Roger Clemens and steroids allegations. Larry Craig and his Minneapolis men's room rendezvous. R. Kelly and child pornography.
It doesn't matter whether or not the charges are true. It doesn't matter the degree to which the charges are true. What matters are the charges, and the resulting stain on the reputation, the skunk stink that won't wash off. Regardless of staunch and heartfelt denials, fruitless investigations or clearance by jury, all future references for the rest of their lives and beyond will include the words "suspected" and "accused." Combine this public lynching with personal betrayal, say, catching your heretofore faithful and loving spouse in flagrante delicto.
Welcome to Apple's new reality.
It is impossible to calculate the long-term damage the monumental f-ups of Friday's iPhone 3G inauguration — the inability of AT&T and Apple's systems to sync up to upgrade and activate current customers, of turning original iPhones into iSlabs when installing iPhone 2.0, of iTunes playing hooky when millions tried to sync their new iPhones 3G — will have on Apple. In a day, the most spotless and sterling reputation in high-tech, years in expert caressing and molding, gone like a rainbow at sunset.
Apple's own hype machine raised impossible expectations. Jobs & Co. may have been blinded by their own klieg lights. Hubris and comeuppance are going to be favorite topics of deconstruction columnists, analysts and bloggers in the coming weeks. Like me. Lots more after the Continue jump.
Murphy's Apple
It's not just that everything that could go wrong went wrong for a lot of people who waited in line for a lot of hours to be among the first privileged few to lay their hands on the most anticipated device of the year. And it doesn't matter that AT&T shares some of the blame. AT&T is a cellphone carrier. Cellphone carriers already have an oily reputation somewhere between general contractors and personal injury lawyers. Cellphone carriers screwing their customers is almost expected.
And it doesn't matter if only a small percentage of users actually got screwed in one way or another. Those few, being first in lines around the country, are Apple's front-line loyalists, will be screaming the loudest. The greater the loyalty, the worse the betrayal. And the worse the betrayal, the more permanent the mark of Cain. Apple's humorous digs at Microsoft Vista in those once cute Mac vs. PC commercials now sound hollow and ironic.
What Would Jobs Do?
I know what you're thinking. "Geez, Stewart, why don't you tell us how you really feel?" Am I over-the-top? We'll see. I have been betrayed like the aforementioned cheating spouse. Over the years, I have been one of Apple's cheerleaders. Suddenly my hero not only has motherboards of clay but has made me look and feel like a fool.
Once I returned home shockingly empty-handed Friday afternoon from my own personal seven-hour ordeal, my anger and frustration fueled by hunger and lack of sleep, my journalistic analyst instincts kicked in. My punch-drunk imagination conjured a crumbling Cupertino Camelot and King Jobs' reaction.
Pulling at his graying hair, rending his black turtleneck, I can see Jobs' legendary passion explode. He's screaming at his iTunes team, fuming, ranting, palpitating and swearing at anyone who might have had a hand in this holocaust. But like me, Jobs is going to have to calm down. He and Apple are going to have to concoct a major PR coup to recoup a fraction of the passion of its most fervent proselytizers. I can't imagine what Apple will do, but as Bugs Bunny often murmured to himself in tight spots, "Think fast, rabbit!"
For me, though, once burned, twice shy. I'll never look at that one bite fruit the same way again.
editor@dvice.com
By IPhoneGuy at 8:39 PM ON 07/11/08
I am sorry, but the reality is, anyone who waits for more than an hour so they can have a phone a day or two or even a week before everyone else, has his or her own set of issues... I love my IPhone and have every intention of getting the next gen, but really people, have a little patience. Clearly Apple did not foresee the huge inrush of customers and perhaps they made a mistake releasing IPhone 2.0 and 3G at the same time, but hey, everybody makes mistakes and that doesn't change the amazing product that they are releasing. Take a week or even two, the 3G will still be there.... but the lines will be gone!
By Switching2Mac at 10:43 PM ON 07/11/08
Why are you surprised there were lineups and people had difficulty getting an iPhone and/or getting it activated. It's called popularity!
That's why I am staying away form it all till it blows over, I don;t know abut you but my time is worth more then that...
By HeYo at 1:33 AM ON 07/12/08
Still love apple. The sheer demand of the product caused the problems, not the product.
By MarkV at 1:48 AM ON 07/12/08
I heard the term iBrick on the other page and found it amusingly funny, definitely should replace iSlabs with it!
By VinceA at 5:04 AM ON 07/12/08
As the first three comments show, Apple is still coated with teflon in the eyes of the Apple faithful. Most will chalk up the problems to popularity, AT&T or something else not under the control of his Steveness. The lines will still be there for iPhone 3.0 or whatever next year's model will be called.
By MajorDavis at 7:31 AM ON 07/12/08
I think what IPHONEGUY said has some merit. The fact is, the Apple "cheerleaders" are overreacting. Every new technology has bumps along the way, and here we have not only one of the most advanced phones ever built, but on one of the most advanced and complex new networks, 3G. You all chose to sit in line for hours and hours. You sound like drug addicts who lash out and blame other people when they can't get their fix.
Any rational person would see this as a minor setback along the way of a new tech. But with everything in the universe that has fans, there's always disgruntled fans who feel like they have been personally betrayed for some reason or another. Perhaps Jobs should use this chance to pull a Shatner and tells all the overzealous Apple fanatics to get a life.
By Ibrick at 9:05 AM ON 07/12/08
The most advanced phone on the market! I think not :) although it is the most hyped phone on the market.
By Anonymous at 10:47 AM ON 07/12/08
i love how almost every other cellphone company has touchscreen smart phones. and u can get then cheaper, easier, and with less drama. but u still have the iphone buyers falling all over themselves for the celebrity phone. and are u really surprised that when u go and buy ur new cellphone, there was a mechanical/service problem? i can see that it's bigger then most, but it still happens everyday. this is not special. there's just more of iphone buyers.
By Boborlarry at 2:44 PM ON 07/12/08
Ok so here's the deal.
You guys are all missing the bigger picture. Jobs and cohorts at Apple have whipped the masses into a frenzy because they are selling not a phone or computer, but a lifestyle or experience. Take a look at how iPod has been positioned to totally change music delivery. Radio stations are rethinking their strategies. CD sales are at an all-time low. Same with the Mac. You can't find a design firm, recording, tv or film studio that doesn't use some form of Mac in some way. People see this and get the idea or perception that the iPhone will change their overall lives.
Jobs has positioned anything with an "i" in front of it's name to be a life-changing product, and also personable. Take a look at the Mac spots. Mac is a personable, likable mid-20's kind of guy, while PC is a glasses and suit wearing pudgy man in his mid-40's. You have automatic relation to the Mac because of pure looks... don't even mention that 90% of the world's software is PC-based. In marketing, you're taught to sell the end result and not necessarily the product. iPod- it's a party! Don't mention that you have to spend hours feeding your CDs into the thing or it'll only play stuff from iTunes. iPhone- ultimate usability. It doesn't matter if iPhone isn't all it's cracked up to be. People will flock simply to say they were in on the experience.
There are sheep out there and I am most assuredly not one of them, but iPhone 3G is definitely better than my RAZR v3x running on my carrier, so I'm getting mine next week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get up from my iMac, go sit on my iCouch, watch my iTelevision and iVeg out.
By JimZello at 4:42 PM ON 07/12/08
Interesting that our culture is so obsessed with the failure of hype. It's as if our entire media structure is based on the construction of an artifice that delivers nothing in terms actual human comfort and pleasure. Imagine a world where people got as excited and/disappointed over a new educational device for children. Or over a portable and affordable water treatment device. What if we stopped being concerned with these baubles and started putting emphasis on the things that really matter to us as a species. Meanwhile the people who run this world are delivering cakes and circuses, with the promise of more if you just keep feeding their artifice. I'm sick of it. I'm creating art on a PC because it's cheaper, and better supported by the people who make my tools. Brand Loyalty is a loser's game, because you've closed yourself off to seeing the market in total.
Most importantly, at this point, you're not even purchasing the thing for an actual human need that you have, you are tithing the artifice.
By jeremy douglass at 4:52 PM ON 07/12/08
"...palpitating and swearing at anyone who might have had a hand in this holocaust"
ummm...holocaust?
really now. i get it that apple and at&t screwed up.
it was inconvenient at WORST, though. i even share the
frustration of all who were inconvenienced by yesterdays giant glitch.
but have some perspective, man. you can freely throw around some
words and have some of my understanding: betrayal, anger, hubris...
but frickin' holocaust?
to use that word and imagery to describe the botched release of a PHONE
is disgusting at best.
By jeremydouglass at 4:55 PM ON 07/12/08
"...palpitating and swearing at anyone who might have had a hand in this holocaust"
ummm...holocaust?
really now. i get it that apple and at&t screwed up.
it was inconvenient at WORST, though. i even share the
frustration of all who were inconvenienced by yesterdays giant glitch.
but have some perspective, man. you can freely throw around some
words and have some of my understanding: betrayal, anger, hubris...
but frickin' holocaust?
to use that word and imagery to describe the botched release of a PHONE
is disgusting at best.
By Scott King at 10:05 PM ON 07/12/08
hahaha loser! Look at you getting all pissy over a stupid phone. Does your mommy still change your diapers too?
By BangladeshBob at 1:07 AM ON 07/13/08
...and this is different from the original iPhone launch, how?
Weren't you watching when this same thing happened last time?
There is just too much activity when iPhones go on sale. iTunes can handle the load 364 days a year, but an iPhone launch/update just overwhelms it. Sucks to be popular, I guess.
By budgethero at 12:05 PM ON 07/14/08
i can see what ur saying about the i-culture thing. honestly, i forgot about that. but remember, for all us poor ppl, and in SOME cases i really do mean poor, the iphone is just another phone. even some of those who can afford it just see a phone. an advanced phone that does other stuff, but pretty much just like all the other phones are. yeah the iphone's advanced. so is the new one by LG and nokia. and for the slightly poor folk who can just afford the cheapest phones on the market and the plans to go with them, iphone buyers complaining like this SEEMS like ur saying "how could this happen to *us*!" when u talk like that, u come of just a little elitist compared to non-iphone ppl who don't have anyone to cry for them when they get cellphone-buying complications.
and as for apple changing the world, yes they are. but at a big price tag. i know i takes alot of money to make really advanced stuff. but if average lucy cant afford it, it doesnt reach that many ppl and doesnt have that much of an effect.
By Boborlarry at 5:21 PM ON 07/14/08
Apple has kept the price-point on things like the iMac, iBook and the iPhone high for one reason: targeted marketing. They want people who don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. They want young, fresh, up-and-comers. Pretty, carefree people who don't have to be concerned with which packet of ramen noodles they're going to have for supper tonight (pork in case you were wondering).
Picture this if you will with a disclaimer: I am not judging, simply theorizing based on something i saw earlier. I was in ATT Wireless this afternoon lusting after the demo 8GB they had on display. A young, scruffy couple walks in. One might call them trailer trash (not me). The man in jeans and a t-shirt with paint spatters, looks really tired. The girl in shorts and a t-shirt. Man says "I want to get her one of those iPhones."
Not eavesdropping, but inevitable in a small store such as that, I overhear the man saying that the last time he tried to get a cell they wanted to charge him 325 for a security deposit. Now follow me here. 325 for security. 199 for the iPhone. 35 for activation. The man was about to walk out with his iPhone and a $600 hole in his wallet. Ouch.
I wonder when the realization hits: we're having trouble paying our light bill but we've got this iPhone! And I wonder how many times this scene is played out? The thing that's dangerous in the i-culture movement is that people who really can't afford to be in it get swept up in it every day.
The one good thing about it is... that price-point's gotta come down sometime... C'MON XBOX 360.
By Tropics iRE at 3:40 PM ON 07/15/08
--20 min with no phone sevice while updating my iPhone to 2.0 = no biggie.
--Erasing ALL of my Music and Videos = Flippin REDICULOUS!!! thanks apple... you charge me redicoulous ammounts of money to treat me like a loser, and throw away a crapload of money worth of music... sure i can asemble the collection again, but i will have to break the law to do so now that some of my older CD's have died... how about hooking me up with what i deserve and giving me my 789 tracks back (even in i didnt buy them from you!!)
By Holy... at 10:56 AM ON 07/16/08
Uh...so there was some kind of activation snag?
By mikeguru at 2:46 AM ON 07/18/08
Jeez . . . what a bunch of WHINERS we've all turned into. Get a grip! If you waited in line for days or hours to get the new iPhone, it was a "cult" mentality at work, and a bit silly, IMHO. I love Apple products, and bought the first iPhone in October (after the price drop, and LONG after the feeding frenzy had subsided) but I wouldn't invest so much "emotion" in any product. Those of us who have worked in the IT world for a few years are wary of being on the "bleeding edge" of any new technology, be it a new computer model, OS release, or the shiny new iPhone. I could have easily upgraded to the 3G on the day they came out, but realized it was more prudent to "wait until the dust settles". This is not to say that both AT&T and Apple (once again) didn't underestimate the workload the activation servers would see-They blew it BIG TIME. Activations on the first iPhone were "spotty", and that was for a release in only ONE COUNTRY (USA). This time, 27 countries were involved. The requirement to "activate in the store" was just stupid. The idea of releasing a highly desirable product is to SELL AS MANY AS YOU CAN. Too bad there's no way to gauge how many more sales of the 3G iPhone could have been, had they followed the sales model of the original-buy it, take it home, activate it yourself. And limiting sales to 1 per customer? STOOPID/GREEDY. I will eventually upgrade. If one takes their time, follows the directions for activating/ upgrading (including making a BACKUP), then the process works fine. How many people who are complaining of failure to activate/sync et. al. during the 2.0 Firmware update had unlocked or "jailbreak" on their phone? If you did and it "bricked" or lost data, you were warned. If not, then being too anxious to upgrade is a painful lesson to learn for being impatient. If your 2G is "bricked", download and try "Ziphone 3.0"-it just might save you. Best to view a few of the videos about HOW on YouTube first. TROPICS IRE: It's HIGHLY UNLIKELY the 2.0 upgrade could erase all your music and videos from your MAC/PC-something else is to blame . . . . Didn't you follow the directions to make a BACKUP/SYNC of your iPhone FIRST? Just curious . . . . .