal and vigilant Apple Fan. Coming from 15 years of PC hell, I can’t even begin to express the relief I have and continue to have since switching to Mac. Now, understanding that I am still in the “under 1 year old” category with my Mac, I do concede that my opinion might not be fully matured and have certain weights in directions that you may not agree with. In this event, I wish to remind you that this is not only my blog, but also my opinion and you are welcome to yours as much as I am.

That said, I want to express my concern with what I would call Apple’s “growing pains”. Not that they haven’t ever grown before, but this is such a unique time for technology. I think we are witnessing a company that has gotten too huge (MS) and grown beyond it’s capabilities to control itself. I think with the massive catastrophe of Vista, Apple is benefiting from a market vacuum similar to the Pepsi vs. New Coke vacuum of the 80’s. In the midst of this mass exodus of consumers and the very obvious market boost, I think that maybe… possibly… Apple could be spouting off a bit too much and rushing to the market with new innovations a little too quickly.

I am reminded of a scene in that TV movie about Gates & Jobs where Bill says it’s more important to be first than best. I have to admit that I do agree with this in some aspects, but eventually you start making a lot of people frustrated and the longevity if your product will most assuredly suffer in the end. Here we are, 30 or so years later and we are seeing the first of the fruits of being first rather than best. We are witness to what could be perceived as the beginning of the end of the tale. However, I think that if Apple isn’t careful, they could initiate a chain of events that could only be called a Deja Vu experience for us all.

We have all been witness to the “Mac has no viruses” and “Mac just works” commercials and (some even worse) statements in the Mac vs PC commercials. I have to admit that the iPhone price reduction scenario was a bit weird for me and brought up a few old bad memories but it seems we all weathered well and moved on only to be once again thwarted by an series of iPhone/iTunes updates that seemingly attempted to further “control” our usage and pick our pockets in yet another creative way. Isn’t Apple our friend in this new world of technology? Why the sudden push for control? It’s concerning… And here I hold, full of questions.

I only stop here because I believe that the end of the story is yet to be told. My hope is that our pal Steve won’t follow in the well-worn steps of so many other “retired” CEO’s and take his company up a fast ladder of success to only find out that he forgot to let the concrete on the newly formed foundations dry. I think that Apple is an outstanding company, has superb products, leads the charge in technology’s innovations, and is all around king of the hill when it comes to where they sit in today’s technology market. They have pushed the envelope in just about every way, defining new rules for how we think about many different subjects from music delivery, television and advertising to user interface, customer acquisition and how we communicate with each other. Truly, Apple is on one of the highest pinnacles they have ever been on. I just harbor and constrain a deep thought that they could face the imminent doom that so many other companies have tasted in years past if they continue on this trend. With the end of the story still yet to be written, I offer my concern and that is all.

Now, it’s your turn to agree, disagree, sympathize or whatever. I open the forum to you. What are your perceptions and how do you feel about the trend we may or may not be seeing. Do you think this subject is a worthy discussion? As always, I will accept all comments (except spam) and post them just as they were written. Let your voice be heard. What do you think, is the Apple rotten to the core?

Viewing 8 Comments

Jeremy Vaught 11 months ago 1 point
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Nah. Apple is a company. And not only that, a public company. It isn't all about Steve. So Steve has to protect against the ire of stockholders, and by making more profit, stockholders are happy. Having said that, Apple will make more profit if they continue to innovate and thus selling more product. They will, and they do. Sure the price reduction thing looks bad, but that's business.

I think that Apple needs to push harder then it ever has before to open up the iPhone to 3rd party applications. Make it an open platform, this is the secret sauce of the iPhone. Currently, the iPhone is pretty good, open that up to 3rd party devs, and it is great.

Midnight ramblings :-)

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Brent 11 months ago 1 point
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But isn't that what they just further cut off with their most recent update to the iPhone? (3rd party apps)

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Fred 11 months ago 1 point
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The iPhone bricking debacle is only a big deal in the sphere of fans online. Hardly anyone has a clue about such things because it only effects a very small amount of people.
Apple is just a company, and one of the best. Because they are so great they get higher amounts of criticism for perceived misdeeds. It also makes for great sensationalist journalism to rag on them as if overnight they became big and scary like Microsoft. It's a world of fickle people. We're better off ignoring it all.

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doog 11 months ago 1 point
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Apple did not cut off third party apps - they cut off *unsupported* third party apps. That's a big difference. When the iPhone started going on sale Apple insisted that third party apps would be supported initially only as web apps running in Safari. So far nothing has changed.

At the Demo Conference this year Steve Jobs hinted that there would be third party apps on the iPhone later this year. I do not think that he was talking about web apps, either. If this is true, these apps may need to be approved by Apple and provided via iTunes, a la iPod games, but I think that supported apps are coming within a few months.

Patience is a virtue. Let's wait and see what happens. Let's let Apple get this platform ready for third party apps so that they can support it when they are running for everybody, not just the minority of power users willing to hack their phones.

As for the price reduction issue looking bad, I simply do not see how a price cut can possibly look bad. I really doubt that anybody would have said with any sincerity last month, "Thank goodness that they kept the price at $600! I heard rumors that they might cut the price, but that would be a mistake." Goodness, people, lighten up! Brighten up! This was a *good thing*!

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Phil Bowell 11 months ago 1 point
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I don't think Apple are "rotten to the core", but I do think that recently they have struggled with mounting public expectation.

They are clearly an innovative company, which in all intense and purposes is great. For the industry it's great, for Apple it's great. But, I think it can start to work against you. People expect so much from Apple that when it doesn't quite meet their expectations they are very disappointed and the out cry begins.

In regards to the iPhone Apple may have shot themselves in the foot with their innovation. When it first debuted people were blown away and rightly so. Then under the pressure I think Apple were then forced to release a product that wasn't quite finished. As a result, I think we are only now beginning to see the iPhone as intended, the recent update, as I've heard in other places, is I believe the OS that was meant to ship on iPhone but due to time and pressure wasn't finished in time. As a result they now find them in a situation that they appear to want control of a device that should've been locked down from the beginning, only for them to open up when the proper channels were in place. Native 3rd party apps are coming, I don't doubt, and they will arrive when the required frameworks are in place.

Ultimately it was demand for Apple's innovation which damaged them, I don't think they realised just how big the demand was and as a result got caught wrong footed.

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Sue Ann 11 months ago 1 point
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First let me say that I'm an original MAC person. When the Macintosh came out 1983 I was in an advanced Air Force Computer course...All my friends were buying IBM PC, I bought a MAC! (I had to wait til Jan 84 for delivery.)

My original MAC is still in my closet, unfortunately during one of my many military moves it was damaged beyond repair. In the 24 year I have owned 4 MACs...how many PC owners can say that their computers satisfied their needs on an average of 6 years? During all that time my MACs have needed professional help 3 times. Once in the unfortuate move incident, once when the S key on my keyboard died, and once when I crashed my hard drive through my own carelessness. Apple products have always had higher reliability than anyone could reasonably expect---that is number one selling point in my book when it comes to computers.

I spent 30 years in the AF working with PCs. Now that I'm retired I'm still tangled up in the PC world by helping my friends walk through the mine fields that they seem to be in on a weekly basis with their computers. Even the most computer savvy computer users have computer hiccups on a regular basis that they must deal with.

I can say unequivocally that there is no better computer on the face of the earth than a MAC and hence no better computer company than Apple. Yes, there are some limiting factors...the lack of compatibility with various software programs, unless you want to add that functionality to your MAC--which I've avoided doing over the years. Of course the price of a MAC and other Apple products is usually why people go to the PC dark side..but from a long term economical viewpoint they are making a mistake.

Apple has always been protective of third party apps...bless em' for that because it has kept the MAC owners from having to deal with software that is buggy and prone to conflicts with other programs installed.

Yes Apple is a company looking out for its stockholders but with a corporate culture that embraces innovation and brings quality products to the market place. They have made a few stumbles over the years. Sometimes they are way ahead of consumer appreciation of their offerings such as the Newton (predecessor of the Palm Pilot). But always they deliver a well engineered product that most times meets a market niche.

Yes I'm a MAC zealot and hence a loyal Apple customer--but that viewpoint has been earned by Apple since my original purchase in 1983.
I'm confident that Apple will "continue to do the right thing" in an industry that is focused on quantity instead of quality.

I think I've just sold myself on an iPhone! Time to rid of this outdated palm pilot that I've been carrying around and trash my cell phone that doesn't allow me to synch up my address book!

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Jered 11 months ago 1 point
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I wouldn't say Apple is rotten... anymore than any other large company that is. Apple has done a wonderful job in positioning itself almost as a "trendy boutique shop." You know, the little guy with bright, shiny ideas struggling against the big bad corporate juggernaut of anti-cool(MS.) Truth is, Apple is another large company and as corporate as it gets. But it makes people feel better to think they are exclusive, cool, trendy and unique. Being in design and advertising I admire how successful that campaign has been.

That aside, Apple does indeed have bright, shiny ideas and great products. It hasn't always been so and there was a long period of 7 or 8 years where I abandoned my devout Mac roots and went to the PC side because I had gotten one too many sad mac icons on my screen. Having played both sides for a long time, I can honestly say that neither one has been any more reliable than the other.

Macs and PCs both have their share of problems, crashes, and mysterious errors. Macs are (were?) less virus prone due to their relatively small user base. My shiny new 17" MacBook Pro has already crashed more times than my old Dell laptop which I can count crashes on one hand over 3 years. Yet, I still feel Apple has turned the corner over the past few years and with the move to Intel processors has finally gotten the edge over the ol' PC. Plus Apple has it all over on the cool factor which has played a huge part in keeping the company alive. I like Macs and prefer them but I'm not one of those blind zealots who praise Apple no matter what. I think that shows a weakness of mind no matter what you're blindly zealous about.

As far as the control issue goes, Apple holds a double edged sword. On the one hand, control has brought Apple a beautiful array of products that all work together quite nicely; a feeling of consumer confidence when buying peripherals or software knowing that they will work without any mysterious incompatibility or driver issues. Then, on the other hand, control has drawn criticism and some frustration over the lack of a "have it your way" model. It's a difficult sword to wield but I think Apple has done it right. If you want unfettered control (and endless tinkering to make things work,) that's what Linux and the PC world is for.

Is Apple rotten? No. But sometimes when you take a bite, it's a little sour. Overall, it's sweet to me.

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Fred 11 months ago 1 point
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Ugh, It's Macintosh... Shortened it becomes Mac. Not MAC. MAC is an acronym. Mac is not. Please stop shoveling ignorance out on the web people, no matter who you are.

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