Netgear CEO Patrick Lo is attempting to take back his words via an email sent to media outlets. Here it is, verbatim:
Hi. As many of you know I spoke in Sydney on Monday, at a lunch with more than a half dozen of Australia’s leading technology and business journalists. We covered a wide range of topics including the emergence of new IP protocols, cloud computing, wireless routers/repeaters in the home, the National Broadband Network (a current major Government project in Australia) and much more. During the course of the discussion, I shared my views about the future of Apple and Microsoft, as well as the surge of Android. Some of my comments were covered by the media who attended, and were reported more broadly outside Australia by media and bloggers who picked up on the story.
I stand by the opinions I stated on the business issues. Supporting open standards and environments in order to ease seamless networking integration of multimedia content is good for the consumer and good for content providers.
However, I deeply regret the choice of words I used in relation to business decisions Apple must grapple with in the future in relation to open vs. closed systems, which have been construed by some to be references to Steve Jobs’ health and which was never my intention. I sincerely apologize that what I said was interpreted this way, and I wish Steve only the very best.
Patrick Lo,
NETGEAR
Chairman and CEO
MacDailyNews Take: Now, let’s compare that to what the nasty little weasel really said. The Daily Telegraph’s Maureen Shelley was at the lunch and the paper has published a transcript of Lo’s comments that included Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Note where Patrick Lo laughs:
Now we’ve seen this movie many a time, eventually – it wouldn’t work. Right. We’ve seen Beta versus you know VHS, we have seen Windows versus Mac and now we’re gradually seeing it you know on this Apple versus everybody else. And, and, you’ve got Google, you know, gradually, you’ve probably tracked the story that as big as iPhone is, the Android platform has already overtaken the iPhone platform in the US.
So, it’s critical for Apple to make a decision how to go forward.
And I think, as long as Steve Jobs lives, all right, so there’s no way they are going to open it up.
Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not going to be that far away (laughs), then Apple probably would have to make a very strategic decision to really open up their platform.
I personally think if they open up the platform and let more people jump on it, they are going to dominate. Basically, they are going to dominate. Certainly, you run certain risks. That’s where the software is going to come in. How they could they make the software open yet not giving away the usability, the user experience.
The problem with Android so far and with Microsoft all along is that the user experience is terrible, it’s lousy. So, then Apple because of the closed environment they have been able to make the user experience superb. Ultimately, a closed system you know just can’t go that far. So, we believe that ultimately there will be an open platform it will be compatible and all that.
MacDailyNews Take: So, let’s see, did the damage control work? No way in hell (where Lo may have already made a large down payment on his future residence):
We are advising our millions of unique visitors worldwide to boycott Netgear products. Not only are they junk, but their CEO is a nasty piece of work. Do not buy Netgear products. Do not waste your money.
Apple Retail and Online Stores should pull Netgear products off their shelves immediately and ship them back to Mr. Lo.
We’ll consider ending our boycott as soon as Netgear gets a new CEO and starts making quality products for once.
We highly recommend Apple Airport Express (US$99) and Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (US$179). The cost in a product is not just the total on the price tag.
And, for the record, in regard to iOS’ future, Lo is, unsurprisingly, wrong. Here’s why from someone who basically predicted the iPhone over 4 years before Steve Jobs unveiled it.
Contact Netgear CEO Patrick Lo at
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