Maven: Apple's Bombast and Bashfulness

Could be. Mac sales, it is true, were slightly disappointing in the just-reported quarter. And The Business Press Maven is worried about the sustainability of iPod growth and profitability. If the iPhone replaces it, I will walk down Wall Street in a sun dress ... while twirling my parasol.

But please, let us emphasize several times that Apple makes a habit of toying with expectations. The business media take their modesty too seriously, because it flies in the face of their over-the-top product promotion.

Essentially, it's two versions of the same thing: an attempt at manipulating and managing opinion.

In addition to mentioning how Apple finesses expectations, how about adding some lively examples? They abound -- even when the company isn't actually touching the numbers.

Once, when the company actually raised expectations for a future quarter and spoke with well-deserved pride on the "halo effect" that the iPod was having on other products, they then went on to say repeatedly that their growth was not sustainable.

"I don't see the recent growth rates continuing forever," CFO Peter Oppenheimer said. That was almost two years and lots of profits ago.

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