Quick, name the number one factor contributing to Apple's recent decline. If you said "the press," you just said the magic woid. (If you said "the no-good scum-sucking dirty lying evil press" you get bonus points for vitriol, if not necessarily for accuracy.) It's the bad press about Apple that leads to lower sales, which leads to more bad press, which leads to still lower sales, etc. But while the press may be the number one factor in Apple's death spiral, it's not the press' fault that things have gone so awry. Yes, they may exaggerate, they may fail to remain objective, but why is the spin on Apple so often bad instead of good? That, according to a great article by Lucas Roebuck over at MacCentral, is Apple's fault.

According to Roebuck, Jobs is no fool-- he knows that the death spiral could just as well be a success spiral, if only he can convince the press to start reporting positively on Apple. Roebuck goes on to state the three rules of winning the approval of the press, along with shining examples of how Apple has broken them in the past, as well as ways that Jobs appears to be trying to repair the damage. If Apple can project a winning and exciting image, while managing to deliver technologies that are even better than any of us are expecting, things may look a whole lot different for Apple come next Valentine's Day.

So not all of Apple's problems can be blamed on the press. In fact, none of them can. Apple's problems are Apple's problems, but the press acts as a huge magnifying glass that amplifies anything wrong. Conversely, of course, it also trumpets good news when good news is there to trumpet. Apple's problem is that it had forgotten how to play the press game. Luckily, they seem to have wisened up a bit recently; let's see if Apple can woo the press back onto their side.

Part of Apple's new press policy is to seal the cracks in the company's leak shield. Not long ago, rumors originating from Cupertino came in a steady torrent. And while things aren't even close to watertight yet, the number of people at Apple who are talking about "sensitive" issues seems to have dropped dramatically in recent months. Presumably it's all a matter of trying to retain the element of surprise-- an advantage Apple can't afford to throw away at such a crucial time.

So while it's not surprising that MacInTouch reports they've received a "special valentine" from Apple's Law Department demanding that they pull their info on unannounced price cuts, it's somewhat of a wake-up call. And we're not sure, actually, if leaks of the upcoming G3 price cuts are actually hurting Apple by prompting people to wait on G3 purchases until the price drops happen, or if they're possibly helping by making Wintel folk hold off on getting that Compaq box, since a faster G3 box will be a significantly better buy once the price goes down. (Given the fact that the news is only circulating in Mac circles, we're inclined to agree with Apple and say it's the former.)

MacInTouch is apparently discussing the situation with their lawyers, presumably to determine just how much "sensitive" Apple information they're allowed to post and still stay out of court. AtAT, on the other hand, is uncomfortable with posting any info that might hurt Apple's competitive chances. Of course, we have that luxury-- that's one of the benefits of being an entertainment site instead of a news site.

So what's behind the Incredible Sliding Meeting Date? That's the question on everyone's mind these days; according to a Reuters story, Apple's annual shareholders meeting was originally scheduled for February 3rd, but it slipped a couple of times and now seems perched (tentatively) on a mid-April calendar date. If it keeps sliding, it won't be an "annual" meeting much longer...

And of course the industry is abuzz with speculation as to why the meeting keeps getting postponed. Generally such a rescheduling portends bad news, but with the new Jobsian Apple, people are more willing to accept the possibility that he's holding off for a big surprise. Some analysts are guessing that a large "strategic alliance" or even a merger are in the works. Others mention the possibility of announcing a new CEO, or unveiling an important strategic project like the Mac NC.

As for us? AtAT isn't one to rule out the banal explanations entirely, so it's certainly possible that some big project isn't quite ready to announce and Apple wants to align its unveiling with the shareholders meeting. In our universe, though, it seems entirely more likely that something entirely more sinister is happening. We believe that when the dust settles and Jobs finally shows up at the meeting, bloody and disheveled, he'll reveal once and for all the details of an industry-wide alien conspiracy so chilling that it'll be made into a miniseries by at least two major networks. Or not.