steve jobs

We are entering the Post-Steve Jobs Era (PSE). I already notice a schism developing when I read forums and commentaries of various online sites and groups, but this is just the beginning of what will become intense internecine bickering. Just you watch.

The big test, coming up shortly, will be with the iPad 3 and Mountain Lion. It will be Phase One. I already personally know two people who are complaining about the new Mac operating system upgrade and it has not even been released yet.

It may be worse because the iPad 3's case is rumored to be leaking. I'm not sure what it is leaking, but it is leaking something. It's also cracking. "Steve would not have allowed it to get this far!"

Apple review, Apple commentary, Apple news... Everything AppleWe won't actually go into the various Steve Jobs gaffes in the past, such as the giant Power Mac G4 Cube that was incredibly stylish but prone to cracking. Nobody talks about it anymore.

Jobs and Apple have been given free passes for relatively error-free roll-outs, product after product. The winning streak is unworldly. To be honest, it's impossible to keep up such a run. There are bound to be clunkers. And, of course, Steve Jobs will be the nexus of admiration as Apple mavens lament that any new blunders would not have happened under Steve Jobs' watch.

This is raw speculation and nobody really knows what things would have been like. One thing is for certain, though: Good product or bad, Jobs had a much better grip on the public relations aspect of the company and where it leads. This clear lack of publicity vision may be the biggest problem confronting Apple.

I only say this because of the way negative news is slipping out and being handled.

First, we read about all the connections to Foxconn and people trying to tar and feather Apple by making it out to be a slave driver. How did this story manage to get front page coverage?

Now, Apple is accused of stealing the iPad name. Suddenly, the covers of the iPad 3 are cracked and leaking—whatever that means.

I personally think the most downbeat story was the one which stated the iPad, in a year or so, has outsold the Mac altogether. This was a follow-up to the report that the iPad outsold the Mac on Black Friday. This story is about as bogus as it can get since it is comparing apples (literally) and oranges. I would guess that over half of the iPad users already have a Mac.

Also, many Macs costs thousands of dollars more than an iPad, not to mention that the iPad is a different category of machine. Apple has done little to halt this sort of comparison as it relishes in the attention given to the iPad. But it is a bad image for the Mac, which has been in constant danger since the release of Final Cut Pro X.

By the way, Final Cut Pro X, which seems to be hated by most video editors, was released under Steve's watch and Steve was given a pass on it. So, the winning streak ended right then and there.

While Apple stock keeps climbing like crazy, all these holes in the facade become more and more apparent. None of this is massively destructive, but you can see that none of it is good either. It's the beginning of a new phase—the Post-Steve Jobs Era—that will not be pretty.

I'll be watching.

You can Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter @therealdvorak.

More John C. Dvorak:

Go off-topic with John C. Dvorak.