Rotten Apples

Apple (fka Apple Computer) has been present during pretty much my entire exposure to the business of technology and the technology of business. I recall seeing an Apple1 used to track inventory at a used record store while attending UCSB about '78/79. I recieved one of the first Mac's as part of a GE sponsored MBA program in '85. Our house is full of iPod's, we've begun the Mac conversion by getting my daughter a Mac for college and I just replaced my dead iPod with a new iTouch (why no iPhone - you'll need to see earlier posts to understand my crackberry addiction, I've loved Apple products for years and think Steve Jobs is perhaps the greatest entrepreneur of our time.

With this in mind, I bring you the rotten Apple's list straight from Forbes!



http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/29/apple-product-flops-tech-personal-cx_ag_1030apple_slide.html?thisSpeed=15000


It's well worth looking at all the things Apple has tried over the last 30+ years THAT DIDN'T WORK!

Aside from many memories: seeing a Lisa at Corporate GE in the early 80's, cringing when hearing our V.P. of engineering tell our customers that Taligent in partnership with IBM was our next target O/S, watching one of my product managers proudly strut into the office with a Newton on this hip - circa 1995 it seems, this list has many products that were simple ideas ahead of their times.

The lessons for entrepreneurs here are many:

Push the envelope - "if your not living on the edge, your taking up too much space!"

Learn from the mistakes of others - many of the rotten apples listed above were certainly the genesis of future successes, for both Apple and others. Remember, the PDA has morphed into the smart phone and Apple is winning once again!

Don't take yourself too seriously - if you do, you will never truely listen to what the market is telling you about "your baby". Many companies have died clinging to a weak product too long when going back to the drawing board before it was too late would have saved the day.