The Macalope Weekly: The curation of all fears

A big name leaves Microsoft and the folks there are sure gon na neglect his butt keep on that seat warm . And did you know Apple had a few announcement this workweek ? Well , it did . Apparentlyit ’s doing a middling good jobsellingstuff and also has some ideas on how tosellstuff in the time to come . Interesting ! One idea , though , fret this fabulous wildcat ’s hide out the wrong way . Keep your Mac App Store out of the Macalope ’s principal , Steve Jobs !

So long, whoever you are

After a lackluster five years with Microsoft , Ray Ozzie harbinger that he was go forth the company , presumptively to expend more time with his money . As is often the case with possible points of embarrassment for Microsoft , the Macalope called up his quondam friend the Winotaur to get the inside scoop shovel .

Head I win, tails you lose

This week Apple again announced phenomenal quarterly results and you know what that means : some Wall Street analyst did n’t get it(tip o ’ the antlers to RTH PJM via e-mail ) .

While Apple ’s profit climb to a record last quarter , competitor from Google Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. threatens to squeeze margins .

Really . RIM.ThisRIM ?

It ’s true that competitor is contract Apple ’s margins but RIM ’s not really the problem . And this is the catch-22 that Apple ’s in . If Apple keep small market share and gamey gross profit , Wall Street analysts quetch about market plowshare . If Apple bring down margin to get higher market share , they complain about margin .

The iPad tablet , liberate this twelvemonth , also did n’t sell as well as analyst had estimated .

“ Everyone is closing in and it ’s a huge question of how they are go to respond , ” read Michael Obuchowski , chief investment officer of First Empire Asset Management , which holds Apple shares . “ I ’m really disturbed about Apple ; I ’m not convinced that I ’m lead to hold Apple two class from now . ”

So , let ’s get this straight . After Apple announced a monster twenty-five percent for a machine locked in a battle with Android and a solid quarter for a twist that has no equal , Obuchowski discover the situations as “ everyone closing in ” ?

You know , New York is pretty old . Has anyone chequer the water pipes that feed in into Wall Street to make certain they ’re not lead ?

The thought police

You may also have see that Apple also host a special event this workweek ( unless your religious commandment preclude receive information channelise by electrons , paper , spokesperson , or telepathy ) , featuring a unexampled version of iLife , new MacBooks Air ( sic ) , and a preview of Mac OS X Lion . Most of the reaction to Lion has centered around the Mac App Store and has been , shall we say , mixed .

The Omni Group ’s Ken Case is one of thoselooking forward to the Mac App Store . Omni went full - bore into the iPad app business earlier this twelvemonth and it seems to have pay off for them , so you’re able to see why he might be inclined to wassail the Kool - economic aid when it come with a slew of century .

On the other side of the tracks is Rogue Amoeba ’s Paul Kafasis , whohas some serious reservationsabout the Mac App Store — particularly around the 70/30 tax revenue split and the restrictions on the kind of apps allowed . As far as the App Store is concerned , Rogue Amoeba ’s applications would bepersona non gratasince they apply some low - degree manual dexterity of hand to get the job done .

So you’re able to see how these two prospicient - time , extremely respected Mac developer might have different view on the Mac App Store .

The merits the of 70/30 deal and the selection criteria are one thing , but the $ 44,800 doubtfulness ( it was a $ 64,000 question , but then Apple took 30 percent ) that ’s on everyone ’s minds is “ Will Apple ever make the Mac App Store theonlyway to get app on your Mac ? ”

This is a particularly salient interrogative for a animal with a head that ’s a classical Mac . The horny one does n’t want to wake up one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and find he has to get Steve Jobs ’s approval every time he has a thought . To be unclouded , Jobs was careful to point out that you’re able to still install applications the old fashioned way in Lion , but you ’ve get to imagine the mind of reaping 30 percentage of all third - party Mac software sales has him doing that evil scoundrel thing where he turns away and express joy to himself and somehow no one view it .

Regrettably , that ’s where the Macalope sees this heading . Not like a shot , but a few year down the road . You have to look up to the audaciousness of Apple ’s vision , even if you do n’t have it off whether you want to live in its version of the future . It was one thing when Apple invented the iOS app existence , but it ’s another to tear down a house we ’ve been know in for years and construct something entirely newfangled . Not that Steve wouldever do that , but some of us like the fact that we can slip out our sleeping accommodation window , slither down the drain pipe , slip across the lawn , and go cling out at the Gas - N - Sip all night .

Hopefully the brown and furry one is just being paranoid . He would detest to have to jailbreak his own head . How humiliating .

( Disclosure : the Macalope has had anterior business dealing with both Rogue Amoeba and the Omni Group . )

So long, whoever you are#

Head I win, tails you lose#

The thought police#

So long, whoever you are

Head I win, tails you lose

The thought police