It’s the Mac, Stupid
Well, if my last post didn’t cause a flurry of activity. Seems it got picked up on Reddit and a few other places. Over the last few days I’ve seen the comments and trackbacks roll in, read a variety of similarly-timed posts griping about Apple, all a variety on a theme, and I should think everyone is getting sick of it by now, but maybe that’s just me.
It seems most people read my last post as:
I’m mad at Apple because [YOUR GRIPE HERE]
So let’s be clear! I wrote my post as a Mac developer who, for months now, has been concerned that Apple isn’t putting 100% into Leopard, which represents the future of the Mac. I obviously have a stake there because that’s what I do and I don’t want to change jobs anytime soon. My second concern was that, having found continued success with a profitable business model that offered a good deal to its customers, recent events show that attitudes may be changing at Apple.
And why? Because Apple currently has no equal, whether it’s the Mac, the iPod or the iPhone. Unchecked, this can only lead to trouble.
Everyone has their viewpoint and this is mine: as a Mac developer, what’s good for Apple is good for me, except when it’s only good for Apple, then it becomes good for nobody.
As I said, there’s plenty being written about Apple right now, but I haven’t seen much on the state of the Mac. However, I know a number of other developers feel just as strongly about the situation. Our advance exposure to and reliance on future versions of Mac OS X probably places us ahead of the curve.
I’m not saying Leopard sucks, there is plenty of good stuff in there, but there are many concerns about the design decisions made. We also know its development was delayed by the iPhone. We will not know of any further impact until Leopard is released. No Mac user will appreciate a substandard update to Mac OS X and to delay it again for the same reason wouldn’t go down well (although better that than release something that is not ready).
Did the best talent go to the iPhone? We all know the answer to that one.
These next few months should be interesting. Debates around the iPhone will probably burn out soon and if Apple releases Leopard as planned, and it’s sound, it will avoid another, perhaps more damaging backlash. Next month the iPhone will make its European debut and things should stabilise a bit. By the time we get to Macworld in January – the first anniversary of the iPhone’s announcement – the whole landscape will have changed thanks to what must have been the biggest PR whirlwind in Apple’s history. Let’s hope the balance is restored.