Don’t Be Fooled Again

It was on April Fool’s Day 1976 that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple. It might have been deemed a foolish endeavor at the time for two college drop outs to take on the biggest computer company in the world by developing a personal computer for everyday users. It’s only fitting that this calendar year Apple will surpass IBM in revenue after already becoming the highest valued technology company in the land.

It was 15 years ago that this author was told by a well-meaning stockbroker that he had to “face the music” and accept that the Apple story was over. The broker said the market was just waiting for the highest bidder to pick up the pieces of what was left of Apple. Continuing to hope Apple had a future as an independent company was considered foolish.

About four years ago, the CEO of another large technology company laughed in response to a question about the introduction of the iPhone and claimed it wouldn’t appeal to business customers because it didn’t have a physical keyboard. He also claimed a branded product called the Zune was quite competitive with the iPod in the high end of the digital music player market. Last month, Microsoft announced that the company would no longer release new Zune hardware devices due to lackluster sales. In the third calendar quarter, the iPhone maker surpassed Microsoft in quarterly revenue. Perhaps Apple’s decision to release the iPhone was quite as foolish as some at the time suggested.

A year ago, when Apple released the iPad, some thought the idea of a tablet product was foolish. After all, the iPad lacked a stylus and didn’t come equipped with a physical keyboard. Last month, buyers around the world lined up for a chance to buy the iPad 2. The original iPad soon after introduction became Apple’s hottest selling new product in the company’s storied history.

Over the past 35 years, Apple product enthusiasts have been called many things, from fools to fanboys to fanatics. In the end, none of us have been branded a fool for desiring better products, better solutions, and remaining consistent in our purchase decisions. The editors of ATPM look forward to what “foolishness” Apple will dream up next.

Our April Issue

Thank you for joining us this month and every month for our unique blend of foolish news, views, and product reviews. With hundreds of millions of Apple product users around the world, we know we stand in good company.

Our April issue includes:

Bloggable

A monthly summary of Wes Meltzer’s blogosphere news, originating from his Pinboard feed. This month: iPad 2, AT&T and T-Mobile, patent-infringement charges, Google refusing to release Honeycomb’s source code, IE6, ZFS, and more.

MacMuser: Help

Mark Tennent reminisces about software manuals.

MacMuser: Presenting the iPad 2…for Me…?

Mark Tennent muses about Mac OS X Lion and the iPad 2.

The iPad Chronicles: My Work PC Has Become a Fork

Robert Paul Leitao’s work PC has become a casualty of the iPad.

Next Actions: Master List, April 2011

Ed Eubanks Jr. updates his master list of Mac and iOS software for Getting Things Done (GTD).

Desktop Pictures: Star Wars Celebration V

Star Wars fans, if you missed the Celebration V convention in Orlando this past August, we have some desktop pictures from the event for your enjoyment.

Out at Five

Matt Johnson’s new series, Out at Five, looks at the workplace and its boundaries from all angles, revolving around many of the same characters from his former series, Cortland.

Review: iMac (21.5-inch Core i5)

Wes Meltzer upgrades from a MacBook to a new iMac.

Copyright © 2011 Robert Paul Leitao. Robert Paul Leitao is a contributing editor at ATPM and is author of the Posts At Eventide and The iPad Chronicles blogs.