What worries me is their pandering to the investors. Investors who spread crap to drive the price down so they can buy more shares cheap. They don't deserve dividend pay-outs.
I also feel Cook is too apologetic. Jobs' 'f-you' attitude helped boost the aloof, mystique of Apple.
These days, someone in Apple farts and Tim Cook apologises.
The rumours about the change in AppleCare with Apple repairing, not replacing, iPhones etc. in store is also a worry. For the sake of the $1 billion saved (which is pocket change for them) they're going to remove the convenience and clear advantage Apple has. How many other companies just replace a mobile phone in minutes? Even Apple haters admire that about them.
So, yes, it sounds like Cook is being over tight with the cash hoard.
It's a fallacy to think that billions in the bank can equate to faster development though. Throwing more people at a development project in a short period can just compound issues and delay things.
If they've only just started looking to expand the iWork team now, that means they're severely understaffed and they should have been on a hiring spree a long time ago (unless they just don't have the space until the campus is built). The campus is also delayed because of Jobs, not despite of him. (He had exacting unrealistic standards that have caused the problems).
The thing is, people want to see change whether it's required or not. It's a psychological thing. People need to feel comforted that support will not be suddenly dropped and they'll be left with out of date software or hardware.
Even worse, Apple have a habit of "doing a Final Cut" and changing things so drastically, they alienate their users that way. The Mac Pro is a complete mess. Whether it makes enough money for them or not, they need the Mac Pro. It's the psychological effect again. Why should students learn video editing on FCP if the pro market starts migrating to Avid?
They're spread too thin. Ive being in control of the software design now cannot work in the long term, as good as it sounds on paper. They lost their design edge (in software) a while ago. Apparently they'll go 'flat' but that'll be too Windows. If they go white spacey, they'll be too Google.
Many talented designers and developers are going (well, being bought for large sums) to Facebook. Apple should never be competing with Facebook! What the hell?! People would have worked for free just to be at Apple. Perhaps the passion has died with Jobs if talented people are going to Facebook (who may as well be the new Microsoft).
iCloud data sync is a mess for developers as well. As someone online said, Google is getting better at design faster than Apple is getting better at services.
They need to do something drastic, and innovative, and I'm not sure they have it in them any more. Tim Cook is clearly a nice guy, but yes, not CEO material. At least, not Apple CEO material.
Apple needs a Jeff Bezos or a Richard Branson type. Someone with a bit of fire and big ideas who (essentially) is willing to bet big whatever the risk. And yes, a bit of ADHD should have stayed in Apple CEO's DNA; a mild-mannered Texan is not Apple.
But, I have hope that WWDC in June will be the catalyst that starts an era of big new things. For starters, an SDK for the Apple TV is a must - I'm dying to start developing for that. Their lack of urgency (on the outside, anyway) I hope is just them waiting long enough to get things 'just right'.
It is looking at Apple history with rose-tinted glasses to say we just get better cameras and faster processors now. We always did. The big event releases were few and far between. The difference is that there was an implicit confidence with Jobs at the helm and that's what they've lost.
I fear that since Steve Jobs passed away, Apple has gone back to what it did when Steve Jobs left the first time (1985-1997). Essentially, the company is mired in a deep sleep. And I say this as a HUGE Apple fan (I ONLY buy Apple). There is no reason that iWork should have to endure this long of an update. With all the BILLIONS of dollars that Apple has on hand, they should be purchasing FAR more patents and startups than they have in recent years. Instead, I'm watching as Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung all make these major acquisitions --- and with far less cash than Apple. The MacPro hasn't been updated in YEARS ... the iphone hasn't had a major software update basically ever ... the company killed the 17" MBP for high end users... and they can't even get their campus built. I just don't know what this company is waiting for. It seems that with all the money they have on hand ... perhaps their priorities are lacking.
Dare I say it ... Time for a new CEO? IMO, the CEO of Apple should be operating as if this is Apple's last week on earth (even though they might be at or near the top, they shouldn't think like that). There is no sense of urgency with this company anymore. When Jobs was running the show ... it was like watching someone with ADHD throwing out one idea after another. Now we just get better cameras and faster processors.