“Apple CEO Steve Jobs came up with a two-part solution. Part 1: There is no problem. Part 2: Even though there is no problem, we’re going to give everyone a free case, which should insulate the antenna and prevent the interference that we just told you isn’t actually occurring. But if you’re still not happy, you can give back the phone for a full refund. Jobs’s snotty tone made it clear that he was pretty fed up with all the whining about a problem that he says doesn’t exist. This is classic Apple behavior. No matter what the whole world can see with its own eyes, just keep saying that it isn’t true, and maybe, eventually, everyone will believe you. By refusing to acknowledge the problem, Jobs just reinforced the image of Apple as a company that is in deep denial and unable to admit a mistake—a company that has for so long been able to bend reality to suit its needs that it now has lost touch with reality itself.”—
Lyons, on the iPhone 4 announcement
This isn’t Steve Jobs. It’s not Apple. It’s business. Seriously. This isn’t news. This isn’t even commentary. Remember how BP reacted when their party in the Gulf started?
So, really, isn’t this kind of “cynical” attitude just ignoring the bigger problem of corporations wholesale lying to us across the board? Why pretend Steve Jobs is doing anything but protect his shareholders’ profits?
This is a systemic problem. Every company lies when they get caught doing something wrong. Lyons’ article should have been two sentence long:
“Bullshit, Steve. Tell us the truth.”
With maybe a third saying:
“Thanks for the free case, though.”
But if his article was that short, I guess Lyons wouldn’t get paid as much.
