John,
I don't know if Gil is the best candidate in that position either.
But, so far, he seems know how to cover his ass very quickly. For
example, during November-December of 96, he knew the sales in the
quarter was bad, all the predictions Apple published have disappeared,
and the prices on various models immediately reduced. In order not
to lose too much face, he quickly acquired Next, which will make
investors focus on such event rather than on to-be-published bad
quarter report. He maybe thought the MacWorld fair was coming, which
may also reduce certain degree of disappointment from investors.
But when all smoke screens were settled, the price was still sliding.
The reason is simple and straight- bad quarter loss means lower stock
price.
However, I totally agree his acquisition of Next is the last source
he can rescue Apple. Apple has been building his own OS called
Copland for over four years and lots of money has been invested in
this project, but still not much useful. This provides Jobs an
excellent opportunity to not only cash out Next, but also gradually
enter and control Apple's future. Now, two of three toppest key
persons were originally subordinates of Jobs. And now, Woz is in
again. Therefore, Gil will have to listen to Jobs more than the
other way around. If they can work together, then all problems
will be resolved, and all shareholders will benefit.
If Gil really implement what he addressed in the shareholders meeting,
then Apple should gradually recover, I hope. |
