Has Apple lost its "hip" image?

Today is April's Fool day. 37 years ago, a company was started by two fun-loving pranksters in a garage. One of them, Steve Jobs, thought the idea was cool at the time, that the founding of the company contains a joke in itself. The company went on to win fans more loyal than anything else, from its motto "it's better to be a pirate than joining the Navy", to 1984, which was a rebellion against the giants of the day to make a computer for the rest of us. There were 1984 and Think Different. You may love them, you may hate them, the only thing can't do is to ignore them. And so it has been for 37 long years.

And today, Apple's homepage was absolutely devoid of any of fun, of the revolt, of the David's rally against Goliath. It shows the iPad and the iPhone, no doubt the most successful products in its history. But the human element is no longer there. People look at them, and see a marketing drive to convince them to buy their products. People no longer see them as counter-culture, as rebels against the rule. They have become the norm in itself. They get run like a bunch of MBAs would: lowering costs, punch out flashy ads, squashing the competitors. But somewhere in the heart, the old Apple has died a bit. There was no hole for the persona and the quirkiness of its founders to shine through,

On April’s Fool day, some call it prankster’s day, I think it’s an appropriate occasion to remember the Apple of yore.