Apple Without Steve

The misunderstood Newton - Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

In Memoriam

As a consummate, wild-eyed Mac head you have to know that I’m very sad about Steve Jobs’ passing at age 56. Like Macalope Daily’s author said, I’m not a poet laureate nor am I good at eulogies –wish that I were. I’d like to convey how big a loss we have. I’ve blogged tirelessly about Apple products, have had Apple as a blog sponsor, and probably own no less than 15 Apple devices counting iPods, Apple TV’s, mac mini, etc. My actions and purchases can probably speak as well as anything. The irony was not lost on newscasters that many (most?) people heard of Jobs’ death viewing one of his devices. His pervasive influence easily equals Edison or Ford – we were blessed to have him in our presence.

Apple After Steve?

I actually approached this topic a couple of times previously. See “American Song” or “King of Cupertino”. I opined and still opine that Apple should survive albeit with some sense of melancholy. Let’s ask, “What if Steve Jobs suddenly left Apple?”. Well that actually did happen in 1985 when Jobs lost out in a corporate coup to John Scully. Post Jobs, Apple made some wrong steps to be sure, but also some right steps. Lets cover some of these …

Mac computers – Apple expanded on the Mac computer innovated by Jobs in 1984. Unfortunately in this transitional era, the IBM PC (with its function keys resembling 3270 terminals widely in use) captured the hearts of American business. The Mac was a high-concept graphics maestro in a world that wasn’t yet ready for it. In some ways, it was too beautiful to be. IBM computers (and similar Intel devices) served as a pragmatic bridge between clunky mainframes and the desktop. Apple rested on its lofty laurels long enough that it lost a big part of its graphics advantage when Windows 95 emerged some 10 years after Jobs left Apple. By the mid-90’s America finally “got” the graphic paradigm and in that huge passage of time, so did Microsoft. WinTel got American business; Apple got the arts and design crowd.

1991 Powerbook – Let us not forget that this was a WIN for Apple, squarely in the non-Jobs years. Prior to Powerbook, laptops were huge heavy clunkers like the Osborne. Pre-Powerbook portables were called luggables – they had the heft and bulk of a large bowling ball. They were impractical, ugly and slow. Powerbook innovated the track ball and the slim profile – it made portable computing both practical and esthetically pleasing. Intel makers (Dell, HP, Gateway) took a big page from Apple in making their next generation of laptops.

1993-1998 Newton – The Newton was a handheld device that was sophisticated and really ahead of its time. Yes, the hand-writing recognition was off – SNL and The Simpsons had riotous fun with that. But in fact the Newton was a trail-blazer for all future PDA’s and even really the smart phone of the 2000’s. The term PDA was originated by Apple and the concept of a smart, handheld unit that graphically streamlines your schedule? – that happened with the Newton. By the time it was killed off in 1998, it had solved a lot of its problems.

I guess that my overall point is this – Apple kept its eclectic hipness even during the period of Jobs’ exile from 1985 to 1997. It didn’t grind to a halt nor did it run out of ideas. To be sure, Jobs brought thunder and lightning to a shop that was stultified in its market for desktop and laptop computers. Mac OS X, introduced in 2001, gave a hugely needed overhaul to Mac’s stodgy System 9. By 2001, System 9 compared poorly next to Windows XP. Even with Mac OS X, Jobs was unable (even by 2011) to rescue the office environment from Microsoft or Linux. The earlier inroads made by NT and Win95 were too deep. A man can only work so many miracles. But Jobs gave us a new dichotomy – a Windows workplace and an Apple home life. Thus you pound away on a Dell at work. But you check your emails on an iPad; listen to music on an iPod, talk to your BFF on an iPhone.

And what is the future of Apple? Did Jobs leave a 20 year playbook for Tim Cook and other “Apple scions” to follow? Jobs’ pancreatic cancer played out over 7 years – maybe he left a roadmap when he saw that his hour was drawing to a close. I guess it all remains to be seen. A new generation of Apple fanatics waits with cautious hope – what’s next for the iPhone or Apple TV? Let’s hope that Jobs’ incredible spirit lives on in all our collective energies and imaginations. Nobody wants to go back to beige boxes.

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