Steve Jobs Still Involved in Apple, Still Expected to Return in June

Color me different

ditzy said:
I hope Steve comes back soon. Also that they don't become more 'open'.
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I hope he's feeling better ... but while Steve needs to come back, some of his ideas may still be in need of some hospital care. While I actually agree about the iPhone's app restrictions, I don't agree that the company as a whole should not become more open. Quite the contrary, actually.

iPod saturation in the market has arguably peaked. They could weather any storm with the wheelbarrows of cash from sales of these mobile products. However, if Apple intends to grow further, they're going to have to re-think some policy, because those wheelbarrows of iPod and iPhone sales can probably feed the company for only so long.

I'd like to see Apple re-tool the symbiosis of OSX with hardware and allow other manufacturers to legally use the OS. I'd like to see Apple offer more choices in their own family of computers. I'd like to see Apple offer more options for upgrade by consumers for more products than just the Mac Pro. I'd like to see Apple lower prices across the board.

This is what I mean by making the company more open (to innovative change). Mac enthusiasts make up a good portion of the computer market share, but to grow it even further, it seems to me that it will take more than clever, PC-bashing commercials and sexy, eco-friendly designs to capture more hearts, minds, and wallets of the rest of the world. Hopefully, Steve has been using the time at home to think outside the Cupertino Orchard.

:apple:
 
DELLsFan said:
I
I'd like to see Apple re-tool the symbiosis of OSX with hardware and allow other manufacturers to legally use the OS. I'd like to see Apple offer more choices in their own family of computers. I'd like to see Apple offer more options for upgrade by consumers for more products than just the Mac Pro. I'd like to see Apple lower prices across the board.
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If I understand you, you want Apple to reverse the policies that has made them so successful these past 10 years.
 
rdowns said:
If I understand you, you want Apple to reverse the policies that has made them so successful these past 10 years.
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How have they been successful in the computer department?

They've had 25 years to get where they are. They've had the iPod/iTunes halo effect, and now the iPhone halo effect. They've been advertising like mad -- Switch campaigns, Get a Mac campaigns, Pentium Toaster campaigns and what not. They've moved to Intel and made it so that switchers can actually keep Windows around during the transition. They've had much more product placement in movies and TVs than any other computer manufacturer, and a huge amount of direct or indirect celebrity endorsements too. For the last 4 years they've also sold a relatively cheap, entry-level "plugin Mac", the Mac Mini, so you no longer have the price as an excuse for never getting a taste of OS X. Their designs are sexier than ever. And for the last two years they've been up against competition (Vista) that's been a universally panned flop, and Apple has exploited this to no end in their marketing. And STILL the market share is only at 10% in the US and single digits internationally.

That is not success; relatively speaking, considering all things they have going for them now that they didn't have in, say, 1999 -- it's an EPIC FAIL. And if it weren't for the iPods, iPhones, the iPhone store, AppleTV, MobileMe and the rest of their products that aren't computers, they'd still be struggling like they were in the 90's.

Consider this: After two years, the iPhone has a larger market share in its field than Mac/OS X has in the personal computer and OS domain. Despite the fact that with the iPhone, Apple entered an already oversaturated market where competitor like Nokia had a 10-15 year head start, and much better reputation than PC/Microsoft/Windows. What does that tell you about the Mac's market position after twenty-five years of competing against something that supposedly everyone knows is crap?
 
DELLsFan said:
I hope he's feeling better ... but while Steve needs to come back, some of his ideas may still be in need of some hospital care. While I actually agree about the iPhone's app restrictions, I don't agree that the company as a whole should not become more open. Quite the contrary, actually.

iPod saturation in the market has arguably peaked. They could weather any storm with the wheelbarrows of cash from sales of these mobile products. However, if Apple intends to grow further, they're going to have to re-think some policy, because those wheelbarrows of iPod and iPhone sales can probably feed the company for only so long.

I'd like to see Apple re-tool the symbiosis of OSX with hardware and allow other manufacturers to legally use the OS. I'd like to see Apple offer more choices in their own family of computers. I'd like to see Apple offer more options for upgrade by consumers for more products than just the Mac Pro. I'd like to see Apple lower prices across the board.

This is what I mean by making the company more open (to innovative change). Mac enthusiasts make up a good portion of the computer market share, but to grow it even further, it seems to me that it will take more than clever, PC-bashing commercials and sexy, eco-friendly designs to capture more hearts, minds, and wallets of the rest of the world. Hopefully, Steve has been using the time at home to think outside the Cupertino Orchard.

:apple:
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I on the other hand think that that would have the effect of turning OSX into windows, and so devalue the whole product.
Remember Apple don't want Microsoft's market share. They do things their way, not Microsoft's way, and make a very good profit doing so.
 
ditzy said:
Remember Apple don't want Microsoft's market share.
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Then why has all their marketing been directly targeting Microsoft's user base for the last fifty-twelve years? What did you think the Switch campaign and the Get a Mac campaign were all about? Apple are bending over backwards to get a bite out of Microsoft's market share, that's just how it is. They can't afford the aloofness that plagues part of their user base. They have to go for Microsoft's customers because that's all there is. They can't base their expansion plans on the hope that more babies will be born into Mac households, you know.
 
as i said before...there is no good reason for him to "come back".

Just keep doing what he has been doing for the past 2 months. It works well, takes the pressure off of him...and everyone is happy.

also, i highly doubt sources would say..... "we havnt heard from steve in months...not sure where he is or what he is doing....
 
Anuba said:
How have they been successful in the computer department?
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Doubling your market share, shipping twice as many computers as you did 8 years ago and having record Macintosh revenues the past few quarters is sure an epic fail to me. :rolleyes:
 
Steve will com back to Apple, stay a while and introduce one more product that will change the industry even more then the iPod and the iPhone, then he'll be like "One more thing.. I'm leaving Apple."
 
rdowns said:
Doubling your market share, shipping twice as many computers as you did 8 years ago and having record Macintosh revenues the past few quarters is sure an epic fail to me. :rolleyes:
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Well the increased revenues come from epic margins so that's understandable, but I still think Mac sales are so disproportionate to the potential, the marketing and the situation in general, it's surreal. They should be at 25-30% by now that they've tried every trick in the book while MS has been idle for the most part.

Apple's prices are wrong and they know it, which is why they've hinted that shareholders may have to prepare for thinner margins at some point in the near future. I'm sure that a lot of people in the first class compartment will be upset when the airline fills the empty seats with backpackers and bums, but they're just gonna have to eat it and like it.
 
Anuba said:
How have they been successful in the computer department?

They've had 25 years to get where they are. They've had the iPod/iTunes halo effect, and now the iPhone halo effect. They've been advertising like mad -- Switch campaigns, Get a Mac campaigns, Pentium Toaster campaigns and what not. They've moved to Intel and made it so that switchers can actually keep Windows around during the transition. They've had much more product placement in movies and TVs than any other computer manufacturer, and a huge amount of direct or indirect celebrity endorsements too. For the last 4 years they've also sold a relatively cheap, entry-level "plugin Mac", the Mac Mini, so you no longer have the price as an excuse for never getting a taste of OS X. Their designs are sexier than ever. And for the last two years they've been up against competition (Vista) that's been a universally panned flop, and Apple has exploited this to no end in their marketing. And STILL the market share is only at 10% in the US and single digits internationally.

That is not success; relatively speaking, considering all things they have going for them now that they didn't have in, say, 1999 -- it's an EPIC FAIL. And if it weren't for the iPods, iPhones, the iPhone store, AppleTV, MobileMe and the rest of their products that aren't computers, they'd still be struggling like they were in the 90's.
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Funny thing though, Apple is FAR from struggling, regardless of why they aren't.

So, are you comparing Microsoft hardware to Apple hardware?

Last I checked, Microsoft hasn't built one PC. Microsoft doesn't build phones. They build a music device(Zune), which when put against the iPod, as in a comparison such as yours, would be considered MUCH MORE than an "EPIC FAIL". The only wide spread hardware they built(XBOX360) had major problems. And interestingly enough, with the XBOX360 clearly established in the market, the Wii came along, with far inferior hardware, and DESTROYED that to. Also strikes me as funny, that now, Microsoft is rushing to put out a product that Apple already has out(XBOX360 as a HTPC vs. AppleTV, MobileMe vs. SkyBox, App Store vs. SkyMarket). Wonder why that is?
But we won't go off on a tangent.

Apple has gone from about zero market share to 10% in 25 years(and if you really want to be technical the last 13 or so since Jobs returned in 1996). Their market share increases just about yearly. They are not going to "defeat" Microsoft overnight, nor may they ever. But, no one else is even close. What we are seeing is companies going in different directions. Apple's star is on the rise, and Microsoft's is falling. The iPod/iPhone halo effect has only been the last 10 years or so of their history. Apple computers lead to, and gave them the opportunity to develop/market the iPod/iPhone. It also opened up the other markets that you mentioned for Apple.

Anuba said:
Consider this: After two years, the iPhone has a larger market share in its field than Mac/OS X has in the personal computer and OS domain. Despite the fact that with the iPhone, Apple entered an already oversaturated market where competitor like Nokia had a 10-15 year head start, and much better reputation than PC/Microsoft/Windows. What does that tell you about the Mac's market position after twenty-five years of competing against something that supposedly everyone knows is crap?
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Following your analogy, shouldn't Microsoft be worried about all the market share they lost? Damn right they are. Take a look at their latest round of advertising flops. Their OWN ads, don't even mention their OWN product(windows)!!! Funny, they mention the competitors an awful lot though. In fact, in one of their previous ad campaigns they used Apple MAC's to create them!!!!

What that tells me, that in two years, a computer company went into an arena that they had no experience in, against far superior competition that had been established for years, and DESTROYED them. They changed the game, just look at all the companies now trying to mimic their success.
It shows me a company that isn't afraid to diverge and try new avenues to gain revenue.

Who knows, maybe Apple will stop making computer hardware altogether, it might be part of the evolution of Apple.

All said, if you want to compare products that each actually makes, and competes against each other, there really isn't any. Microsoft is for the most part a software development house, they don't build hardware. Apple for the most part builds hardware, and also writes software to run on those devices.

If you want to compare Zune to iPod, there isn't any comparison.

Can't really compare iPhone to anything that Microsoft offers, as they don't make any phones. They do make an OS for phones, Apple doesn't.

Can't compare gaming devices, as Apple doesn't make one.

If you want to go down the enterprise road, its really same the same as home PC market. Apple builds hardware, and a OS to run on it. Microsoft makes an OS, but no hardware.

Comparing them to, and pitting them against each other, isn't really a fair comparison, as they don't directly compete with specific products(save the iPod/Zune. In which case, the iPod clearly wins).

If we are just comparing company vs. company at this point in time, Apple is clearly "better" right now. That certainly hasn't always been the case.

I like and use products of both. There is room in the world for both. The competition between them is made up by the media and people on forums! ;)

How come no one compares Dell to Microsoft? HP to Microsoft? Dell to Apple? HP to Apple?
 
synth3tik said:
We need Steve back in the day to days. Apple is sucking without him.
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def sucking...i mean come on a billon apps...in 9 months? please...it should have been like in 4 months.

new macbooks, imacs, ipods, please...they should have updated months before they actually did..

and dont get me going on the iphone...no one is buying an iphone... no one.

def sucking.....



hmmm
 
Theaser said:
I don't believe it. Was he supervising the creation of the latest iPod Shuffle?
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Considering he left in January and that the product was announced in March, I think the answer is obvious. You don't design and build a product like that in 2 months.
 
illegallydead said:
Well, that's good to hear, sounds like at least he isn't getting sicker.

And that is not from a "steve is my Messiah" standpoint, but rather just glad to see that he, as a human being, is still healthy.

And I don't blame him for still working many of the products and strategies. One does not just quit an awesome job like that cold turkey...
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Did you not get the memo? Steve is the Messiah!!!! :):D
 
Glad to hear that Steve Jobs will be returning but the kicker is that this report says the end of June....
WWDC is the beginning of June,
The report might be off just a wee bit, because I do not think that Steve will miss out on introducing a new product/products......
Or maybe he will not be there and when the demo of iChat is unveiled , Steve will be on the receiving end of the call or the one making the call.....
Time will tell the true tale of this whole situation....
 
Anuba said:
Well the increased revenues come from epic margins so that's understandable, but I still think Mac sales are so disproportionate to the potential, the marketing and the situation in general, it's surreal. They should be at 25-30% by now that they've tried every trick in the book while MS has been idle for the most part.

Apple's prices are wrong and they know it, which is why they've hinted that shareholders may have to prepare for thinner margins at some point in the near future. I'm sure that a lot of people in the first class compartment will be upset when the airline fills the empty seats with backpackers and bums, but they're just gonna have to eat it and like it.
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Microsoft aren't in the hardware business. Apple is a hardware company. If you want to compare their market share, do it to their primary competitors, HP, Dell, Acer, Asus, etc...

Apple just decided to go with their own in house OS, which they tout against the competition's, namely Windows. The switch ads don't necessarily go against Microsoft itself, but mostly against their competitors that only offer this Windows thing.

You see, Apple sells you an experience, or what is called vertical integration. They sell you the underlying hardware but also provide everything right up to the applications you'll be using to make sure everything is integrated and works. Dell, HP only provide hardware and leave the experience up to some 3rd party. They don't really have a brand following because they don't have a brand. Dell/HP customers will shop for value, knowing that ultimately they get the same thing from either company.

If you compare numbers in that arena, HP is king, but that's because of corporate accounts. Dell and Apple are surprisingly close to one another, which is not EPIC fail for Apple, but EPIC win, considering their line-up is much smaller and doesn't cover every market segment under the sun like Dell's.

Stetrain said:
Why would you need a for-loop when you already have a goto-loop?

;)
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Because you shouldn't abuse GOTO loops. Hence using the FOR loop first, he's only going to have to rely on the GOTO loop once every 1000 iterations. ;)
 
Kar98 said:
Windows Mobile and Palm both allow it. There are thousands of sites on the Web where you can get freeware, shareware and commercial software for your smartphone. You can even write your own.
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Windows and Palm are both putting an end to it. Both will have their own app store within a year and I'm pretty sure both will be closed. Complete openness has been the reason why these phones have always been unstable. Their phones constantly have to be rebooted. The best way for malware makers to attack you phones is through unsigned apps. The only one left doing this is android and symbian. You have already seen some malware for android come out (even within their app store).
 
Anuba said:
They should be at 25-30% by now that they've tried every trick in the book while MS has been idle for the most part.
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To those of us who've been around for awhile, statements like this come off as real knee-slappers. Microsoft was effectively born with a 100% market share, and they became very adept at using their inherited dominance to run competitors and would-be competitors off the road, including by illegal means when necessary. The great exception is Apple. Name another company that has gone toe-to-toe with Microsoft, and has not only survived, but thrived.
 
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