Silicon Insider: The Cult of Apple

Still, it raises an interesting question. Given the current stock option backdating scandal at Apple, and Steve Jobs' possible participation in it, what happens if he, like other executives in similar predicaments at other companies, has to resign from Apple Inc.? The Apple cult's greatest vulnerability is that it extends not only to the company and its products, but also to the mercurial Mr. Jobs.

Can it survive the fall of its founder? As with charismatic cult leaders from Aimee Semple MacPherson to Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, will the true believers loudly pronounce their enduring faith, then quietly steal away? Or will they begin the long vigil, waiting for the eventual return of their messiah, who, after all, came back from the wilderness once before?

In the end, can the Cult of Apple survive the loss of the Cult of Steve? Stay tuned. We may just find out.


There's a cool Java applet on the Web called Pyro Sand Game. In the basic game you select from four elements -- sand, water, salt and oil -- and let them cascade down through various obstacles. More complex mods (and there are now scores) let you mess around with everything from concrete to gunpowder. For example, I took the wall tool and made a house. Then I filled it with C4 and watched the whole place explode. These days the game has enough different "elements" that the possibilities for mayhem and destruction are almost endless. Check it out.



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