As of this writing Apple® the former underdog known as Apple Computer
is now known more along the lines of Apple the "Indestructible Wonder
Company." It seems as of late to be either morphing or already
changed into what it rivaled against for so many years. The over arching
corporate empire.

Apple makes fantastic cutting edge products.
Nearly every release of a new or updated version of one of
its
creations quite honestly astounds more people than it merely impresses.
If you're already an Apple user the updates impress. If you're a former
PC user – you're astonished. To compare a 2 year old iMac or Macbook to a
brand new PC or laptop is equivalent to comparing a used Bentley to a
new Hyundai for user experience. There's no comparison unless you argue
about such things as the Bentley's window controls are in the wrong
place then one was used to. Which resembles the arguments of the PC ,
Apple arguments these days.

However Apple seems to be losing that
amorphous feeling one had when becoming part of the so-called Apple
family. Have we stepped from big brother to an even bigger sibling with
an attitude? The changes are subtle. Never the less they're there; and
becoming more apparent daily.

Forget the products or features
right now but look at the company itself. The relationship between Apple
and its customers seems to be changing. And not for the better. It
feels like it's turning from the viewpoint of: " Other computer
companies don't understand the Apple customer" to something along the
lines of: "Our customers just don't understand what we at Apple are
doing."

Here's a few examples of late that just don't seem to jive with the so-called Apple culture of just a year or two ago.

Within
months of Job's passing Apple starts paying a dividend to share
holders, and re-institutes a policy long cancelled by Job's of corporate donations to education. This seemed to be a signal that the Job's
viewpoint was clearly no longer sacrosanct. Wall St. and others would now be brought into the fold of attuned attention from management.

Apple
made it easy – and made us want to buy and create our music libraries.
Again in a way that made sense where no one had before. Yet, we just
found out that we really don't own our libraries. We're renting them.
Most have no idea.

This was brought to life with a law suit now
underway with Apple and Bruce Willis the actor. He wanted to pass along
his massive iTunes® collection to his children when he died. He was
informed when he expires – so does the collection. How that plays out
could be a public relation night mare.

Making the switch to the
Apple ecosystem was worth it because once you were in it moving anything
cross devices was simple, easy, and intuitive. Rarely did one need a
visit to the "Genius Bar" for help. However now there are instances
where the steps to move certain things have become as laborious or as
frustrating as some Vista® nightmares. While at the same time hearing
from a "genius" that all this crap is actually a good thing for the
Apple customer. Maybe they had better start serving alcohol at that bar
also.

Apples newest feature Maps has been a disaster. I understand
the fight currently taking place between Google® and Apple. I get it.
However, are you meaning to tell me that Apple thought this map feature
was ready for prime-time? Or was this a stupid foolish cut of the nose
to spite its face? There were far too many problems right out of the
gate to not have known. This was about Apple first – customer second.

Here
is one that I'll end with that seems to signify the change in
philosophy at Apple away from the Apple customer to the Apple
corporate empire. The new lightning connector.

Anyone in the Apple
ecosystem knows one thing. One connector for everything Apple. Now they
changed it. I have no issue with that. But what strikes me as a blind
spot in Apple is this small seemingly innocuous piece of hardware will
be seen as a symbol of putting corporate profit before the coveted Apple
customer.

We all know the markups that are inherent in these
types of connectors. Currently you can buy one from Apple for the mere
price of $29.00. Yet as we all know this will be available shortly
anywhere from some manufacturer for under $5.00 including shipping like
all the others. We also inherently know these cost mere pennies to
manufacture. This has all the tell tale signs of profit for profits
sake.

I'm not one for giving away free stuff nor do I care how
much profit a company makes on any product. What I'm trying to show is
where I see Apple moving away from attention to the customer to more
attention to the bottom line.

Would it not have been seen in the
eyes of the Apple devoted a show of appreciation of that support if say
they offered a free new connector with every new iPhone® purchased? You
needn't give it to everyone for eternity. Include it to anyone whom
purchased at an Apple store. Make it a reason why to bring customers
within the Apple fold. Something – anything! Rather than just giving the
appearance of now turning everything into a profit center for profit
sake. I mean really…$29.00?

That connector cost pennies yet
connects thousands of dollars of Apples products or profits to millions
and millions of customers. It's never the big things that get you most
of the time. It's the little detail that's overlooked that can tick your
customers off.

Or is this just the new version of "Think Different?"

© 2012 Mark St.Cyr  www.MarkStCyr.com

Over and over across every conceivable media outlet one headline is
carried far more repeatedly than a Lindsey Lohan arrest. “Raising taxes
on higher income earners.”

Personally I’ve grown tired of all I hear from far too many in the
media and people in general. Most arguments have bordered on pathetic –
and I believe I’m being charitable.

Most say (or think) they understand this issue, however it’s fairly
obvious once they start speaking – they don’t. When one tries to engage
the logic (or lack of) they get shouted down or brushed off. This
discussion mirrors when parents and teenagers argue why or why not to be
grounded. It’s all just emotions gone wild. Leaving most entrepreneurs
unable to open their mouths as to defend wrongly placed assumptions or
accusations.

(more…)

What happens when everything you thought you knew has been turned on its head? This is a question many ask themselves. However very few do
this in their lives without a crisis.

For many when a crisis hits, their lives will change forever on how
they perceive risk going forward. While many more will never engage
again in anything they now perceive as risky. Doesn’t matter how much
money, time, roses or more is promised. They can’t or won’t be convinced
otherwise. It’s the human condition.

(more…)

Currently I find myself in a quandary on politics and finance. I
can’t help but feel I’m in some alternate universe or reality that only
masters of science fiction like Phillip K. Dick or Arthur C. Clarke
could envision.

It would seem we went to sleep in a world where A was followed by B.
Then woke to find there’s really never been any alphabet at all.  Words
now conform to models of quantum mechanics. They live in two realities.
Just depends who does the viewing determines their reality.

As of today we have two people running for the highest office in the
land. Both are telling everyone we need him to save us. One is an
experienced businessman who’s never had experience as President and
wants you to vote for him because in order to get business moving – you
need to get political leaders working together.

Then we have another who has no experience as a businessman yet has
experience as President who wants you to vote for him because he says to
get political leaders moving – you have to get business leaders working
together.

Both can point to different realities as proof they’re thinking is
correct. It’s near maddening because if reality is purely observational.
Then both can point where they want you to look as proof. In quantum
theory both realities exist at the same time.

On the other hand everyone from the media to the ninety-nine
per-centers look upon the Bankers as pseudo political leaders with vile,
distrust and hatred. Yet, aren’t they exactly the ones who saved their
401ks?

Complaints about 401′s becoming 201′s and 101′s are now a thing of
the past. We are now at levels as if the financial collapse of markets
never took place. If you didn’t live through it to observe it, then
looking at the markets today are just as if it never happened is it not?
Quantum theory at play.

The universe where jobless numbers, business closings, housing
foreclosures are now numbers or information of economic theories long
since dispatched to the black hole of by gone economic theories. They
seemingly no longer exist. That’s the prism of reality to now view the
world.

If politicians were the ones to fix world economies. Then why isn’t
the world clamoring to hear and decipher their every word? Nobody seems
to really care any longer. Yet let it be leaked that a Central Banker
needs to take a leak, and the world pauses to hear the zipper.

The media tells us today it’s the politicians who’ll save things. Yet
haven’t they been inept at best? If it’s results that mean anything,
whom is it the media keeps telling us saved the markets of the world?
That’s right – The Central Bankers.

Place ten thousand of the worlds most famous speeches ever composed
within the Hadron Collider and it would show results as if not a word
were spoken. Yet, just the sheer mention that a vowel is to be mouthed
by Bernanke or Draghi or something more, and it’s as if the worlds
collided.

This is the new reality I’m afraid. And it’s not inside some billion
dollar particle accelerator. We are living it. Let the rules of monetary
policy or velocity be damned! This is the 21st century!

The unemployment rate has fallen once again and threatens to
possibility have a 7 handle by the election based on more people losing
work and not looking. Only quantum theory explains this in my mind.

Modern economist such as Milton Friedman and others whose work and
research on sound money policy is required reading to anyone taking
markets seriously. But now in this quantum world their views are no
longer looked upon. Which is nearly the same as if they never existed in
today’s reality.

This sounds like an experiment waiting to go bad by my way of
thinking. But this is quantum theory so I guess it can – or did – or
whatever. Lord knows I’m no rocket scientist -  just a thinker who
stayed at a Holiday Inn® once.

Anyone with a logical grasp of monetary policies and its effects will
tell you money printing will cause inflation and devalue the printers
currency. Yet today the more the U.S. Federal Reserve prints – the lower
interest rates fall.

Monetizing a nations debt is a fool’s errand. Yet we are now doing it
at such a pace we could make a particle accelerator blush. While at the
same time the U.S. dollar remains relatively strong as compared to the
amount of printing. Breath taking or surreal to say the least.

If you think the above is mind bending. Just try to view Europe through the same prism and its more quantum theory in action.

The European Central Bank just announced it will do similar bond
buying programs yet what happens to their currency? Their currency
rises! Why? Because I guess the view of reality is more in line with
you’re now saving the currency not devaluing it. Reality is all in how
it’s viewed.

Politicians jawboning on doing this or that – meaningless. Draghi
from the ECB (European Central Bank) whispers that bulge just might be a
bazooka and stand back because the view in this prism is going to get
the full Monty!

European markets rally not 1, not 2, but 3 to even 4 percent! Once
again on pure speculation. Talk about power. Who wants to be a
politician when you can have that kind of cause and effect on the wealth
of nations. Impressive one must say regardless of the viewing station
indeed.

However there is one troubling aspect to this theory that I believe
the minds of Leonard Susskind or others would take up slide rules and
commence swatting holes in all this new reality thinking.

I believe all this pseudo monetary reality will come to a rather
unpleasant end. That end I’m afraid will be born out when all these
‘geniuses’ realize their experiments were not just subject to the
reality of their views. But still conformed to the realities of what we
call the “real world.” Never vanishing down some black hole to be lost
as they try to argue.

But we’ll have to wait until others can be convinced to even look
never mind see. Because currently today’s reality is what it is. However
once the assumed models are proven to be illusions. The reality of what
is real can return with frightening speed and repercussions.

We’ll just have to wait and see because that’s reality today.

© 2012 Mark St.Cyr   www.MarkStCyr.com