Re: Amelio's ouster

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Mitchell Spector writes ...
> 
> In article Geoff Kaiser <SuperKais@MacConnect.com> writes...
> 
> >I hope Apple tries to regain this attitude they once had, and keep pushing
> >it in everyone's face; most people are unaware of all the things Apple Mac
> >machines can do
> 
>     Unfortunately, most people are unaware of all the things the Macintosh
> _cannot_ do, ....
>

     Besides which, it doesn't matter.

     When Apple failed to support its II series it guaranteed that PC/AT 
would emerge as the 'standard platform'. The great mass of hardware and 
software development is for PC, mainly aimed at the home market, and mainly 
tailored to provide and enhance entertainment.

     Most PC users-- which is to say, practically everyone who uses a 
computer-- are not interested in experimenting with machines which cost 2-4 
times as much as PC and deliver no discernable advantages in running PC 
software. They care not a bit whether or not Mac can also run Mac software. 
They are, in fact, suspicious of any PC-compatible which is not, officially, 
a "PC".

     The standard PC operating system is some form of Microsoft Windows. 
Since PC is The standard computer, Windows is The standard OS, and Microsoft 
is The maker and definer of The standard OS.

     Most PC users have no wish at all to experiment with non-standard, 
non-Microsoft operating systems. Their OS needs to launch games, net wares, 
etc. and be guaranteed to work with new stuff. Meanwhile, developers of games 
and other wares make darn sure that their products work on PC running 
Windows. Once started, it's a self-sustaining cycle.


     Apple blew it when they failed to support the II. They blew it again in 
the early '90's when they failed to deliver a low-priced pure Mac capable of 
matching PC performance.

     Finally, Apple sold Mac users down the river by making Mac a PC. In as 
much as the company would not sacrifice fat profits to battle PC with a true 
Mac, selling out Mac users to get an up-blip in sales was, probably, a 
semi-brilliant idea. It's the kind of "sensible business decision" Mac types 
continually urge II users to understand and appreciate. 

     Alas, the MacPC act is wearing thin. Apple has shown us nothing in the 
past couple of years to inspire confidence. Even Apple stock holders, surely 
the most trusting of investors to ever tumble from a turnip truck, have begun 
to 'get it'. If anything, Amelio's ouster came about a year late.

     Now the company is, supposedly, engaged in a search for a new C.E.O.. 
Why? They already have plenty of skilled bean-counters. Given the absolute 
vacuum of new ideas, bean-counting is all that's kept the company afloat.

     Does it take a genius to see that you cannot beat cheap high-performance 
PC's with expensive high-performance PC's? Does it take a worldwide search to 
find someone to say "Hey, guys, maybe we should try making stuff we can, 
like, sell"? Is the answer to every question asked about Apple: "Duh"?  


Rubywand