Experiences at MacWorld Expo:
1. Me: "How do I..."
Person in booth immediately recognizes issue, demonstrates two ways to achieve it.
Where: SplashData (makers of SplashShopper and SplashID); Cultured Code, maker of the fabulous "Things" to-do manager for Mac and iPhone; Agile Software, maker of 1Password.
Me: Happy.
2. Me: "Microsoft Word takes many times as long to open as the old version, made in 2003."
Booth person: Blank stare, asks someone else, opines that he heard having a lot of fonts was a problem when it was in beta (a year ago).
Me: Not happy.
3. Me: I tried Bento (a FileMaker product). First question: Can you sync the data you create to see them on the iPhone?
Answer: "People ask for that all the time."
Me: First project was to manage my holiday card list and I could not figure out how to print labels. Surely there's a way, I just can't find it.
Answer: "Oh, it can't do that. People ask for that all the time."
And this is a year-old product recently released as 2.0! It manages your address book data. It won't print labels.
Me: Not happy.
So what do you think is going on with Steve Jobs? Should we be worried?
Posted by: Carolyn Jung | January 14, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Hard to say, Carolyn, as we have few clues about his condition. We all wish him the best, of course.
In terms of Apple, I expect the stock will be clobbered until such time as investors see evidence that the company can weather his absence. Not clear whether the product direction and innovation will remain as focused without Jobs at the helm.
Frankly, investors and the company management should have been considering this all along. Having a strong CEO is a double-edged sword and Apple has never made visible any structure they may have to take his place. When Bill Gates stepped aside, he did so wisely and the company's direction (such as it is) was never in question. Apple (and Jobs's ego) has never allowed that. Oracle and Larry Ellison is another example. Starbucks and Dell are recent examples of companies that faltered so badly when their well-known leaders took lesser roles, that in both cases the CEOs took it back a couple of years later.
Posted by: FeedMe | January 14, 2009 at 09:25 PM
This thought triggered an article: http://feedme.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/01/steve-jobs-a-lesson-for-strong-leaders.html
Posted by: FeedMe | January 14, 2009 at 10:03 PM