The Mac Professional's Resource
Steve Jobs’ keynote from MacWorld 2008 is only a week old, and while most of the world goes on about its business, those of us who live in the cult of Mac as well as the media that likes to follow, are still waiting for the next big thing after a MacWorld that only rated a “meh” on revolutionary scale.
Meanwhile, Jobs knows that criticism can come from every corner. Bloggers around the net came down on him after he brushed off San Francisco sex columnist Violet Blue and even though Macs are selling well and iPhones and iPods seem to be hitting their targets, investors are saying the first quarter results conference call could be make or break for AAPL stock.
We can understand why some people may be upset with the Violet Blue incident. I helped keep his company alive by buying Performas and dealing with things like System 7.5.2, so even though it was somebody else responsible for those messes, I would like to think it warrants at least a picture. I am not sure how long Violet Blue has been a fan of Macs, but maybe next time she should offer something to Steve Jobs first. As Forbes columnist Brian Caulfield says, “Steve Jobs is not a petting zoo.” Performa guilt might not be worth a photo opportunity, but perhaps a signed copy of The Adventurous Couples Guide to Sex Toys is worthy of a little more consideration.
As for AAPL itself, it may be getting hammered harder than the other Violet Blue, but if people haven’t noticed, the market as a whole has been taking it on the chin for a little while now. AAPL may be 20% off it’s all time high, but as the market prepares for a correction, recession, etc, Apple appears to be in a good position for continued profits, so we’ll wait to get our panties in a bunch for a little while longer.
— Joe Fahs
The end of the year may mean a slow down for many industries as people leave work and spend the holidays with their families, but this is the time of the year where Mac rumors really start to heat up, as people begin to anticipate what Apple may have in store for MacWorld Expo. MacWorld events were traditionally the place where Steve Jobs would drop hardware and software bombshells, but that has waned in recent years as Apple has incorporated more and more special events throughout the year to showcase new products.
Steve Jobs’ keynote is still over a month away, and the rumors are starting to pick up. Bloomberg anticipates a new ultra-thin portable along with a higher capacity iPhone, while Fortune wonders if flash storage will be coming to the MacBook line. We will be looking forward to the new announcements, but also guess that the most significant product releases will come later in the year. Best bets are that this year’s keynote is heavy on Leopard and iPhone, but 2006 brought us Intel Macs, 2007 brought us the iPhone, and so the possibility for something really big still exists.
— Joe Fahs