Perhaps I’m just jealous, but I was bothered by Apple’s response to a hacker’s warning that their product leaves their customers vulnerable to exploitation when using standard text messaging. Apple replied, ‘just use our software, iMessage’, as if iPhone users should have no reason to interact with anyone who doesn’t have an iPhone.
As Steve Jobs made clear, Apple’s designs are brilliant, they just work. If you have a problem with their products, the problem is you.
Such hubris is annoying, and I think it will be Apple’s eventual undoing. By this I mean there will one day be another desktop operating system nearly as elegant. And for mobile, the consumer base is just now getting comfy with smartphones, and the trend is that increasingly people want more control of, and more options for how they make their phones work.
Vertigo from a stock price flying too close to the sun is common in the tech world, and that’s why corrected prices for Facebook and Groupon are a good thing for us users not holding shares. Customers don’t like doing business with CEOs who no longer give a care. Just ask Netflix honcho, gReed Hastings.