Jan 16
The marketing problem with naming your product “Genius” is that you immediately put your product on a pedestal, and there’s nowhere to go but down.
The Genius feature — new in Apple’s iTunes software — recommends music that you may like based on the songs in your current playlist. It worked well enough for a while, prompting me to buy about a half dozen new songs it recommended. But the Genius feature worked only for a few days and has been broken ever since, in spite of a few iTunes upgrades.
Perhaps Genius is actually an Idiot Savant.
Update: As you probably know, Apple’s true Genius — Steve Jobs — is on medical leave from the company. We wish Steve a speedy recovery!
Oct 06
An unsubstantiated rumor posted on a CNN website caused a sharp drop in Apple’s stock price Friday. The early morning report caused Apple shares to plummet to their lowest point in a year. Apple denied the report as soon as they heard about it, and Apple’s stock recovered by the time CNN removed the false report, but Apple stock ended down 3 percent for the day due to the broader market slide.
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Aug 11
Apple pulled the plug on a controversial application sold in its new iTunes App Store. Last Thursday, Apple removed the $999.99 “I Am Rich” application created by developer Armin Heinrich. Apparently eight idiots with nothing better to do with their money had purchased the “glorified screensaver” before it was removed from sale.
The “I am Rich” application displays a glowing red gem on the iPhone screen for the sole purpose of proving that the iPhone’s owner is either rich or stupid or probably both. That’s literally all it does. Here is the product’s official description: “The red icon on your iPhone or iPod Touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this. It’s a work of art with no hidden function at all.”
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