Is Apple dead if/when Steve Jobs dies?

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
coloumb

coloumb

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,069
0
81
I am in no way an apple/jobs fanboy -

His arrogance is why Apple is very innovative and ahead of the pack whenever he's at the helm.

Does anyone remember how the company was after he was "fired"? Hell..I don't think apple released anything significantly innovative or cool during that time period because the company was being led by a CEO who didn't care about the products.

For apple to succeed - they will need to find someone who has the same amount of passion and vision...
 
Malak

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
coloumb said:
I am in no way an apple/jobs fanboy -

His arrogance is why Apple is very innovative and ahead of the pack whenever he's at the helm.

Does anyone remember how the company was after he was "fired"? Hell..I don't think apple released anything significantly innovative or cool during that time period because the company was being led by a CEO who didn't care about the products.

For apple to succeed - they will need to find someone who has the same amount of passion and vision...
Click to expand...

His arrogance isn't why they are innovative, it's the people underneath him that are actually making it happen. Does anyone remember Apple before he left? Wasn't much before either.
 
M

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
Here's a pretty good video of Steve Jobs giving a speech a long time ago about the Apple brand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmG9jzCHtSQ

As you can see through the video, he is the backbone of Apple. He has a clear and concise understanding of what products mean to consumers. He states that computers aren't products, but are a part of everyones' lives.

Apple, and Steve Jobs for that matter, has spent the last decade instilling into everyones' minds that iPods, iPhones, and Macs are your life.

The engineers do the grunt work, but Steve Jobs is the one with the vision that pushes Apple forward.
 
R

RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,618
2
76
Malak said:
His arrogance isn't why they are innovative, it's the people underneath him that are actually making it happen. Does anyone remember Apple before he left? Wasn't much before either.
Click to expand...

It's his vision. Of course he isn't doing the coding or engineering. And Apple 20+ years ago...of course it was different.
 
preslove

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
64
91
For such a big company, Apple is still run like an entrepreneurial firm, with an all powerful, focused founder. The transition from entrepreneurial to a more standard corporate form can be rocky & needs to be done well, or the company can lose focus and stagnate. That could happen pretty easily after Jobs dies/retires. Their money in the bank and brand strength will keep them in the game for a while, though, even if the transition is screwed up.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
/b/tard said:
slow death, resort to rehashing old ideas, and failed attempts at new ideas before it finally implodes.. This is the direction Microsoft is going in and has been going in for a long time now.
Click to expand...
Microsoft only had to innovate when things were getting started. Now that computers kinda work sometimes and they don't randomly fuck up anymore, all MS has to do is keep stability and we'll all be happy. Fix the Xbox 360 god damn it.


Apple, and Steve Jobs for that matter, has spent the last decade instilling into everyones' minds that iPods, iPhones, and Macs are your life.
Click to expand...
Yeah and look how well that works. Apple computer share is.... 0% if you round up a few dozen times.
 
Malak

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
RagingBITCH said:
It's his vision. Of course he isn't doing the coding or engineering. And Apple 20+ years ago...of course it was different.
Click to expand...

But we don't have anything substantial to support that his "vision" is really the means of the success they are having today. It's like saying it is because of a president of the US that the economy does well, when actually the economy was doing well because of things done in prior years coupled with things done by many other people with no direct relation to any actions by the president.

And can you define the "vision" that makes him so awesome? MP3 players existed before the ipod. Phones existed before the iphone. Tablets existed before the ipad. And ultimately the original vision Jobs had for Apple NEVER SUCCEEDED.

I think people are too quick to assume that any success in a company is directly related to one man. Especially when that man never got the company to go anywhere the first time he was on board and wasn't the one who designed the things that actually finally gave Apple success.
 
M

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
ShawnD1 said:
Yeah and look how well that works. Apple computer share is.... 0% if you round up a few dozen times.
Click to expand...

0%?

Uh...not quite

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20019514-260.html

Forget the fact that Apple is decimating the competition with their iphones, ipods, and ipads.


Malak said:
But we don't have anything substantial to support that his "vision" is really the means of the success they are having today. It's like saying it is because of a president of the US that the economy does well, when actually the economy was doing well because of things done in prior years coupled with things done by many other people with no direct relation to any actions by the president.

And can you define the "vision" that makes him so awesome? MP3 players existed before the ipod. Phones existed before the iphone. Tablets existed before the ipad. And ultimately the original vision Jobs had for Apple NEVER SUCCEEDED.

I think people are too quick to assume that any success in a company is directly related to one man. Especially when that man never got the company to go anywhere the first time he was on board and wasn't the one who designed the things that actually finally gave Apple success.
Click to expand...

When Jobs was fired from his own company, Apple went downhill. When they brought Jobs back, Apple soared in profitability.

No one said the iPod was first, the iPhone wasn't first, and the iPad wasn't first. But guess what? The iPod revolutionized the mp3 player, the iPhone revamped what a smartphone should be, and the iPad created a market of tablets that was thought to be nonexistent.

Being first is not an achievement, but innovating those ideas into something incredibly successful is. Everyone thought the iPod was going to fail, the iPhone a failure, and the iPad a failure. Well, Apple has proven people wrong 3 times over, yet people continue to say..."Oh its luck, marketing, isheep, etc."
 
Last edited:
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
No, because Tim Cook is next in line. Besides, didn't he run the company when Jobs was shopping for a kidney?
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
NFS4 said:
No, because Tim Cook is next in line. Besides, didn't he run the company when Jobs was shopping for a kidney?
Click to expand...
You sound as if you're impressed by what executives do.

"You guys do some marketing or something. I'll be having sex with 30 expensive prostitutes."
 
zerocool84

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
NFS4 said:
No, because Tim Cook is next in line. Besides, didn't he run the company when Jobs was shopping for a kidney?
Click to expand...

and stock prices dropped when Jobs was very sick

Like it or not, Jobs is the face of Apple. When Jobs goes, the stocks are going to drop dramatically. Whether you like Apple or not, Jobs is a HUGE part of Apple and who they are.
 
G

gophins72

Golden Member
Jul 22, 2005
1,541
0
76
coloumb said:
I am in no way an apple/jobs fanboy -

His arrogance is why Apple is very innovative and ahead of the pack whenever he's at the helm.

Does anyone remember how the company was after he was "fired"? Hell..I don't think apple released anything significantly innovative or cool during that time period because the company was being led by a CEO who didn't care about the products.

For apple to succeed - they will need to find someone who has the same amount of passion and vision...
Click to expand...

this is insightful. the reason why Jobs is good is because he paves the way for products in his company to the marketplace w/o being destroyed by beancounters, committees, and internal strife. other executives at other companies, in effect, allow products to wither on the vine by not doing anything and delegating to people who primarily are of the "cover your ass" mentality. this is why apple does well.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
TallBill said:
Rofl, within the first minute. "He's the Thomas Edison of our time."

Yeah, or not even fucking close.
Click to expand...
LOL

He's just like Thomas Edison if you remove all the parts about inventing stuff or being a genius. Jobs is known for being ballsy and having charisma, but that's it. His vision for Apple was fucked up and he was fired from his own company. His employees hated him and described him as a terrorist (ie he terrorizes his employees). The company was in business for about 20 years before the iPod came and saved the company.
 
O

outsidethebox

Junior Member
Oct 18, 2010
8
0
0
mb said:
I hope so. I hate him and his crappy company.




Good point. They don't even have decent products anyway, it's all marketing.
Click to expand...

Lol at the Apple haters. Apple makes great products but they are unfortunately overpriced.

I think the company will do fine without Jobs when he dies or retires. The real star of Apple is Johnny Ive and I'd be a lot more worried if he left.
 
P

Pollock

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2004
1,989
0
0
Apple products are expensive, but I would argue not overpriced. For some people, it has lower value than other products; for other people, it has much more value.

Jobs is very important to Apple, no doubt. I imagine the company will suffer without his leadership and vision, but he is only one of over 30,000 people at Apple. They'll keep going, but it will definitely be interesting to see the direction they take.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Pollock said:
Apple products are expensive, but I would argue not overpriced. For some people, it has lower value than other products; for other people, it has much more value.
Click to expand...

To be completely fair, Apple products are not overpriced for the components you get. When you price out an Apple laptop vs a Dell laptop using the exact same parts and weight and size, it's about the same. Even the huge rip off Mac Pro is priced appropriately; $3000 for a desktop computer is retarded but that really is what a workstation with dual xeon processors costs from Dell or HP. The iPhone really is a good phone, and comparable Blackberry phones also have retarded prices like $600 with no contract.

The issue a lot of us have is that Apple doesn't offer affordable products. They offer products aimed at the richest of the rich. There's a lot of snobbery that goes with owning a Mac. It's almost like you're required to sign a contract saying you'll be a wise and beautiful woman if you buy an Apple computer.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Hold on a sec while I shout down the hall.

Shawn: Hey do any of you guys own an Apple computer?
no
no
no
no
whats that?
no
no

The company has spoken :colbert:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom