on the rebound 15 of april, 1998 by johnmichael patrick monty monteith

Apple Computer announced a profit for the second quarter in a row. For those of you that have been following the financial position of other companies, this may not seem like such a feat, or even seem like news worthy of mention. Never the less, for those of us following the camp in Cupertino, this is a major event. What it means, without question, is that Apple has finally gotten their house of cards in order. If you were one of those predicting Apple to be out of business any time soon, it looks like you are going to be wrong again. And that probably is worthy of a victory parade by itself. Unfortuantely, now is not the time for a parade. Because for the folks working inside Apple headquarters, the real work has just begun.

Step one was stopping the bleeding of the badly wounded company. That is all that happened. Apple lost over a billion dollars in the last couple years, and making even two hundred million in profit (which might finally be reached in the third or fourth profitable quarter) could only be considered steady healing at this point. This is not to diminish a fabulous return to profitability by Apple, because there were many that did not believe they would do it. I even questioned it myself. Fortunately Amelio had already put Apple well on the track toward profitability, and all Apple needed do was steer in the same path.

So how is Apple going to put themselves back in the drivers seat toward full recovery? His name is Steve Jobs, and anyone who follows Apple's history knows that he will make or break their future. He is the perfect visionary to have leading the way toward making Apple a major hardware and software competitor again. I would not bet the farm on him re-claiming Apple's glory years, but I'd be happy to place a small wager.

Steve Jobs, on the other hand, does not have the luxury of only a small wager. In order to start major competition with Microsoft, Steve is going to have to bet Apple's farm on a single product. Rhapsody. Apple's next great operating system. If Apple is going to have a future as an independent operating system and computer manufacturer from the WinTel world, the gamble must be made. Because if Rhapsody does not succeed, Apple will succumb to the shrinking Mac market.

However, for now, things are going Apple's way. I am not going to dwell on the negative. Lets dwell on the positive. Apple is on the rebound. They have recovered from amazing losses against huge odds. They have a strong product line, a new online ordering system, and are finally beginning to get some good press again. Even their advertising campaign seems to be working. (Wow, is this the same company we were talking about last year?)

And now it is round 4.

The bell just rang.

In one corner, Microsoft, readying the release of Windows 98. In the other corner, Apple Computer, readying the release of Rhapsody. In a few months we will come back and see how the fight is going. For now, everyone .. place your wager.