Steve Jobs is not like you and me.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2008/pulpit_20081107_005502.html

by pchristensen • 18 years ago

55 28 18 years ago

aston2• 18 years ago

Mistitled. Why not just call it "Love-Hate: Why iPod chief Tony Fadell is really leaving Apple" like Cringely did?

nihilocrat• 18 years ago

Honestly, the title seems fairly apt. The author starts the article with the sentence, and proceeds to mention a plethora of things which argue that this sentence is accurate.

aston2• 18 years ago

If you didn't already know Steve Jobs was an ego-centric CEO with a cult-of-personality keeping him going before the article, you're pretty far behind in tech news. However, I had no clue about the reasons behind Fadell's firing, and that's the real point of the article anyway.

shutter• 18 years ago

From the article: > "But if Apple fails in that, Steve Jobs will just pick up the phone and choose IBM Microelectronics as the fab to build the next generation of Apple’s PowerPC processors – a contract worth billions, but ONLY if IBM drops all legal action."

Uh, Apple doesn't use PowerPC anymore.

tptacek• 18 years ago

PA Semi is PPC.

alaskamiller• 18 years ago

It will.

tlrobinson• 18 years ago

I can't see Apple switching Macs back to PPC any time soon. In the last 10 years they've forced Mac developers and customers to switch to a totally different operating system AND processor architecture. Both were good moves, but it seems silly to switch back.

Apple has said they bought P.A. Semi to create custom chips for their portable devices:

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/04/24/jobs-still-hearts-in...

mattmaroon4• 18 years ago

This is exactly why I buy AAPL puts. The cult of Steve weighs far more heavily on their share price than their actual results.

Apple's success is clearly due to a lot of people. Nobody does that well due to the brilliance of a single man, and Steve Jobs isn't as bright as people give him credit for. The man tried to cure his own pancreatic cancer by eating carrots for Christ's sake.

Yet every time he sneezes their shares drop $10. So I buy puts knowing that one day, probably soon given the way he's looking lately, he'll announce his retirement (either voluntarily or due to illness) and their share price will plummet, at which point I'll sell my options and then go long AAPL, because really, they don't need him.

yters5• 18 years ago

How will a company that is so shaped by one man have an effective successor? Especially if he seems to kill off anyone who could be a good successor?

thorax• 18 years ago

Well, some of these people could come back later to lead it. Less effectively than if they were there longer, but... maybe better than nothing?

inovica• 18 years ago

I don't own any Apple kit (though I have in the past) and I think the guy is actually quite bright. Anyone can be lucky enough to succeed once, but he has a history of multiple successes. Yes, possibly based on the hard work of others, but he's astute enough to spot this talent. Like Yin and Yang there's often a negative side to what appears outwardly positive. He's not there to be liked - he's there for himself

comatose_kid• 18 years ago

You bought AAPL puts near the current price? Given their growth in the mobile market, the presence of Steve Jobs, and cash on hand, that would be more of a bet than I'm willing to take. But hey, the thesis that consumers are going to stay away from Apple Stores this Christmas is reasonable - just not certain enough for me to bet on, especially given Apple's extra-low guidance which would seem take this into consideration.

I made a bit on AAPL calls buying the day before their earnings, and selling the day after (Dec calls, sold immediately after the pop in this market).

mattmaroon4• 18 years ago

Like I said, the puts were based solely on the nosedive the stock will take if he retires or falls ill. Seriously, every time a blog posts a rumor that he's sick it dips 10% with no signs of stopping before they suspend trading. That's happened twice in the past year.

I agree with most of what you said, which is why I'll reverse positions immediately after it happens. If it does.

reidman• 18 years ago

It's worth noting that the writer of "I, Cringely" has pumped out more than just a few off-base Apple articles in the past. Apple merges with Intel, Apple teams up with Blockbuster, Apple to stop making hardware, Apple buys Adobe...

Prrometheus• 18 years ago

And the article is composed primarily of (plausible sounding) speculation.

jimbokun• 18 years ago

Yes. Cringely is the absolute master of (plausible sounding) speculation. It describes almost every article he has written.

It's usually pretty entertaining plausible sounding speculation, though.

ojbyrne• 18 years ago

Everything in Silicon Valley is Ego. For all the bozo CEOs who take all the credit for _everything_, there's a gazillion unsung heroes who are smarter, faster, and are completely unsung (but hopefully they get some cash when there's an exit). That's the dynamic.

Dilpil• 18 years ago

Steve jobs tears cure cancer...

Steve Jobs is not like you and me.

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