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Strange Days Indeed (4/23/98)
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The media coverage of Gil Amelio's tragic year and a half at Apple continues, fueled by his recent steamy tell-all On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple. A Washington Post article reveals Amelio's feeling that he and Apple were a "mismatch," which we at AtAT would classify as probably the biggest understatement of the year.
Amelio, who once had the chutzpah to demand a $27 million compensation package for taking the CEO spot, is now pictured as somewhat humbled by his experience at Apple. And despite the fact that he wasn't the right man (or even the right kind of man) to be running Apple, we do have to credit him with bringing back Steve Jobs-- even though that certainly wasn't necessarily his intention. And he also claims that at the height of the "let's sell Apple" mania sweeping through the corporate halls, he was the lone voice crying for Apple to remain independent.
Here's the thing-- is the media unwittingly setting up Amelio as Apple's next savior? Think about it; sure, he never founded the company, but he was definitely ousted after losing a high-level power struggle, much like Jobs was. What if, several years down the line, Steve Jobs is running Apple into the ground, and the board hires turnaround artist Gil as a special advisor? Would he sign on, eager to prove himself to a public who had witnessed his highly-publicized first failure? The article reveals that he "would run the company again, if he had a chance." Too scary to consider, unless you're a horror film buff with a strong stomach, or maybe a fan of the old "What If?" issues of Marvel Comics.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/23/98 episode: April 23, 1998: Could Intuit have backed Apple into a consumer-market corner by threatening to axe Quicken? Meanwhile, former cast member Gil Amelio continues to rack up martyr points in the press, and a certain gap-toothed goofball from Indiana may figure heavily in a publicity situation for Apple...
Other scenes from that episode: 652: The Quicken Wars: Over? (4/23/98) The fur flying over Intuit's recent decision to axe Quicken development on the Mac side may soon subside. Steve Jobs announced on Wednesday that he and Intuit CEO (and Apple board member) Bill Campbell had "discussed" Intuit's decision, and a joint announcement about the resolution is slated for next week... 654: Ready For My Close-Up (4/23/98) Hmmm, this might be the way that Apple's going to get back solidly in the public vision-- according to MacCentral, the "Man on Fire" segment a couple of nights ago was sponsored by "Elite Computer" of Cupertino, who are Apple Computer specialists...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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