Some Mac/Apple/Steve Jobs thoughts

1. After a week here, and a week of using the fabled OS X on the editor’s computer, I still have to say that I don’t understand the raving many Macsters have for it. To me, it ‘s not that much above OS 9. And, an online friend who does pagination and building for The Old Farmer’s Almanac and has worked with X for a while, says some parts of it are actually counterintuitive.

Oops! Wasn’t that supposed to be the biggest highlight of Apples vs PCs all along?

2. More specifically, and as I’ve posted on Kevin Drum’s blog comments and elsewhere, Microslob has been closing the gap with Apple that stems back 20 years.

Does Gates still have a way to go? Yes. But, is the gap narrower? Yes. For all the security concerns about it, XP was, IMO, still a more significant jump forward from Windoze 2000 than OS X was from 9.

3. The iPhone? I’ll agree with Mike Elgan when he says Jobs blew this baby badly on timing.

He says the iPhone is overrated already, and by making his announcement at Macworld months before it will be ready to hit the market, Jobs has raised the bar wayyyyy too high.

Jobs’ keynote was so highly visible that it reached deeply into popular culture, with late-night talk-show hosts joking about it, Saturday Night Live parodying it and all manner of amateur video makers creating spoofs about it. These pop-culture references seemingly all exaggerated and mocked the idea that iPhone does everything.

However, the opposite is true: The iPhone, despite its many media-oriented virtues and its sweet design, will do far less than most existing smart phones. The problem Apple now faces because of Jobs’ premature detail-oriented announcement is that of dashed expectations. When customers expect more and don’t get it, they become dissatisfied.

What doesn’t iPhone do? Unlike most smart phones, the iPhone doesn’t have voice-dialing, voice memos, 3G Internet access, Word or Excel support, one-handed operation, or video recording. It can’t be used as a laptop modem. The battery can’t be replaced. It doesn’t support removable storage. The calendar, task list and e-mail won’t sync with Microsoft Outlook.

Elgan adds that perhaps Jobs felt he had no alternative because Apple TV isn’t enough of a deal to carry heavy water for Apple. At the same time, the early iPhone announcment may have undercut Apple TV, thus making it an even daintier beast of burden.

And, Jobs pissed off Cisco, which has the trademark to the name “iPhone.”

4. Finally, Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates. Gates may be the evil corporate monster to many. (Sidebar: Have of the investments of his world-largest foundation come from companies like Big Oil, sickening the very Third World people he’s trying to help.)

However, to the degree that’s true, another stereotypical image fits Steve Jobs: used car salesman. And don’t forget that. All you Macsters are simply contributing to that stereotype.