October 6, 1997
The House that Jobs Built
By Bob O'Donnell
Before I get started, let me make a few things perfectly clear: I have used Apple
Computer products for more than ten years (still do), I spent several years working in the
Mac industry (as executive editor/reviews at MacWEEK), and I really like Apple. And to be
honest, I was really excited when I first heard that Steve Jobs was coming back to rally
the troops in Cupertino, Calif. I thought he could get the company fired up in a way that
no else could. I also was hoping that the result would be an Apple Computer that would
once again really push this industry forward.
My thinking has changed a bit.
Instead of moving forward, it seems as though most everything that Apple has done since
Jobs came aboard has pushed the company backward. And now that he's officially interim
CEO, I'm afraid it's just going to get worse.
The first major imprint of Jobs' misguided glove was, of course, the death of Mac
clones. I can fully appreciate the argument that the clone makers weren't working hard
enough to expand the Macintosh market beyond its tightly defined boundaries -- that was
definitely a problem. But the point that gets overlooked in that argument is the fact that
the clone makers were stemming the tide of Mac-to-PC converts.
After gaining near parity about two years back, Macintoshes once again lost the
price/performance fight against Wintel machines in the minds of most computer buyers. In
fact, even former Mac zealots are abandoning the platform in droves - if they haven't
already. The aggressive pricing offered by Mac clone vendors gave many potential converts
an excuse to stick with their beloved OS. As a result, while many customers chose not to
buy Apple computers during the last 18 months or so, at least they purchased machines that
ran the Mac OS.
Now that the clones are no more (destroyed rather swiftly and brutally, I might add),
many of those customers have already converted or soon will convert to Wintel machines,
and most will never look back. And that is the real problem that Apple will face with the
loss of Mac clones. Just wait.
To make things worse, Apple is apparently now planning to make Network Computers. Until
recently -- essentially, before NC promoter Larry Ellison joined the company's board
--Apple had avoided all the shenanigans centered around these dreaded devices. Indeed,
Apple's silence on the issue allowed it to rise above the crowd of PC vendors trying to
justify the existence of NCs. ("Well, I'm sure we'll think of good, real-world
applications for them real soon now; that is, once we figure out how to get enough
bandwidth to make them work.....")
I may eat my words some day, but I can't help but compare this latest move to that of
poor Don Quixote, chasing after imaginary windmills. I really don't see a big market for
NCs developing any time soon -- potential customers are making their disapproving feelings
known in the pages (and electrons) of InfoWorld and other industry publications
every week. I think Apple-branded NCs will be a particularly tough sell because Apple
machines always have been very personal -- emphasizing the individual, whereas NCs are the
computer equivalent of faceless, corporate drones.
To be fair, not of all of Apple's current woes are due to Steve Jobs. Many were
self-inflicted well before he became re-involved with the company. The amount of money and
number of person-years, or heck, person-decades essentially wasted on OpenDoc, for
example, must be staggering. But the recent changes initiated by Jobs are making many
industry watchers and ISVs nervous, and without strong application support, the MacOS
could easily fade away.
I sincerely hope that Apple finds a profitable niche for itself, but I'm saddened to
say that a niche player is probably all it'll ever be. And the house that Jobs built
deserves much better.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
155 Bovet Road, San Mateo, CA 94402. Further reproduction is prohibited.
