News Commentary – Why is Apple the only technology newsmaker left?
On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.
This week’s news story is from Forbes and written by the AP News and concerns the return of Steve Jobs to the stage for Apple.
The AP News story reports dutifully on Apple’s latest announcements about their new iPods, iTunes, and iPhone OS releases.
Frobes – Analyst upgrades Apple on CEO return, new products
“PHILADELPHIA — An analyst upgraded Apple Inc. Thursday on the return of CEO Steve Jobs and the strength of a slate of new or upgraded products, including a video-capable Nano…
On Wednesday, Jobs returned to the spotlight at a product launch event in San Francisco that resembled a rock concert. Jobs is considered to be critical to Apple’s success, and the company’s fortunes rose and fell on news of his health.”
What I find depressing, is that Apple and Steve Jobs seems to be the only information technology company left that can actually create news. When Apple talks – the mass media listen, write, and publish the story. Microsoft, HP, Palm and Cisco try their hardest, but cannot buy that kind of press coverage. When did Apple become the only company in the space that could actually capture the imagination of the masses?
Is the problem that all the other big companies in the space simply became boring, non-innovative, and unimaginative, or is it that the press became uninterested in what they had to say? Unfortunately, I think that it might actually be a little bit of both. I am scratching my head and the only Microsoft product announcements that I can think of in the past year are the Zune HD and Windows 7. Cisco, I cannot name a single big announcement, HP tried to get us excited by a wi-fi enabled printer. Palm launched the Pre smart phone. I long for the days when these companies plus Sun, Oracle, Compaq, and AT&T could all grab the spotlight. Maybe, just maybe, our industry has matured to the point where there is just nothing left to wow us with?
What do you think? Is Apple just that good or is everybody else just that boring? Please comment below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for September 13, 2009.
Image credits: Apple Computers
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Scott – You make some good points. I do think that Apple has that “coolness” factor as it delivers products to the individual consumer. Unlike Apple, a company like Cisco is delivering the majority of its line to businesses and the individual consumer doesn’t see or really care about what is going on in the background with regard to routing, switching, or even some of the advanced technologies. TelePresence has had a WOW factor but mainly for businesses looking to have a real time video experience. I think that is changing as Cisco enters the home with some neat video products like the Flip Video Camera that enhance the collaboration experience.