iSteve Legacy Issues

"To make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

Carl Sagan Not iSteve Jobs, but I couldn't resist.
I'm sure from where he sits it looks like he did

When you're small and nobody cares, you don't have an installed base. You don't have a large group of competitors and customers who watch your every move. You don't have to pay attention to the past because everyone in the cult is focusd on the future. The "Next Great Thing" is coming around the corner and altho it will wipe out all the investment in the old now not-so Great Things Eeveryone will be greatful because its all "so cool"... At least that's the way it used to work. But back then, you weren't jerking your market of early adopters and newly loyal fans with 20% price reductions within 90 days of introduction. One sure way to slow the cult movement towards their wallets for the "Next Great Thing" is to make a substantial portion feel like fools for being an early adopter. The market quickly learns that when discounts are coming, wait for them. (GM-FORD-CHRYSLER can teach some lessons on inventory and discount management. if they every learned em.)

Life in the big leagues was never easy. Guerrillas are always the small, quick and sexy guys who have to stay one-step ahead otherwise they get crushed. Leaning how to be a major brand with a large legacy and install base is gonna be akward... Luckily, the folks at One Infinite Loop are so much smarter than anybody. except possibly those at the "Do No Evil Empire"...

Apple CEO Jobs offers early iPhone buyers a $100 credit

September 6, 2007 (09-06) 04:00 PDT (09-06) CUPERTINO -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs, flooded with e-mails from angry customers after the company lopped $200 off the price of the iPhone just two months after its premiere, on Thursday apologized to early buyers and offered them a $100 credit.

In an open letter on Apple's Web site, Jobs said that even though price drops are a reality in the personal technology world, the company is going to make sure it takes care of existing customers, even as it pursues new users with the aggressive price reduction. "We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers," Jobs wrote. "We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple."

IPhone buyers will be eligible for a $100 credit good toward the purchase of any product at any Apple store or at Apple's online store. Jobs said more details will be released next week. Apple's surprise decision to lower the price of the iPhone was a move to "go for it" for the holidays, said Jobs, in an attempt to attract customers.

The price cut came during a press event Wednesday in which Jobs introduced a touch-screen iPod similar to the iPhone along with a revamped iPod Nano. Jobs also said Apple is discontinuing its 4-GB iPhone.

But why can't iSteve seem share any of the charisma-? Valley fever, jealousy or is the slightly dangerous Guerrilla Markeeter really THAT much better than everyone else?

CIOs Uncensored: When It Comes To IT, Cool Is As Cool Does
Sure, Steve Jobs is the King of Cool--but cool is as cool does.Is IT cool?

After you've finished guffawing, consider this: Why is Apple's Steve Jobs the king of cool, but very little of that tech glitz and glamour seems to rub off on IT?

The "Transaction Apple" makes everyone pay for the small bites they take as it bobs in the ocean of data. 20 years ago, I was engaged in a deep discussion on the future of business economics and business cycles. His argument that the world was moving to rental fees and transaction costs seemed absurd, to me at the time.

How could we move from equity and ownership to share croppers and tenant farmers in the IT and service industry fields-? How would we surrender the hard earned freedoms and liberties that came from property ownership to the movable masses that can be casually disregarded by the rulers of the realm... He was right... I'm not yet entirely wrong. But it may be coming soon.

New devices should help Apple continue its dominance

You gotta love the people at Apple. They get the country all hopped up on iPhone madness and then just when you think they can't keep it going, they do just that.

IPhone: The $200 price cut on the iPhone was bigger and came sooner than I imagined. It sort of makes sense, though. If you're going to put out a 16-GB iPod Touch for $399, you don't want it cutting into potential iPhone sales. Here, they make the iPhone attractive at $399 for people who want a cell phone/iPod and are prepared to make the jump to AT&T. And for those who don't, you get an iPod that gives you a lot of the same pizzazz and more capacity but doesn't force you to leave your carrier.

IPod Nano: I got a chance to take home one of the thin iPod Nanos. It's the same size overall as the old Nano, but the front edges are tapered all the way around, giving the whole thing a softer look.

And the video playback is quite nice. I'm not sure I'd want to watch a movie on it, but it's pretty good. Not ideal because of the size, but very bright and serviceable. And the new interface is a nice touch. The pane on the right side allows you to peek at the cover art as it sort of floats by.

IPod Touch: The Touch is about 3 millimeters thinner than the iPhone and it really does feel svelte. The construction is a little different from the iPhone, with the familiar shiny stainless steel of the old iPod on the back. The bezel on the front is more pronounced and looks more like a dark gray carbon rather than the stainless steel halo that surrounds the iPhone.

ITunes Wi-Fi Music Store: The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is one of those nice things we hoped for but weren't exactly sure we'd see. But it's cool that you can now download music when you're out and about.

You still have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot, but now with the partnership with Starbucks, that shouldn't be too hard. You can't download videos, but you do get access to iTunes' 6 million songs.

Apple people have been touting the PC download model as the only thing going, so it's nice to see them embrace Wi-Fi downloads.

HD Radio

Apple is working with iPod dock makers JBL and Polk on a system that allows anything heard on an HD Radio/iPod dock system to be tagged and sent to an iPod, which will later be transferred to iTunes. Once on iTunes, a playlist is presented where users can purchase any tracks they heard while listening to HD Radio. iBiquity will be working with HD Radio stations to make this iTunes Tagging an industry-wide standard.

Polk will release the i-Sonic ES2 iPod dock first which will feature the Tag button, followed by the JBl iHD this holiday season. There are plans for Tag buttons to be placed in cars and more iPod docks in 2008.

Here's how it works: iTunes Tagging enables consumers using HD Radio receivers that have been equipped with a special 'Tag' button, to tag songs that they hear on the FM dial. Information about these tagged songs is then stored by the receiver and transferred to the individual's iPod. When the iPod is connected to a computer, the new iTunes software automatically presents the songs in a Tagged playlist so that the consumer can preview, buy and download them

"iTunes tagging takes music discovery on the radio to the next level," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod Product Marketing. "When a song plays on your HD Radio that you like, a simple push of a button will tag it and later give you the chance to preview, purchase, and enjoy it with iTunes and your iPod."

Rob Struble, CEO of iBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology, said, "Research consistently shows that radio is the predominant source of music discovery. Now, with iTunes Tagging, HD Radio technology provides a cool new way to capture the songs listeners discover, buy them on iTunes and then enjoy them. We are especially pleased that so many broadcasters came together so quickly for the initial launch." Several major broadcasters will implement iTunes Tagging, initially across hundreds of stations. Additional stations and broadcast groups are expected to join soon, with a formal announcement of participating groups planned for later this year at the NAB Radio convention, September 26 - 28.

Thanks to the DMCA and the RCAA... Apple Profits will remain high... Of course, should you lose your machine or upgrade or even choose to deal with another equipment maker or artists outside the RCAA Plantation...well, live will be a bit more difficult. Just a little bit.

A reasonable debate about royalties and fees in a competitive world would be much better than the high-priced lobbyist shackles that were given to the high-priced help on Capital Hill. A rigged game is better than an open market anytime... Especially when you're the one doing the rigging.

The "Do-No-Evil Empire" says "all your data is ours"... iSteve says "all your entertainment is ours" both want only a small transaction fee for their trouble... Their property rights and equity ownership will make them rich. You-? You get to keep working.... tug the forelock when they pass...it doesn't bother them but it will remind you who is the master and who pays the rents and who collects them.

Will we surrender our other property rights as easily?

Your list of lost liberties and rights might be interesting....