Apple Investors' Delusion Sets In

Apple's ecosystem would not be nearly as valuable as it is without the best hardware money can buy. Hardware that creates a cult of Mac and, more importantly, iPod, iPhone and iPad fanatics.

You do not see MacBooks lining tables in coffeehouses because of iTunes. White cords attached to ear buds do not dangle from people's ears as they listen to music and make phone calls because of iTunes or the App Store. You do not see folks effectively posing in the middle of the sidewalk with an iPad because of the Apps. These "gadgets" attain high social status and become aspirational items because they work well.

They're intuitive to the touch. They're beautiful. There's something about them that's simply better. To argue that Tim Cook's only innovative need is to continue to come up with new pieces of hardware is patently absurd.

Apple bulls don't think about the possibility that the party will stop. Wholesale ignorance of the pivotal things Jobs did at Apple does not change how history inevitably impacts the future.

When Steve Jobs came to Apple, he cut the fat out of the product line. He remained committed to that approach right up to the very end. How quickly we forget seminal words from the man who changed the world:

And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

At Apple, Jobs shot down plenty of good ideas. He understood that you have to put great products in front of people to make repeat customers and generate new ones. But he never allowed the consumer to dictate his next move. Certainly, he could have produced quite a few products that people would have purchased, but he passed on them in favor of dictating the flow of events to the customer. He had the knack of being able to tell people what they want. It did not work in the reverse. It's that approach that made Apple great and dominant.

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