“Is there a silver lining in Steve Jobs’ leave of absence for Apple investors? His co-founder Steve Wozniak sees one. I just left the set of a new tech show produced by our local NBC affiliate, and as coincidence would have it, ‘Woz’ and I were both guests. Wozniak said that when most creative types take a time out, they tend to have a flood of ideas. After all, it was after Jobs’ last leave from the company that we got the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and an entirely new Apple,” Sarah Lacy reports for Yahoo Finance.
“Wozniak was clear to say he hadn’t talked to Jobs recently, and expressed some frustration at the amount of ink and airtime that had gone into discussing Jobs’ health. He added that some of the alarm was overstated, given how large of a pipeline of products a company like Apple has and how long they take to get to market,” Lacy reports.
Full article here.
Thank you Woz!
I doubt Woz’ comments will have any traction with spooked investors. However, it’s good for his positive comments to make it to MDN anyway!
BTW, first commenter. Wahoo!
rats. someone always beats me to the punch!
@BillyBob@home
Sorry old chap. You are #2.
I’m going to try and use that argument with my boss. “I need to take about 6th months off to get my creative juices back.”
Spooked investors? Apple stock only went down $2, not $20.
I think this latest news drove out all the “spooks.” The serious investors who actually believe in Apple’s long-term success, bought more AAPL, given an opportunity to buy in the low $80’s. The next quarterly report will show that Apple can be hugely profitable, even in a down economy.
Let some investors get spooked and get out. I started buying in earnest in 2002 and never regretted a thing, even now after things have dropped.
AAPL became a me-too stock for people who only saw that it had grown so much year after year, though they don’t understand the company or what makes it different at all, it seems.
Let them go. At some point, when they come back, the next wave of growth comes. Just be sure to take some off the table.
Reason #113 For not claiming to be the first commenter
“Someone will post the first comment while you’re typing that you’re the first and you’ll only make yourself look foolish.”
This might also be a blessing-Steve on leave, the people running things in his shadow will get some of the spotlight.
Might go towards allaying the fears of the idiots(analysts) who are screaming the sky is falling.
Woz hit the nail on the head. Give Steve 6 months away from Apple and he might realize the next big thing that people must have. Or the thing everyone has that sucks ass so Apple can do it better.
First!
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Yes! Final Poster! Well, at least until the next one….
He actually makes sense! Here’s hoping Steve returns with another change-the-world idea soon.
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In all fairness to Woz’s assessment, it’s been well-documented that the iMac would have to have been pretty much done by the time SJ rejoined the company. While he might have had a hand in approving the name, and perhaps even the “Bondi Blue” casing, the rest would have already been completely designed and engineered beforehand. After all, the iMac was already revealed in May of 1998 (then shipped three months later); it takes at least 18 months to put together a product launch like that…
I agree.
I am long AAPL like many others.
I think the wusses are LONG GONE.
At least some people I talk to, they keep saying they want to buy AAPL but are too scared to in this market.
Whatever.
The hedge funds probably just want to own AAPL at cheaper prices.
Only an idiot will wait to buy AAPL.
(I am sure many will take issue with that statement; whatever! Haha!)
MW: Economic (strange how MWs are so appropriate)
The great and powerful WOZ has spoken…
Ottawa Mark:
It’s not “well-documented” that iMac was “pretty much done” by the time SJ rejoined the company. In fact, your post is the first time I’ve ever heard that. I’m an eyewitness. I was actually there. One of the miracles of iMac is that Steve started the project when he got back to Apple and it went from design to market in just six months. Unprecedented. Mac OS X and iPhone aside, I don’t think any Apple project has taken 18 months since. Apple moves much faster than that.
Woz is right. Apple is not just one man. Apple has a wide, diversified pipe of products. And six months is a short term. No need to panic here, we are still seeing positive market share growth; maybe not at the same pace as earlier, but it’s growth.
Was at a IT department meeting yesterday, and we discussed how macs will be a desktop or laptop option for staff here. Two years ago I would have told you that was impossible at a stodgy company like mine, and now I am doing iPhone development. The enterprise revolution is under way!
So don’t fret over a six month leave of absence; Apple is in great shape to ride out the economic downturn or what any competitor throws at it.
I’m the last commenter!!!
(for about a second)
And NOBODY can take that away from me (for about a second)
HAHAHAHA!!!!
The Woz is blowing hot air as usual.
Jobs is Apple. Jobs is the visionary of Apple.
Everyone else at Apple works hard to fulfill the visions and demands of Jobs.
Add all the Apple employees together and they do not add up to one Steve Jobs.
Woz needs to come back to Apple and do good work like he used to do.
I doubt he will or if he did that he would have the kind of impact that Steve Jobs has had.
We need to realize that Steve Jobs is slipping away from us and is probably dying.
I shudder to think that the cold fish that is Tim Cook could take over Apple as CEO.
@Mark S. — please don’t make rash assumptions like that.