Saturday, January 14, 2006

Wow. Apple now worth more than Dell "On October 6, 1997, in response to the question of what he'd do if he was in charge of Apple Computer, Dell founder and then CEO Michael Dell stood before a crowd of several thousand IT executives and answered flippantly, "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." A little more than a month later, on November 10, 1997, new Apple iCEO Steve Jobs responded, speaking in front of an image of Michael Dell's bulls-eye covered face, "We're coming after you, you're in our sights." Today, after a little more than eight years of hard work, Apple Computer, Inc. passed Dell, Inc. in market value. That's right, at market close Apple Computer ($72,132,428,843) is now worth more than Dell ($71,970,702,760). Got any snappy retorts for that one, Mr. Dell? Luckily, Apple has had the right man in charge since July 1997; a man with the vision and the ability to do what lesser men think impossible." Now it's getting personal As angel investor, founder and, ultimately, CEO of the Dynamac portable computer company, I never doubted that Apple would prevail over Dell - I felt it so deeply that I now choose to conflate Apple's completed quest with the one before The Rest of Us.   American democracy is in the tank deeper than Apple was in 1997. My hope - and confident expectation - is that our little team of visionaries and world-class programmers can help us to generate another headline that's sorely needed: Government By the People overtakes Broadcast Politics! Which means that more people vote based on person-to-person, authentic conversation than from mainstream media illusions. There so many examples of achieving the impossible that we should feel confidence and energy for this vital mission. In 1997, everyone just knew that Apple was toast. Today, everyone just knows that we'll never regain the buoyant optimism and even-handed government imagined in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's as likely as Apple valued more than Dell. We need the persistence and wisdom to prevail on behalf of governance by the people. None of us possess Steve Jobs' brilliance and arrogance, but we can at least have the patience of Job. 3:11:52 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Britt Blaser. Last update: 2/5/06; 1:49:01 PM.