"More of the same, only better" has served the iPod very well. I am sure they are working on new devices which Steve will announce in July. People have been working on the device while Steve was not there but I am sure everyone will forget that.
P.S. Just wondering how anyone can pace themselves whilst charging ahead, aren't they the opposite?
Mike Rundle
· 5 months ago
An unemployed journalist (fired from eWEEK, right?) is challenging the CEO of Apple, a cancer survivor, to a contest of who can work harder?
I honestly would never normally leave a comment like this on anyone's blog, but oh man. You don't need Steve Jobs to return to Apple to make you look an idiot. You've done it all by yourself.
Richard Henry
· 5 months ago
iPhone 3GS count for nothing? While not the silliest thing I've ever read, this is certainly making a punch.
Oh, and John Gruber is calling you the 'Jackass of the Week'.
Paul Eccles
· 5 months ago
More of the same, only better - that's perfect for me!
Riggs Dawson
· 5 months ago
" Steve, by pacing yourself, quickly recovering and charging ahead"....
I don't know if you've survived cancer, because you certainly couldn't survive at eWeek, but the fact that he's back to work so soon under any circumstances is praise worthy indeed.
Stop and think for a moment before you post this armchair quarterback prattle.
Ted
· 5 months ago
Joe, this is ridiculous. Not every Apple product is an revolution. I'd say that Apple produces 5% revolutionary products, and the other 95% is evolutionary. You can't constantly reinvent the wheel. You need to recoup R&D, and you do that with incrementally improving the products you already have. Apple's "revolutionary" products over the last 10 years would include the (original) iMac, Mac OS X, and the iPhone. Everything else is just an evolutionary product, albeit very very good evolutions.
This article shows that you don't really understand what Jobs does at Apple, and what value he brings to the company in total.
Guy Umbright
· 5 months ago
I think perhaps you have the \stupid son of a bitch\ part right. I am guessing more people than Mr. Jobs would be happy to oblige.
Paul Eccles
· 5 months ago
Joe, prepare for the flames!
Andy
· 5 months ago
So are you suggesting Apple adopt the Microsoft strategy : More of the same, only worse ?
somebody
· 5 months ago
Hey Joe,
Your writing is more of the same, only worse.
Zak
· 5 months ago
This is an extraordinarily shortsighted rant for somebody who allegedly exists in the technosphere. All your complaints are about how awesome, or not-awesome, Apple's released products were in the last 6 months or so. Note that you're complaining about the products that were actually released in that timeframe, with complete disregard to how long it may have taken to actually design or program those things beforehand.
Do you honestly believe Apple comes up with products the day before they're released into stores? Did it never occur to you even once that it's possible that those very projects you claim aren't exciting enough were actually started while Jobs WAS running Apple day-to-day, before his liver transplant?
The lynchpin question of your poorly thought out rant is this: "What has Apple done truly innovative in your absence?" Ignoring your merciless slaughter of the English language there, anybody with even a basic knowledge of how product cycles work would immediately see the Mack truck-sized hole in your complaint: You haven't seen what Apple was working on while Steve was getting a new liver. Mostly because whatever they were working on is still being worked on and has not been released to the public.
This is common sense for most people. You are clearly not most people if you need all this explained to you.
"There may be some great products in the pipeline"
Really? You think? Can you see how contradictory your statements are there? You acknowledge that there is a pipeline, but you assert that everything released in the last 6 months had nothing to do with Jobs because he was in the hospital.
Oh, and please tell me you weren't aware that Jobs is actually capable of using a phone (maybe even an iPhone) to talk to people like Jony Ives and Schiller while he was in the hospital. You make it sound like Apple was a captainless vessel adrift on the seas of despair while Jobs was gone, which given the pipeline example and established product cycle facts seems extra ignorant on your part.
Your whole article is just... misguided, to be kind. For you to have any kind of valid point you're going to have to wait until it's been long enough for the products being developed over the last six months actually make it to market. When that happens, THEN you can rant about how the lack of Jobs in the house affected the products that are coming from Apple. But not before.
RawlinD
· 5 months ago
"He is available for writing, consulting and speaking engagements"
Ummm.
Attractive only for people looking for has-beens who snipe at people who actually. . . what's the word. . . actually BUILD stuff that millions of people like?
When was the last time. . . or ONLY time. . . you actually did something that millions of people actually liked?
I'm guessing 'never'. Since you're so available for speaking and writing.
Gareth
· 5 months ago
Perhaps you should run a similar analysis for when Steve Jobs was working full time prior to his recent absence. Surely, every iPod / iPod Classic from 2001 to 2009 is just more of the same, only better. OS X 10.0 to 10.5, isn't that just more of the same, only better. How about each iteration of iMac, Power Mac, iBook, PowerBook, Mac Pro, MacBook and MacBook Pro? More of the same, only better? Did Apple never just update the processors / tech spec in those products when SJ was there full time?
You just seem to be a hack looking for hits in order to get a job.
Justin
· 5 months ago
No no! Let me say it first!
You stupid son of a bitch.
Nikki Sixx
· 5 months ago
Here's a few other titles for your next posts:
- Michael Jackson scams concert goers by dying suddenly. - Obama should try to reach higher life goals. - Baby seals should stop being so cute and thank hard working hunters for killing them.
You're welcomed.
Matthew
· 5 months ago
Take jobs out the equation:
- OS X development slowed down after Tiger (maybe because there was less to do, but I don't think the desktop computing is anywhere near done or as user friendly as it could be) - Apple hasn't done much development on materials in a while. Aluminium is fine, but it does not offer the same strength to weight ratio as other materials and will dent. They have been shipping aluminium laptops for around 6 years now.
I think it is harder for Apple to generate excitement though because the bigger they get the more people expect. Size is an issue. Bigger companies move slower and are less nimble.
Chris
· 5 months ago
Joe, I guarantee you that everything Apple has released in the last six months was in the works before Steve took his medical leave.
James Wu
· 5 months ago
Had to check the byline to make sure John Dvorak hadn't relapsed in to his Mac hating old self...
Also, you know you're in trouble when members of Mötley Crüe (Nikki Sixx) are slagging you.
RetiredMidn
· 5 months ago
I know I shouldn't encourage such link bait by commenting, but...
Cheap troll.
SoyLocoMoco
· 5 months ago
What? What? Huh? I have never read a more stupid commentary than this. I guess you warned us with your tagline "...and Stupidity". Steve hasn't been away long enough for you to see a result of his absence. And to challenge an ailing cancer survivor to work more is pretty insensitive.
Ian Christian Myers
· 5 months ago
The iPhone is like a telegraph, only better. Therefore, the iPhone was not innovative.
You draw very odd lines between innovation and evolution and don't even acknowledge the innovations that make evolution possible.
TechNomad
· 5 months ago
Well, you definitely seem to have the stupidity part of your tag line in your grasp..
William Woody
· 5 months ago
The iPod came out in 2001. The iPhone in 2007. What did you expect? The iDash navigation for cars to be released in 2009? At the current rate of innovation, don't expect a new magic hat until 2013. Until then, Apple will do what it normally does: "more of the same, only better," and in the process use its existing product line to extend into new markets, rather than come up with a fleet of overlapping gadgets, like Sony.
In the future if you are going to comment on Apple, remember their modus operandi: (a) since Steve Jobs came back, they've been reducing SKUs, not increasing them, and (b) they've been adding features to the existing product line rather than coming out with new products. Thus, Apple doesn't need a handheld game platform; it has the iPod Touch and the iPhone--and despite not having a dedicated game platform they're eating Sony's PSP's lunch. If Apple wanted to compete against Garmin's in-car navigation--they'd just put a GPS receiver into the iPod Touch. If Netbooks start taking off, they'd just put a GPS receiver and optional cell transceiver in a stripped down Macbook Air.
"More of the same, only better."
And yet, somehow--even though it's just "more of the same, only better", you find that you don't need a Garmin GPS, a Microsoft Zune and a Motorola Razr; you just need your iPhone, and a suction cup mount.
One SKU, eating multiple lunches.
Lee
· 5 months ago
I'm glad to see John Dvorak mentioned here, as he's admitted on several occasions that all he has to do to get hits on his column is write something outrageous or provocative about Apple.
I hadn't seen this blog until you started spouting your theories and those of your friends about Steve Jobs' illness. They are largely in bad taste, but hide behind your self-stated desire to be reasonable or businesslike; at the very least, it's clear that you've found a way to get noticed in your post-career, but are nevertheless working at remaining a person you can live with.
I write now not to question your motives, but to warn you that you may not be able to have it both ways without actually being either more reasonable or more heartfelt than you are so far. You may get lots more hits than you used to, but you aren't really coming across as someone with as much insight or knowledge as you may actually have.
It reeks of desperation to throw fire bombs and then show up with bandages.
David
· 5 months ago
Who do you think you are?
scott
· 5 months ago
Joe -
I can't agree with your tagline more! Technology, Culture, and Stupidity, all in one place!
...
Wait, wait, wait...I thought you were going to expose stupidity! You only seem to be supplying it. My mistake (for reading this post).
(on a fairly obvious side note, when you're crowned jackass-of-the-week by gruber, be prepared for a roasting)
bv
· 5 months ago
this article will get you exactly what you wanted... site traffic. that's it... and believe me it will be very short lived with stupidity of this nature. peace. bv.
Bjorn Nitmo
· 5 months ago
It's laudable that you're chronicling technology, culture and (ostensibly) your own stupidity so please forgive me when I say that for a self-proclaimed writer, your writing is atrocious. Perhaps you should consider investing in a copy of The Elements of Style.
Rob
· 5 months ago
I'm confused...
Who is this Joe Wilcox and why does Daringfireball think we should care? I mean the sub-title of his blog, \Chronicle of Technology, Culture and Stupidity\, is self-depreciating enough.
Just let this one go. Joe Who???
Prateek
· 5 months ago
Wow. your retarded!
KJ
· 5 months ago
LOL. You should move "stupidity" to the first position in your tag line.
Bobby Whaler
· 5 months ago
I wish Gruber hadn't taken the bait. Clearly this is a desperate and sad ploy for traffic.
I am sorry to read that you lost your job. It can't be easy facing this economy, especially in your trade.
But "making a name for yourself" as a blogger using these tactics is not only self-defeating, it's morally wrong. (Hint on the job search: no one who reads this article will hire you. This was a massive strategic and tactical error. Yes, I sent this to my HR director.)
I am no Steve Jobs fan. I know the darker sides of the man. But he is a man who is fighting for his life--cancer, liver, et al.--and wants nothing more than to spend time with his family. (I'd wager his life expectancy isn't in the middle of the actuary tables any longer--something he and his family understand all too well.)
Here's my advice: go to your nearest hospital or hospice and sit in the waiting room and look at the faces of the people there. If you aren't near a facility, google some pictures. And look
Then write an apology, not only to Steve and his family, but to the broader community.
You sir, are an utter disgrace and need to align your values.
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Hi, Bobby,
Do you see any ads on this site? There was no "desperate and sad ploy for traffic." To what benefit?
There's no "making a name for myself." I made my name long time ago. What, you think John Gruber accidentally found this post? He posted the "Jackass of the Week" so fast, I wonder how he had time enough to really read what I wrote.
I know what it's like to fight for life. My mother had both legs partly amputated to save her life. But she has a bright, loving attitude despite her permanent affliction.
Your reaction surprises me. There is no criticism of Steve Jobs in this post. Only praise. Why don't you reread it. I'm glad that he's healthier and has returned to Apple. In the post, I encourage a speedy recovery. I wrote, for example: "Everybody, even cranky old me, is cheering for you, Steve."
You wrote: "I wish Gruber hadn’t taken the bait." Me, too, as this post wasn't meant to bait him. I wasn't trying to fan any flames here, but I assure you that Daring Fireball has thrown a Raging Fireball.
You question my values. I don't. I have the utmost respect for Steve Jobs, which I tried to express in a personal style. It's in part because I don't want to see Apple fall behind, particularly with Microsoft preparing to launch Windows 7, that I posted. Steve's comeback is important to him and the company he cofounded. Microsoft and its partners will cover the planet with advertising come autumn.
"More of the same, only better" isn't an indictment, but a call to excellence. In the post, I praise Tim Cook's handling of Apple--and all the management team.
As for an apology, if you are personally offended, no offense was intended. Beyond that, I stand by the post.
If there is offense, it is in the post's comments, which reflect poorly on the Mac community. I've been a Mac user since December 1998. I'm writing this comment on a MacBook Pro purchased just last week. I'm a big boy. I can take criticism. But I am ashamed of the response, because of how poorly such venom reflects on a community that espouses to the highest standards of creativity and free thinking.
Well, based on the comments, maybe not free thinking or free speech.
I can't respond to everyone. I chose you, Bobby, because your comment was more thoughtful than most. Thank you for that.
Joe
RattyUK
· 5 months ago
Ego on a stick! Way to go Joe.
whatever
· 5 months ago
So you can't see just how arrogant a "personal challenge to steve jobs" comes across? You do realise that generally people get challenged to do better by people that ARE better than them? Not saying you're not, but that just smacks of arrogance.
Not to mention that basically what you're saying is Apple can't innovate without Steve Jobs.
This combined with you seemingly thinking that a product pipeline at a company like Apple is only 6 months long and ignoring the core fact that Apple is ALL about incrementally iterating until perfection will of course result in people thinking you're a jackass.
Hamranhansenhansen
· 5 months ago
For many years, Apple has been following this same cycle. They introduce something and then iterate on it again and again. Nothing has changed.
If you compare the first 3 iPods to the first 3 iPhones, it is the same, there were no revolutionary changes, they just evolved the thing at every level. For example, the click wheel changed from being made of many parts in the first iPod to being a few parts in the second to being one part in the third. The whole time it was a palm-sized white brick with a silver back and a grayscale screen.
Mac OS X is even more predictable. There are 2 Leopards and there were also 2 Tigers. The first of each was all sizzle, with dramatic new user-facing features such as Spotlight and Time Machine. The second of each was pure steak: in Tiger for Intel (Snow Tiger), the major feature is support for Intel architecture, and in Snow Leopard it's refining that same support with regards to multiple cores and 64-bit and tuning especially for Intel.
So even without Steve Jobs, Apple continued to do what it has been doing for quite some time. Similarly, Apple is just as secretive as ever, not more so or less so, as some have said.
I'm looking forward to Steve's first Apple Event, but I don't see how he's late or behind. He can take his time and recuperate and hopefully introduce new iPods for back-to-school and hopefully those will include an iPod HD or iBook or whatever a big iPod should be called.
I have a MacBook Air with NVIDIA and an iPhone 3GS (the space was Steved) and it's really hard to complain about Apple's current products. If I pay $29 for Snow Leopard and $79 for iLife '10 when it is out, then all of the software on both of these computers will be updated by Apple automatically for the rest of their lives.
They are taking good care of their users as usual. The challenge is for the rest of the industry to do the same.
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Thanks for the thoughtful, rather than derogatory response. I'm glad that you are satisfied with Apple and its products. I agree that "the challenge is for the rest of the industry to do the same." I'm an Apple fan, too.
Andrew
· 5 months ago
To argue with just one of your many flawed points, you're suggesting that products released in January, such as iLife 09, were developed without Steve's input, when he began his leave in January? So iLife 09 was developed in a matter or hours or days, and not under the watchful eye of an ailing, but present, Steve Jobs for several months before its release?
At the same time, you're suggesting that significant updates to several flagship products (MacBook Pro, iPhone) in a 6 month period is insufficient? No company can invent, develop, release, and market an entirely new product every few weeks as you seem to desire. Instead they must improve existing product lines, as Apple always has...
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Hi, Andrew,
I know what product lifecycles are like. Steve clearly wasn't his usual healthy stuff at WWDC 2008. I'm assuming much longer period than six months, which I should have explicitly expressed.
Strange that the point of the post--that Apple really does need Steve Jobs--has been lost on some other commenters.
I thank you for your thoughtful response.
Joe
Zak
· 5 months ago
I don't think you even know what the point of your post was. Just now you said you assumed a product cycle longer than six months, while in the same breath saying that Apple still needs Steve Jobs.
Do you still not get what is wrong with what you're saying? You are basing your entire "Apple needs Jobs" statement on the quality of the products RELEASED in the last six months. During the time those products were in development, Steve Jobs was working at Apple every day.
Your entire article is deeply flawed by this logical fallacy you keep repeating. You say Apple needs Jobs because of these products, but fail to acknowledge that Jobs was at the helm of Apple when those products were developed.
If you had thought this through, you would have come to the conclusion that if anything, Jobs is directly responsible for these products that you claim lack innovation, since he was the guy in charge when they were developed. I don't think I can make it any clearer, so if you still don't get why you are wrong about this, you probably never will.
Scott Lewis
· 5 months ago
Let's not bring Dvorak into this. Dvorak brings humor to technology, and admits to fanning the flames from time to time. What this article does is bring poor taste and inappropriate behavior to the forefront under the guise of an technology blog post. Of course, that's nothing compared to your earlier posts asking where Steve Jobs was. I should hope that if I ever have to suffer through something that awful (cancer and a liver transplant) that I have the strength to come back that quickly. And hopefully without the snide remarks of an unemployed blogger.
Scott Falkner
· 5 months ago
First paragraph, penultimate sentence: You beat him to it.
Maine people tend to be independent and opinionated. Some are wacky, too. You think Stephen King makes up all those strange people in his stories? I swear that some of those characters were neighbors.
But give Maine some praise, too, for buying more Mac laptops--this time for high schoolers. No state school system deploys as many Macs per student as Maine.
Joe
John
· 5 months ago
I had to say that because I'm originally from NH. I've been following your blogs for quite awhile. Great stuff. Interesting about Macs in maine for the school system.
kellyp
· 5 months ago
Umm Joe, you really didn't think challenging a cancer surviving, organ transplant recoverer would bring a little heat? Why not challenge Apple as a whole, regardless of Steve Jobs, to innovate? Why not ask the technology industry to innovate?
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Hi, Kelly,
My post doesn't criticize Steve anywhere, but praises him. Repeatedly. The challenge was for him to prove my previous assessment wrong. For him to recover quickly and perform the magic he is renown for. I stand by that challenge, which means for him to make a speedy recovery.
I've been challenging the industry to innovate for years--as have many others.
Best,
Joe
Jeff
· 5 months ago
Joe, that really was priceless. Thanks for throwing yourself up there as the target of the week! As far as I'm concerned, Apple can keep on keeping on with progress in the right direction, unlike your present curve....
Steven Fisher
· 5 months ago
Even rereading your post after your explanation of what you thought you were writing, it still reads as a trolling attempt. I think you need an editor. Maybe you can find another writer that you can run your stories past, possibly for returning the favor. Because you completely missed the tone you wanted here.
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Thanks for rereading, Steven. I've been writing for more than 25 years, the last 10 largely without an editor.
Perhaps Steve Jobs is too sensitive a topic, and there was no way to write a personal post without inflaming somebody. Although, I strongly suspect there wouldn't have been so strong a reaction if not for John Gruber's post.
A Mac journalist friend said that if this had been posted at eWEEK, there would probably be many supportive commenters, not just the attackers here. He might be right.
I think you made a point by listing every "more of the same, only better / cheaper" thing Apple has done in only 6 months.
But it wasn't the point you intended.
What other company can you name that has released 10 or so major "more of the same, only better" products in the last 6 MONTHS? And all without their incredibly important CEO?
By the way, if you're wondering why everybody's calling you names, you might consider the fact that you made a brazen "prove me wrong" challenge in your first paragraph to someone who has only had 2 months to recover from a major surgery that usually takes about 6 months of recovery and has a less than 60% long-term survival rate.
Give Steve some time, and if Apple can do this much "more of the same only better" every 6 months, with or without him, I'll be happy.
Ralf
· 5 months ago
Hi Joe,
I've read all of your comments, reread the article, and I came to this conclusion:
You stupid son of a bitch.
Thom
· 5 months ago
I guess the page views count for something even with these comments. But you do know he had a liver transplant...?
Joe Wilcox
· 5 months ago
Hi Thom,
There are no ads here; I'm not interested in pageviews. If I were, certainly not from this kind of gutter commenting. Sure, I know Steve had a liver transplant. I wish him the best, as I repeatedly expressed in the post. Don't you?
Joe
iMikeyMike
· 5 months ago
G'day Joe,
Your having no ads does not mean you have no reason to want more hits … maybe you want notoriety or attention in an attempt to re-ignite your flagging carreer … good luck with that.
25 years writing , 10 without an editor, now no longer employed … anyone else see a pattern here?
Here's hoping for a succesful recovery for Steve and your carreer … something tells me Steve's going to get there first.
Mikey
SpGNo
· 5 months ago
Have you ever considered suicide? maybe it's time for you to start.
I mean, really, an unemployed 'analyst' fired from EWeek telling a liver transplant patient to prove something to him. This is your contribution to our beautiful planet? Bullying liver transplant patients to overexert themselves? Is it really worth waking up in the morning so you can impotently demand a person who acheived more by the time he was 30 than you will in your entire meaningless life live up to your stupid challenge.
Maybe next you can try and challenge lung transplant patients to run a marathon or paraplegics to play hopscotch. You could go to burn wards and challenge the kids getting skin grafts to play little league as fast as possible. "What I love these burnt kids I didn't say anything bad about them, I just want them playing little league ASAP." meanwhile the kids are crying because their doctor says they will die if they go outside. I have an idea: don't give advice to people with serious medical conditions about how hard they should be working. Cause you sound like a total ass when you do.
Scott
· 5 months ago
OMG!!! Someone who makes Dvorak and Enderle look smart. Save your severance package. You'll need it.
cloudshine
· 5 months ago
Joe, I've been reading your writings even in Microsoft Watch and you've given us very good insight into various technologies. I'm saddened to see such vulgar comments in this blog. My sincere plea to these commentators is that please don't use such harsh words..they will come back to you someday. The daring(cheap)fireball guy is not even qualified to write anything on the web. with this comment he has degraded himself and surely will lose his viewers if he continues this. Mike and many other claim that Joe has been fired from eWEEK. I don't think so..that page still has Joes last update and no one else seems to have taken that (eweek just killed it to save some bucks). Even if he got fired, what have these commentators achieved in their life more, when they don't even have the manners to comment. Your greatness is in your character and truthfullness and not in saving your job. Guys, pls refrain from such filthy comments and don't expose your trueself to others.
Bob
· 5 months ago
I'm with you, Cloudshine! Joe probably could have worded his "Plea to Steve Jobs" post a little better, but some of the responses he's received are absolutely appalling. This utter lack of civility is ruining the on-line experience for a lot of us. Not to mention the outright cruelty!
For those of you who are taking a perverse sort of glee out of Joe's losing his job at eWeek: You could be next. Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
sfmitch
· 5 months ago
Joe - this blog post is a train wreck. Even after reading your comments and Commentary with clarification, this post just comes across really poorly.
I do feel bad for you, though. There are a number of commenters who go over the line. Who's the Jackass who suggested suicide? Seriously!
All Comments
P.S. Just wondering how anyone can pace themselves whilst charging ahead, aren't they the opposite?
Astounding.
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/06/30/wilcox
Oh, and John Gruber is calling you the 'Jackass of the Week'.
I don't know if you've survived cancer, because you certainly couldn't survive at eWeek, but the fact that he's back to work so soon under any circumstances is praise worthy indeed.
Stop and think for a moment before you post this armchair quarterback prattle.
This article shows that you don't really understand what Jobs does at Apple, and what value he brings to the company in total.
Your writing is more of the same, only worse.
Do you honestly believe Apple comes up with products the day before they're released into stores? Did it never occur to you even once that it's possible that those very projects you claim aren't exciting enough were actually started while Jobs WAS running Apple day-to-day, before his liver transplant?
The lynchpin question of your poorly thought out rant is this: "What has Apple done truly innovative in your absence?" Ignoring your merciless slaughter of the English language there, anybody with even a basic knowledge of how product cycles work would immediately see the Mack truck-sized hole in your complaint: You haven't seen what Apple was working on while Steve was getting a new liver. Mostly because whatever they were working on is still being worked on and has not been released to the public.
This is common sense for most people. You are clearly not most people if you need all this explained to you.
"There may be some great products in the pipeline"
Really? You think? Can you see how contradictory your statements are there? You acknowledge that there is a pipeline, but you assert that everything released in the last 6 months had nothing to do with Jobs because he was in the hospital.
Oh, and please tell me you weren't aware that Jobs is actually capable of using a phone (maybe even an iPhone) to talk to people like Jony Ives and Schiller while he was in the hospital. You make it sound like Apple was a captainless vessel adrift on the seas of despair while Jobs was gone, which given the pipeline example and established product cycle facts seems extra ignorant on your part.
Your whole article is just... misguided, to be kind. For you to have any kind of valid point you're going to have to wait until it's been long enough for the products being developed over the last six months actually make it to market. When that happens, THEN you can rant about how the lack of Jobs in the house affected the products that are coming from Apple. But not before.
Ummm.
Attractive only for people looking for has-beens who snipe at people who actually. . . what's the word. . . actually BUILD stuff that millions of people like?
When was the last time. . . or ONLY time. . . you actually did something that millions of people actually liked?
I'm guessing 'never'. Since you're so available for speaking and writing.
You just seem to be a hack looking for hits in order to get a job.
You stupid son of a bitch.
- Michael Jackson scams concert goers by dying suddenly.
- Obama should try to reach higher life goals.
- Baby seals should stop being so cute and thank hard working hunters for killing them.
You're welcomed.
- OS X development slowed down after Tiger (maybe because there was less to do, but I don't think the desktop computing is anywhere near done or as user friendly as it could be)
- Apple hasn't done much development on materials in a while. Aluminium is fine, but it does not offer the same strength to weight ratio as other materials and will dent. They have been shipping aluminium laptops for around 6 years now.
I think it is harder for Apple to generate excitement though because the bigger they get the more people expect. Size is an issue. Bigger companies move slower and are less nimble.
Also, you know you're in trouble when members of Mötley Crüe (Nikki Sixx) are slagging you.
Cheap troll.
You draw very odd lines between innovation and evolution and don't even acknowledge the innovations that make evolution possible.
In the future if you are going to comment on Apple, remember their modus operandi: (a) since Steve Jobs came back, they've been reducing SKUs, not increasing them, and (b) they've been adding features to the existing product line rather than coming out with new products. Thus, Apple doesn't need a handheld game platform; it has the iPod Touch and the iPhone--and despite not having a dedicated game platform they're eating Sony's PSP's lunch. If Apple wanted to compete against Garmin's in-car navigation--they'd just put a GPS receiver into the iPod Touch. If Netbooks start taking off, they'd just put a GPS receiver and optional cell transceiver in a stripped down Macbook Air.
"More of the same, only better."
And yet, somehow--even though it's just "more of the same, only better", you find that you don't need a Garmin GPS, a Microsoft Zune and a Motorola Razr; you just need your iPhone, and a suction cup mount.
One SKU, eating multiple lunches.
I hadn't seen this blog until you started spouting your theories and those of your friends about Steve Jobs' illness. They are largely in bad taste, but hide behind your self-stated desire to be reasonable or businesslike; at the very least, it's clear that you've found a way to get noticed in your post-career, but are nevertheless working at remaining a person you can live with.
I write now not to question your motives, but to warn you that you may not be able to have it both ways without actually being either more reasonable or more heartfelt than you are so far. You may get lots more hits than you used to, but you aren't really coming across as someone with as much insight or knowledge as you may actually have.
It reeks of desperation to throw fire bombs and then show up with bandages.
I can't agree with your tagline more! Technology, Culture, and Stupidity, all in one place!
...
Wait, wait, wait...I thought you were going to expose stupidity! You only seem to be supplying it. My mistake (for reading this post).
(on a fairly obvious side note, when you're crowned jackass-of-the-week by gruber, be prepared for a roasting)
that's it...
and believe me it will be very short lived with stupidity of this nature.
peace.
bv.
Who is this Joe Wilcox and why does Daringfireball think we should care? I mean the sub-title of his blog, \Chronicle of Technology, Culture and Stupidity\, is self-depreciating enough.
Just let this one go. Joe Who???
I am sorry to read that you lost your job. It can't be easy facing this economy, especially in your trade.
But "making a name for yourself" as a blogger using these tactics is not only self-defeating, it's morally wrong. (Hint on the job search: no one who reads this article will hire you. This was a massive strategic and tactical error. Yes, I sent this to my HR director.)
I am no Steve Jobs fan. I know the darker sides of the man. But he is a man who is fighting for his life--cancer, liver, et al.--and wants nothing more than to spend time with his family. (I'd wager his life expectancy isn't in the middle of the actuary tables any longer--something he and his family understand all too well.)
Here's my advice: go to your nearest hospital or hospice and sit in the waiting room and look at the faces of the people there. If you aren't near a facility, google some pictures. And look
Then write an apology, not only to Steve and his family, but to the broader community.
You sir, are an utter disgrace and need to align your values.
Do you see any ads on this site? There was no "desperate and sad ploy for traffic." To what benefit?
There's no "making a name for myself." I made my name long time ago. What, you think John Gruber accidentally found this post? He posted the "Jackass of the Week" so fast, I wonder how he had time enough to really read what I wrote.
I know what it's like to fight for life. My mother had both legs partly amputated to save her life. But she has a bright, loving attitude despite her permanent affliction.
Your reaction surprises me. There is no criticism of Steve Jobs in this post. Only praise. Why don't you reread it. I'm glad that he's healthier and has returned to Apple. In the post, I encourage a speedy recovery. I wrote, for example: "Everybody, even cranky old me, is cheering for you, Steve."
You wrote: "I wish Gruber hadn’t taken the bait." Me, too, as this post wasn't meant to bait him. I wasn't trying to fan any flames here, but I assure you that Daring Fireball has thrown a Raging Fireball.
You question my values. I don't. I have the utmost respect for Steve Jobs, which I tried to express in a personal style. It's in part because I don't want to see Apple fall behind, particularly with Microsoft preparing to launch Windows 7, that I posted. Steve's comeback is important to him and the company he cofounded. Microsoft and its partners will cover the planet with advertising come autumn.
"More of the same, only better" isn't an indictment, but a call to excellence. In the post, I praise Tim Cook's handling of Apple--and all the management team.
As for an apology, if you are personally offended, no offense was intended. Beyond that, I stand by the post.
If there is offense, it is in the post's comments, which reflect poorly on the Mac community. I've been a Mac user since December 1998. I'm writing this comment on a MacBook Pro purchased just last week. I'm a big boy. I can take criticism. But I am ashamed of the response, because of how poorly such venom reflects on a community that espouses to the highest standards of creativity and free thinking.
Well, based on the comments, maybe not free thinking or free speech.
I can't respond to everyone. I chose you, Bobby, because your comment was more thoughtful than most. Thank you for that.
Joe
Not to mention that basically what you're saying is Apple can't innovate without Steve Jobs.
This combined with you seemingly thinking that a product pipeline at a company like Apple is only 6 months long and ignoring the core fact that Apple is ALL about incrementally iterating until perfection will of course result in people thinking you're a jackass.
If you compare the first 3 iPods to the first 3 iPhones, it is the same, there were no revolutionary changes, they just evolved the thing at every level. For example, the click wheel changed from being made of many parts in the first iPod to being a few parts in the second to being one part in the third. The whole time it was a palm-sized white brick with a silver back and a grayscale screen.
Mac OS X is even more predictable. There are 2 Leopards and there were also 2 Tigers. The first of each was all sizzle, with dramatic new user-facing features such as Spotlight and Time Machine. The second of each was pure steak: in Tiger for Intel (Snow Tiger), the major feature is support for Intel architecture, and in Snow Leopard it's refining that same support with regards to multiple cores and 64-bit and tuning especially for Intel.
So even without Steve Jobs, Apple continued to do what it has been doing for quite some time. Similarly, Apple is just as secretive as ever, not more so or less so, as some have said.
I'm looking forward to Steve's first Apple Event, but I don't see how he's late or behind. He can take his time and recuperate and hopefully introduce new iPods for back-to-school and hopefully those will include an iPod HD or iBook or whatever a big iPod should be called.
I have a MacBook Air with NVIDIA and an iPhone 3GS (the space was Steved) and it's really hard to complain about Apple's current products. If I pay $29 for Snow Leopard and $79 for iLife '10 when it is out, then all of the software on both of these computers will be updated by Apple automatically for the rest of their lives.
They are taking good care of their users as usual. The challenge is for the rest of the industry to do the same.
At the same time, you're suggesting that significant updates to several flagship products (MacBook Pro, iPhone) in a 6 month period is insufficient? No company can invent, develop, release, and market an entirely new product every few weeks as you seem to desire. Instead they must improve existing product lines, as Apple always has...
I know what product lifecycles are like. Steve clearly wasn't his usual healthy stuff at WWDC 2008. I'm assuming much longer period than six months, which I should have explicitly expressed.
Strange that the point of the post--that Apple really does need Steve Jobs--has been lost on some other commenters.
I thank you for your thoughtful response.
Joe
Do you still not get what is wrong with what you're saying? You are basing your entire "Apple needs Jobs" statement on the quality of the products RELEASED in the last six months. During the time those products were in development, Steve Jobs was working at Apple every day.
Your entire article is deeply flawed by this logical fallacy you keep repeating. You say Apple needs Jobs because of these products, but fail to acknowledge that Jobs was at the helm of Apple when those products were developed.
If you had thought this through, you would have come to the conclusion that if anything, Jobs is directly responsible for these products that you claim lack innovation, since he was the guy in charge when they were developed. I don't think I can make it any clearer, so if you still don't get why you are wrong about this, you probably never will.
http://www.google.com/search?&q=nomex
Maine people tend to be independent and opinionated. Some are wacky, too. You think Stephen King makes up all those strange people in his stories? I swear that some of those characters were neighbors.
But give Maine some praise, too, for buying more Mac laptops--this time for high schoolers. No state school system deploys as many Macs per student as Maine.
Joe
My post doesn't criticize Steve anywhere, but praises him. Repeatedly. The challenge was for him to prove my previous assessment wrong. For him to recover quickly and perform the magic he is renown for. I stand by that challenge, which means for him to make a speedy recovery.
I've been challenging the industry to innovate for years--as have many others.
Best,
Joe
Perhaps Steve Jobs is too sensitive a topic, and there was no way to write a personal post without inflaming somebody. Although, I strongly suspect there wouldn't have been so strong a reaction if not for John Gruber's post.
A Mac journalist friend said that if this had been posted at eWEEK, there would probably be many supportive commenters, not just the attackers here. He might be right.
My last personal letter post was to Steve Ballmer about giving up on Yahoo: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/advertis.... This isn't a new approach for me. Just a different Steve
Thanks,
Joe
But it wasn't the point you intended.
What other company can you name that has released 10 or so major "more of the same, only better" products in the last 6 MONTHS? And all without their incredibly important CEO?
By the way, if you're wondering why everybody's calling you names, you might consider the fact that you made a brazen "prove me wrong" challenge in your first paragraph to someone who has only had 2 months to recover from a major surgery that usually takes about 6 months of recovery and has a less than 60% long-term survival rate.
Give Steve some time, and if Apple can do this much "more of the same only better" every 6 months, with or without him, I'll be happy.
I've read all of your comments, reread the article, and I came to this conclusion:
You stupid son of a bitch.
There are no ads here; I'm not interested in pageviews. If I were, certainly not from this kind of gutter commenting. Sure, I know Steve had a liver transplant. I wish him the best, as I repeatedly expressed in the post. Don't you?
Joe
Your having no ads does not mean you have no reason to want more hits … maybe you want notoriety or attention in an attempt to re-ignite your flagging carreer … good luck with that.
25 years writing , 10 without an editor, now no longer employed … anyone else see a pattern here?
Here's hoping for a succesful recovery for Steve and your carreer … something tells me Steve's going to get there first.
Mikey
I mean, really, an unemployed 'analyst' fired from EWeek telling a liver transplant patient to prove something to him. This is your contribution to our beautiful planet? Bullying liver transplant patients to overexert themselves? Is it really worth waking up in the morning so you can impotently demand a person who acheived more by the time he was 30 than you will in your entire meaningless life live up to your stupid challenge.
Maybe next you can try and challenge lung transplant patients to run a marathon or paraplegics to play hopscotch. You could go to burn wards and challenge the kids getting skin grafts to play little league as fast as possible. "What I love these burnt kids I didn't say anything bad about them, I just want them playing little league ASAP." meanwhile the kids are crying because their doctor says they will die if they go outside. I have an idea: don't give advice to people with serious medical conditions about how hard they should be working. Cause you sound like a total ass when you do.
The daring(cheap)fireball guy is not even qualified to write anything on the web. with this comment he has degraded himself and surely will lose his viewers if he continues this.
Mike and many other claim that Joe has been fired from eWEEK. I don't think so..that page still has Joes last update and no one else seems to have taken that (eweek just killed it to save some bucks). Even if he got fired, what have these commentators achieved in their life more, when they don't even have the manners to comment. Your greatness is in your character and truthfullness and not in saving your job.
Guys, pls refrain from such filthy comments and don't expose your trueself to others.
For those of you who are taking a perverse sort of glee out of Joe's losing his job at eWeek: You could be next. Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
I do feel bad for you, though. There are a number of commenters who go over the line. Who's the Jackass who suggested suicide? Seriously!
Tomorrow is another day...