Apples actual response to the Flash issue

[Kay C Lan]

Ah, been gone for a couple of hours and come back to exactly what I
expected. Not a single List member nominated another List member as being
more capable of running Apple than Steve Jobs.

And not for want of campaigning. Some very spirited and some rather long
posts clearly trying to persuade the masses to vote their way, but in the
end not a single mind was changed, not a single prejudice altered - although
I much enjoyed the Electrical Engineers manifesto ;-)

So what it all boils down to is, some of us think Steve is wrong, and some
of us think that Steve is right, but regardless of whether he's right or
wrong, ALL of us know, deep down inside, no matter how much it pains us,
that Steve + Apple - Flash will make a whole heap more money than [your name
here] + Apple + Flash. And everyone on the List agrees ;-)

And the sediment left in the bottom is actually the pile of all our own
prejudices,  failings, misgivings, inadequacies, lack of vision and lack of
confidence.

I, and I know others on this List, don't see the point of an iPad. If I were
running Apple it would be an unmitigated failure because I have no
confidence in the product, no vision on what it could do, no talent on how
to market it, and no drive to see it through. It wouldn't matter if I
listened to everyone on this List and added all the bells and whistles it's
critics are complaining about. It would be a failure.

But in Steve's hands I know it will be a success. I've been blown away by
what some people have dreamt up for the thing. After seeing this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffFmtQWrYNg

If I had grandchildren, I'd buy one for them, not question. My wife will
undoubtedly buy one, regardless of my 'what for???' protests. And if I
somehow manage to get out of paying for it, she'll persuade her work to buy
a couple.

Some think that the Flash decision is wrong, but really all they are
reflecting is the fact that they themselves couldn't make it work because of
all their own sediment.

Whether it's right or wrong isn't anywhere near as important as whether
Steve can continue to make money without Flash, and I, and I'm sure most on
this List, deep down, believe he can. Steve knows the market, knows how to
spin things, knows where he's headed, knows the steps to get there, knows
what life is like with Flash, and has a good handle on what life will be
like without Flash, and it is he who has chosen the time to pull the plug.

The Future will shortly be History repeating itself.