gilly33

StrangeDays said:

maestro64 said:

I am not sure what end result anyone think "passing note" server and why people would rumor this happening, If these were true and Cook wrote on scrips, it is easy to prove someone I bet took a picture or notes, and producer and writer were truly upset you know they would have shared the actual notes.

I do have to agree that I am not sure Apple TV service will be successful trying to be tamed. Netflx & HBO content is successful because the jump well over the tamed line. Apple is trying to play in the Disney sand box which I do not think will go well for them.

Disney, PBS, and plenty of cable networks are successful without violence and nudity. To think there’s only one way to success is quite absurd. 

Downton Abbey is about as “tame” as it gets but is still a compelling drama. Drama isn’t about explicit content. Drama is about effective storytelling. 

cgWerks said:

Generally agree with the points the article makes...
But, I think there are some things it missed.

One of the problem with '90s Apple, is that Apple was actually doing several of the things the industry pundits, experts, media, etc. and typical tech business minds would think to do. They were being run more like every other tech business. The media didn't jump all over them until that strategy started to fail.

Sure, Apple now has enough cash and success that such moves are much less likely to get them in trouble than in the past. But, I see some of those same trends happening today. The articles' argument seems to be... yeah, but this time Apple is making money with all the silly 'moonshots'. And, I suppose they are, but that doesn't mean they aren't equally silly and distracting from things that should be primary.

I was listening to an interview today of Guy Kawasaki on Jordan Harbinger's podcast. Guy wrapped up the interview with a few lessons we can learn from Steve's life. The one that caught my attention, was that Steve had taste. He was passionate about well-designed things.

I agree, and that's the big difference between technically advanced products, and truly great products. For example, take Samsung's recent folding phone fiasco. Having a screen that can fold is some incredible technology, for sure. It's also silly and fraught with problems. Or, there are a ton of Windows PCs out there that are technically pretty competent machines. But, no taste.

And, that also highlights part of the problem with Apple since Steve's death. They seem a bit more taste-challenged since then. They have great talent and technology, for sure, but products are starting to drift off into areas that IMO, Steve would have nixed or made them re-do.

When you combine a lack of taste, with typical tech business 'wisdom' I think that is a recipe for problems. However, having hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars in the bank can cover a heck of a lot of them. I've worked in side a Fortune 100 (nearly Fortune 50). I've seen how royally an operation of that magnitude can mess up and still chugging along. Apple is now at that point, kind of like a freight train. They could mess up a LOT and still keep chugging along (hence, why the 'doomed' prognosis is a bit nuts).

But, that doesn't mean Apple will be what they once were, just that they aren't going out of business any time soon. I hope they will be what they once were and more. In some ways they are. In other ways, I think they are worse than the '90s. What I'd rally like to see is Apple with their current resources AND the taste/vision they once had. Maybe that is now impossible, but I think they could be doing better than they are... and that makes me kind of sad.