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Crazy Man at the Helm (1/18/98)
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Color us surprised... The Computer Reseller News reports that Mac developers are "wary of the direction the Mac software market will take" while Apple's being led by Steve Jobs (poster boy for the word "mercurial"). Apparently some folks are a little skittish about his "sometimes unpredictable leadership," and this has led to a perception among some customers that Apple is-- of all things-- unstable.
Corporate Mac-only software sales are in a slump right now, having remained below the $2 million-a-month since last July. Of course, it isn't entirely fair to blame that on Jobs' flighty reputation alone; uncertainty over the future of the Mac OS in the looming face of Rhapsody, and the constant lurking fear that Apple could go under at any second (whether that's actually possible or not) certainly play their parts. The question is, can Steve persuade existing Mac developers to keep writing quality software for the platform? And can he lure new developers to start growing the market again?
Well, if the recent MacWorld Expo is any indication, he's got a fighting chance. According to Steve himself, more than 50 companies at the Expo were showing new applications. The biggest of these is certainly Microsoft, who introduced Mac versions of Internet Explorer 4.0 (now available) and Office 98 (shipping in March). And if a company as large and successful as Microsoft actively develops for the Mac, we've got to assume that other developers out there will sit up and take notice.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 1/18/98 episode: January 18, 1998: (Sorry—this was before we started writing intro text for each episode!)
Other scenes from that episode: 370: Not Even a Dent (1/18/98) And speaking of Microsoft's wild success, if you're rubbing your hands together and cackling with glee over Judge Jackson's probable upcoming ruling against them, you might want to read this Computer Reseller News article just to put the whole "Redmond Justice" thing in perspective... 371: Taking It to the Streets (1/18/98) Meanwhile, at least one netizen is taking the fight into his own hands. According to a C/Net article, Gordon French is protesting what he considers to be Microsoft's "monopolistic tendencies" in a unique way: his Official Lost & Found web site, which is free to users of all other browsers, now charges $4 per use when the browser is using Internet Explorer 4.0...
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