Former Apple Engineer speaks out, says “Apple is Eventually Doomed”

Former Apple engineer  Michael Lopp decided it was time to take to his blog and give us all a piece of his mind. While entertaining, the more interesting factor here is an Apple (or former rather,) employee speaking out in public about the company, and in a negative manner no less. Ouch.

Lopp starts off his post with one sentence that digs deep: “Apple is eventually doomed.”

Then he goes harder: “Yes, the most valuable company on the planet will slowly fade into stagnant mediocrity,” Lopp argues. Why? He said historians will one day look back at the company and see that its demise started with the passing of Steve Jobs and “they will draw a clear line to a subsequent event of significant and will say, “Here. This is it. This is where it began.” And he points to the departure of Scott Forstall.

“Forstall, however, was old school,” Lopp argues. “In my years at Apple, the Caffe Macs chatter about Forstall was that he was the only legit successor to Jobs because he displayed a variety of Jobsian characteristics.” Lopp said success surrounded Forstall and that he was the “best approximation of Steve Jobs that Apple had left.” While Forstall might not have made many friends along the way, Lopp argues that innovation is a fight and that, perhaps, those who now have Forstall’s role aren’t as disruptive as he was. Stability, Lopp says, is not good for Apple’s edge.

“Love him or hate him, Scott Forstall’s departure makes Apple a more stable company, and I wonder if that is how it [the downfall] begins.”

Will this be the begning of a long line of brave new souls with a lot to say about Apple coming to the front, or is this man just one in a million? This could get really interesting!

source technobuffalo