Will Apple die now that Steve Jobs is gone?

What will happen with Apple now that Steve Jobs has passed away?  Will Apple lose its momentum?  Will Apple lose a huge chunk of their market share?

Experts and speakers on behalf of Apple have been talking about how Apple has been setup with good management and excellent players with expertise in various areas that they should sustain their market share for at least the next couple years.  However, Steve Jobs did still play a huge role by putting his heart in sole into the business and inspiring the employees and management team.  Without Steve Jobs, Apple will certainly never be the same again, however, they will still succeed for a long time to come if they stay on track and keep the same good management team they currently have.

I’m sure Microsoft will be feeling a little less pressure with the unfortunate death of Steve (May he rest in peace),  but they shouldn’t be ignorant about how power a team Steve has put in place to keep things running.  As long as Microsoft doesn’t slip up, they just have a waiting game, before Apple could possible start slipping themselves.  But who’s to say a 3rd player doesn’t come out of the wood work, like Red Hat or some other flavor of Linux.  Even Bill Gates himself isn’t imortal, and as much as many people don’t want to admit it, his time will one day come too, (Knock on wood)… Then the question will be: “What will the world be like without Steve Jobs and Bill Gates?”  Will technology start to fall apart?  Will our growth rate in the technology sector simply slow down?  Or will we have new technology geniouses rise and show the world what new exciting things are yet to come?

Many applications are OpenSource now, which, if you don’t know what that means, is any programmer can take this code and modify it for their own use, distribute for free, or sell it.  Linux, as mentioned earlier, is an operating system (Similar to Windows or the Mac) with a graphical user interface (GUI) but looks different and doesn’t provide support for all applications, and there is no tech support number to call for help, unless you get a paid edition like from www.redhat.com and have tech support included.  However, good luck finding a local computer tech that can provide support for this operating system also.  There are so many variations of Linux including many Open Source ones like Ubuntu.  Most technicians will be experimenting with the Open Source versions rather than a paid version, and they are basically on their own for troubleshooting and staying up to date with the latest fixes, patches and compatibility with other applications you are so used to using in Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OS’.

My advice right now, don’t jump to any conclusions and don’t make any drastic changes or decisions based on the loss of Steve Jobs.  Everything will be fine for a while and as you know, anything can change with time.

Daniel Gauthier is a computer expert with TwinBytes Inc. and can be hired for various types of computer repair jobs in Markham, Stouffville, and surrounding area.  Find him at www.twinbytes.ca