“While Apple users will line up to buy Apple’s latest and greatest–and will eagerly defend the Mac from slights in the press–they aren’t sheep. Wade in among the Apple fans gathered at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco this week and you’ll find there are things that bug even the most ardent fans about Apple,” Brian Caulfield reports for Forbes.
“You can put Steve Jobs at the top of the list. Sure, Jobs deserves a spot in the technology hall of fame. And over the past 10 years, Apple shares are up 34-fold. You can’t do that unless you’re doing a whole lot right. And Apple users love Jobs for it,” Caulfield reports.
“Jobs, however, can’t love them all back, at least not the way they want. When blogger Violet Blue–who has pictures of herself posing with her Apple laptop on her Web site–approached Jobs on the floor of the MacWorld Expo to ask for a photo, lightly touching his arm, Jobs rebuffed her. ‘He told me curtly, flatly that I was rude. And turned his back to me. The small circle of people around him sniggered,’ Blue wrote on her blog, Tiny Nibbles. ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever ‘fangirled’ anyone. And it’ll be my last,'” Caulfield reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Quelle tragédie! We have personal experience with this one. While we haven’t ourselves approached Jobs for a photo or autograph, we have stood near him and observed others trying to do so on the Macworld Expo floor for many years. For example, back in 1999 at Macworld Expo in New York’s Javits Center, we witnessed Jobs (and his assistants) fending off photo- and autograph-seekers left and right. When we asked an Apple rep about this, they told us that if Jobs started he’d never be able to stop posing and signing. He’d never be able to move, much less take in at least some of his company’s Expo. Even by not starting, Jobs is consigned to very short periods of time with the public out on the Macworld Expo floor. Such is the life of the multi-billionaire rock star CEO.
Caulfield continues, “Jobs’ and Apple’s obsession with beautiful design also leads to other worries. Dive into the crowd at MacWorld gathered around Apple’s latest product, the MacBook Air, and they’ll quickly point out what could be the wafer-thin machines biggest flaw: Users can’t swap in fresh batteries. That could be a deal-breaker for road warriors looking for a lightweight notebook.”
MacDailyNews Take: So, get a MacBook or MacBook Pro if you want a portable Mac with a swappable battery. Or figure out where the power outlets are in airports and airplanes. Or wait a second for the first external battery packs designed for MacBook Air to show up and buy one. Or realize that we’ve heard all of this before with iPod, and then again with iPhone, and the vast majority of users won’t care if the battery is sealed inside and will learn how to work with it (see: external battery packs, using available outlets). Note also that Apple will offer in-house MacBook Air battery replacement for US$129 (same price as a new MacBook Pro battery). Just take your new MacBook Air to the nearest Apple store, or send it in through a mail service, and you’ll get it back quickly.
Caulfield continues, “Of course, the biggest thing bugging Apple fans–at least those who own the company’s stock–might be the performance of its shares this year. After the iPhone was unveiled a year ago, nothing Apple could do this year could top the hype the company kicked off with the hot-selling gadget. As a result, Apple’s shares are down nearly 6% this year, as the stock market punishes fast-growing technology companies.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The often-irrational and nonsensical stock market isn’t punishing Apple for being a fast-growing technology company. The stock market has been punishing pretty much everybody this year, regardless of how well-positioned companies are in their respective business(es). Apple shares can care of themselves. Let’s wait for Apple’s earnings release next Tuesday, shall we?