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Apple After Jobs
recoiledsnake writes "The connection between Apple and Steve Jobs is unlike any other brand and CEO relationship in corporate America, maybe the world. While Bill Gates has successfully transitioned himself away from his day job at Microsoft, can Apple do without Jobs at all? Once word started circulating that Jobs may be ill, Apple stock took a considerable hit, dropping more than $10 a share. And when Mr. Jobs was absent from last week's quarterly earnings conference call, the questions started again — and the stock fell again. What does this mean for corporate users of Apple for whom switching costs are high? Can Apple continue innovating in Job's absence?"
Apple Inc is not Apple Computer... only a mere shadow of it's former self. The days of making the lives of average consumers better through creativity and innovation for the sake of progress has long passed in favor of controlling information and worshiping the almighty dollar above all else.
Jobs is basically the P.T. Barnum of the computer industry. As long as Apple spits out a new iPod every six months, anyone with enough charisma to make you think you need one would be sufficient.
8==8 Bones 8==8
By the same token, HP is directly providing 18 times as many jobs. Don't tell me that's a bad thing.
how is it more than "its fair share"?
Because if every company operated as "efficiently" as Apple, the US economy would collapse.
Of course, Apple doesn't operate efficiently at all: they simply outsource all the dirty work overseas and take most of their basic research from competitors and academics without paying for it.