I think analyzing a company based on past behavior versus current behavior is perfectly valid. Whether it's due to someone retiring or dying, it really doesn't matter. The fact is that Apple nearly ran itself into the ground after they booted Steve out the first time and some fear it may do the same without him now due to changes that are veering from the course correction Steve laid into the Starship Enterprise (oh wait that only looks like an Apple Store!) True, speculating what he would have liked or not liked is harder to do than than examining the practices he put into place in terms of business operation versus the present. But yes, it DOES matter if Apple starts going back to old habits instead of following a path of success that Steve clearly laid out. You need new somewhat innovative products. You need to not alienate your user base by changing everything overnight just for the hell of it. In other words, OS X's appearance varied very little while Steve was there and one has to wonder if that wasn't by design. The moment he dies, BAM they're almost immediately changing the LOOK of iOS and now OS X. It wasn't popular with iOS and Apple ignores that and rolls full steam ahead with making EVERYTHING look like it was designed by kids (note the crayons in the color picking palette now).
In other words, I think people have a right to be concerned with the "new" direction of Apple. Changing window decorations to FLAT colors is not "innovative" in my opinion. Change just for change's sake is not a good thing. I've seen many reviews of iOS and Android devices that talk about "dated looks" and what not and I can't help but think Apple is letting this "fashion whining" cause changes that are merely surface deep instead of new features that would actually be useful. OS X is already the best looking OS out there. Screwing with that look puts that statement at risk, IMO. Whether someone believes it's 0.1% or 30%, the fact is it's clear they're ARE alienating current customers under some impression that new window decorations will somehow win new customers? I don't think window decorations are what drew people to OS X in the first place, but change enough things people love and they will eventually rebel. It's Apple total disinterest in what their customers think that has NOT changed since Steve has departed and that's the one thing I think Steve did wrong. There are areas Apple could account for customer preference (e.g. in the preference panes) without stifling innovation. Steve was over-controlling and thus if they want a new look, fine, but don't kill the old look when you don't have to. GIVE US SOME CHOICES FOR ONCE APPLE. Nothing could be a bigger "innovation" for the company itself than to stop stifling user's choices.
