Enough of the hagiography on the late lamented Mr Jobs, suggests a writer
named Vaclav Smil, in the Journal of the American Enterprise Institute. I expect
that Journal is not often quoted in this space, but go to www.arts&lettersdaily
and read the very interesting essay published last week (actually, it seems to
have been published Sept. 30, I could not exactly determine it). Some eyebrows
may be raised.
"It takes nothing away from Steve Jobs to say he was no Edison.
You only need to understand what Edison accomplished," begins the
narrative. It's a long essay and points out some cracks in the great
and familiar facade of MacIntosh. This kind of article is always bound
to come out around the time of the death of such an important and
founding figure as Jobs (he was not, technically, the founder - as we
read here), and I always find it interesting to learn the downside
of any story for a bit of perspective.
And there is downside -- not the least of which, it is claimed by Mr Smil,
is that Mac is one of the most out-sourcing (out of the usa, that is)
of American companies.
Sooner or later, maybe, some genius politician may come along and entice
a company such as Mac to start the ball rolling -- back into the usa
when it comes to manufacturing. Until such time, it hardly behooves one
to make a big argument out of extra-national outsourcing. But Mr Smil
goes on from there, and points out in considerable detail the unoriginal
elements of Mac's products and processes. I'll not repeat any of it here.
This is being written on an iMac, and I have little fault to find with it, so
I read all this with the eye of a friend-of-Job.
Job's great imagination as a marketeer and molder of consumer taste
and his savviness on consumer psychology cannot be disputed. Yet, it
is interesting to read another view.
Bottom line? Nothing changes. We know a bit more, but so what?
Let me recall a maxim: handsome is as handsome does. And Mac is
looking pretty good, in spite of having lost its leader.