Apple being Evil, again...

[Richard Gaskin]

Richmond wrote:
> While Steve Jobs was a devil, of sorts, at least he was a devil we knew;
>
> now he has passed on (presumably to do devilish things elsewhere) we
> are left with other, lesser devils; and lesser devils are like lesser gods,
> inclined to do things that are neither so good nor so evil.
>
> I would question whether the new devils at Apple have the sort of
> UEP (Unified Evil Plan) that Steve Jobs had, and as such, their evil may
> seem a bit pointless and non-directional; while Jobs' UEP was comparatively
> easy to understand and roll with.

No, just easy to roll over with.  Steve Jobs was widely regarded as a 
person whose mind was difficult to change.  Forstall was able to do it 
with his advocacy of the idea that iOS shouldn't be a closed system and 
should create an app store, which Jobs initially rejected but of course 
ultimately came to embrace.  But few are as "maddeningly political" as 
Forstall, so few were as effective at such things.

Jobs was a passionate man, but passion isn't always a virtue.  The 
Isaacson book is filled with stories of the mixed results of such passion.

Personally, in Tim Cook I see many of the best traits of Jobs but 
tempered with a cooler, more calculating methodology.

Cook seems easy going, and folks say he's a joy to work with.  But I 
would never risk underestimating him; he seems to work with a very 
nimble chess-like mind, thinking several steps ahead of whatever the 
issue at hand is.

For example, in contrast to Jobs' decree of "thermonuclear war" with all 
things Android, Cook is scheduled to sit down with the head of Samsung 
to negotiate a settlement for their many expensive patent suits around 
the world.

Apple's success is about innovation, not litigation.  Cook seems to 
understand this, and appears to be taking steps toward keeping all 
aspects of the company laser-focused on that mandate.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
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