Bobbing for Apples

I am a bit of an Apple fan. Some folks would say I’m a lot more than that but I don’t think so or at least I don’t want to admit it!

I’ve been working in the computer industry for more years than I’d like to say and during that span, I’ve spent a lot of years working with DOS, Unix, Windows and Apple products. I’ve had the pleasure of doing hardware support, building computers, working in all levels of network management and database management and I have done my fair share of programming which allows me to use my creative side. I’ve been a CIO and a COO and owned my own software company. Plus, many moons ago, I was a mechanical engineer and was heavily involved in the early beginnings of CAD on PCs. I was also a user of lots and lots of main frame data. That may date me a little but I’ve never used punch cards! I’m not that seasoned…

What does all this mean? Well, it means I’m a glutton for punishment and have a pretty good idea of what the tech industry is all about and even though it sounds like it, I’m not “tooting my own horn”, just letting the reader know some of my history.

Having worked with all the platforms mentioned above, I’ve developed some favorites over the years and those favorites have come and gone as new favorites have appeared. What I’m trying to say is I think I can provide an even handed review of the tech industry and tech products. As even handed as human bias allows…

What I want to concentrate on for a bit (or was that a byte) is Apple. I thought the timing was good since their developer conference is going on this week and is one of Apple’s main events each year. For this post, I will concentrate on Apple the company. Apple the software, Apple the hardware and Apple the services will be covered in future posts.

It has been interesting to see Apple (starting with Steve Jobs second tenure) grow from the company that brought us that first brightly colored iMac back in the late 90s to where it is today. Back then Apple had revenues of only 6 – 7 billion dollars and sometimes barely made a profit. It was a company folks knew about but largely ignored. Think about it, no iPods, iPhones, iPads or watches. Only computers and then not a lot of computers as their marketshare was in the single digits. Now things are a little different to the tune of over 184 billion in revenue and some of the highest profits, by any company, in 2014. Very impressive indeed.

That’s the popular / money side of the story. The more interesting story, at least for me, is “who” Apple is. Steve Jobs defined Apple as making great products and the intersection of art and technology. This, it appears, has trully defined Apple over the years. They have always been the “artsy” side of the computer industry and made great (although sometimes flawed) products. I am starting to wonder though if that “who” is changing and the art and technology side is less import now while drivers such as revenue and the stock market is “who” Apple is becoming.

Let me give you some examples: Stock buy backs, heavy concern about maintaining a high level of profits; dividends and more. These are all “Corporate America” items that, to me at least, are indicators of taking your eye off the products and customers and of “who” you are and moving it to the stock holders are everything, Corporate America paradigm. The last time this happened is when Apple started to go down hill and resulted in them buying Next and hiring Steve Jobs again. There is no Steve Jobs now though.

Are things all that dire at Apple? Not really, not yet. They just don’t have that laser focus they once had and appear to be wandering a bit. Several folks mentioned that exact thing in reguards to today’s WWDC keynote. Just a hodgepodge of stuff with no real direction or theme. It gives me a little pause and I hope it is temporary.

Next, I want to talk about stock buy backs in general. Now I am no financial wizard and my views are certainly not in line with Wall Street but let me ask a question. If you had a private company, your own company, would you invest 250 billion dollars in playing the slot machines in Vegas because some “expert slot machine player” told you it would make your company worth more or would you invest it in your company or maybe, with that large of an amount of money, invest some of it in society? I’m guessing you wouldn’t go with the slots.

In a nutshell, this is what stock buy backs are, in my humble, very, very simplified opinion. If some unknown event occurs tomorrow that causes the market to crash with your company’s stock along with it, where has all the money you spent buying back stock gone? What if that money had been invested in new jobs and new products and new technologies that help resolve some of the pressing issues in today’s society? Wouldn’t that be a better use of all those billions of dollars? I think so. I just don’t think Wall Street thinks so or even cares as long as they get their “house cut”.

Ok, time to get off that soapbox and back to Apple. Apple the company does continue to change. It is working more on diversity and green initiatives and other social issues. All great things. I just wonder if it is losing its “soul” as well or is it just modifying it and where will that modification end up.

It will be an interesting ride!

Next time, Apple software.