“Apple has said that Jobs knew of backdated option grants but “was unaware of the accounting implications”, and an internal investigation cleared him of misconduct. Still, according to media reports, he’s been questioned by authorities at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the investigation by federal authorities is ongoing. With such questions still swirling, some wonder about the possible downside of leaning so heavily on one person to drive the company’s success – and what the Jobs-friendly board is doing to prepare for the possibility of losing its star pitchman.”
Even if they were forced to out him as CEO, he would probably still be on the board or continue to work with the company much like the way Bill Gates still works with Microsoft now that Ballmer is CEO, or the way Scott McNealy is still involved with Sun.
It is unlikely Jobs will be ousted as CEO, but even more unlikely that he would drop off the face of the iEarth.
Jobs knows how to convice buyers that Apple products are distinctive from the competition with fancy face plates, cases, and OSes and humerous advertisments.
I don’t know that it is really fair to say that Apple just throws on some fancy face plates and funny ads.
People like to compare Apple to all the companies in the PC market as a whole, but if you compare Apple to just Dell or HP their hardware sales and products are significant.
As far as software, Microsoft may be the biggest software company in the world, but Apple releases nearly just as much software, but with lower sales volume.
Apple has OSX, iLife, iWork, iTunes, QuickTime, Final Cut Studio, Aperture, Logic, Shake, and many others. They create and bundle many free applications with OSX, where MS still has basically Paint, Notepad, Solitare, and WMP (yet vista still takes up ~6 gig of disk space).
The iPhone has not even been released yet and most the cell phone manufacturers are already making clones of it. Even the people who don’t buy an iPhone gain from competition it created.
Apple are highly efficient with their engineering. For an R&D budget that looks miniscule compared to Microsoft’s Apple have managed to be the more creative and innovative.
I also don’t think it’s as simple as “throws on some fancy plates”. When I think of ‘fancy’ PC cases, they’re ugly and overcomplicated. Apple spend the time needed to get everything right, down to the finest detail. Just the fact that the camera light (on a Macbook Pro) is magically hidden underneath the case, yet shines through, is an outstanding piece of engineering that no other company would bother trying to resolve.
Edited 2007-02-23 21:06
The iPhone has not even been released yet and most the cell phone manufacturers are already making clones of it. Even the people who don’t buy an iPhone gain from competition it created.
I am sorry, but this just seems a bit daft.
Apple have not released ANY THING yet, and are not due to release it till the summer at the earliest.
Competitors, have released a product which I believe you can actually buy.
And yet, just because apple got their “glitz” out the door first, every one else is classed the copycat?
Numerous people have also tried pointing out just how much time it takes to develop this sort of product, to the point it is actually built and out the door.
The thought that apple release their vacous glitz, and a month later competitors have untill recently unthought of products out and built, seems some what, unfeasable…
As some one said before, it is not so much copying, one person or another, it is an evolutionary movement, that is “natural” and many phone makers are going in that direction.
“where MS still has basically Paint, Notepad, Solitare, and WMP”
Ummm…You may need to re-evaluate exactly how many FREE tools/software that MS provides.
I’m NOT a MS fanboy by any stretch of the imagination but your post is a LONG, LONG way from being remotely accurate!
I do find it entertaining that you just threw “OSs” in with face plates and advertisements. Software is infinitely more important than hardware. The quality of the OS defines 99% of the quality of the machine.
Ohhh……..those ads are supposed to be humorous? No wonder I don’t get the whole Apple thing.
The guy from the commercials is available.
Yeah! PC Guy should run Apple! He’s brilliant!
unrelated to the article (good read though) – but I really hated the content layout -so much wasted space
well not me, but some other guy,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFS0xl4_LAA
he lost his job
heh
anyweb
Bill Gates is still the face of MS and still the main spokesperson.
It was Bill running from the Today show to the John Stewart show trying to sell Vista.
Same as with Jobs. People think Jobs they think Apple. People think MS they think Gates.
I would like to see how MS would run with out Gates in site.
This happened to Apple once and it’s didn’t go so well, which is why Jobs is back.
Dell did the same and now Michael Dell is back.
Reluctantly at best. Microsoft simply doesn’t have anyone else to put in front of normal people and sound convincing:
Ballmer? Asshole. Allchin? Senile. Ozzie? Weird. Sinofsky? Boring.
…PC Guy? Brilliant!
Never seen Ozzie, but I think Sinofsky’s pretty good. What makes you think he’s boring?
steve is important!
But not that important that apple couldn’t exsist without him. (<- just my opinion)
His iconic nature does alot for the image of the company.Hell, I find the people I know who into his products dress similar to him.
Parents are rarely not involved with their children after the kid is grown and raising their own family. For Jobs Apple is his child as much as MS is the child of Gates. They can’t help but be involved due to the significant investment of time they put into raising them.
so to speak.
How a company might fare if someone leaves shouldn’t influence how the law is applied. If he’s guilty – he’s guilty. Period.
If he’s guilty, he should be in prison.
Edited 2007-02-24 00:27
White collar criminals shouldn’t go to prison. They’re no danger to society. Hit ’em where it hurts. Fine them big time.
The thousands of families with their life savings invested on Enron and Apple beg to differ.
No , the families want their money back , by trowing them in jail you only add taxes to those who already lost everything , because its society who pay for them to be in jail.
The judicial system also don’t take direct accomplice into account because often those accomplice are banks and reputable traders and the families of those thief , it should be clear that no one can directly or indirectly profit from those crimes at all.
That all money *stolen* by illegal means should be returned completely and that all participant in the crimes must be held accountable and help repay the amount stolen , even if its by making payments on both the capital and the decided by the court amount deserved for punishment and damage caused.
I already spoke on part of this here :
http://www.osnews.com/permalink.php?news_id=16972&comment_id=202581
No offense meant here but can they do something else then trow them in prisons … Seriously Fraud for millions get 2 – 3 years in prison come out and you made interest on the money you stolen.
Prison are not free for starter it cost around a thousand dollars per week to society per prisoner. Prison are also school for crook and gangs they learn how to do worst then what they got in , because they got time to think and discuss there future crimes.
Now if you want something that’s going to annoy them and make me happy , take the amount of the fraud , multiply it by 20 , charge that to them every year for the next ten year and make them face an IRS investigation every year for the same ten years.
You also charge the company where it happened the same amount for the next five years so that the shareholders make sure too that they don’t allow there Manager to do it either.
Or removal from being CEO or Chairman or manager on any board of a any company if you do so.
just my 2 cents on this.
“No offense meant here but can they do something else then trow them in prisons … Seriously Fraud for millions get 2 – 3 years in prison come out and you made interest on the money you stolen. ”
I think you don’t quite understand how the legal system works. You don’t get to keep the money and go to prison, you have to return the money and go to prison.
That’s how it works for every other crime and it is how it should also work for “white collar” criminals.
No , *I* , and obviously not you , know exactly how the legal system works , Most of the time criminals get to keep the money and never see trials or prosecution , why ? Because its almost always the responsibility of the innocent and of the victim to prove that a crime happened.
Now , I don’t know who told you that the Judicial system job was to give back the money to the victim and to make sure that they found it all , but they obviously lied to you.
I know you need to read on the subject :
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/
“White collar criminals shouldn’t go to prison”
Bullshit. They should go to the same prisons, wear the same overalls and go thru the same hell as every other convicted criminal. Put ’em on a chaingang so they’ll at least do some good.
I see no reason why the guy who robs a store of $2000 should get a harder punishment than someone who embezzles millions.
If Job’s ever was forced out of Apple, I would “imagine” he would eventually start a NeXT like company or one with handheld technologies. He isn’t done invented.
If Microsoft survives Anti-Trust and keeps their CEO/Chairman at the time, then how the hell do you think Apple is going to lose Jobs whose company isn’t in the hot seat to the scale of Microsoft?
Jobs should go to Microsoft
Someone mentioned Apple as having certain software available and Microsoft as well. But there are many other companies that provide and depend upon Microsoft for their place in the computer industry. Lots of user-installable hardware is made for PC’s. One can’t just run out to the local computer hardware store and buy a new motherboard for their Mac, unfortunately. They can get MS software for it though.