So Steve Jobs retired. And that makes me worried about Apple. Why? Because I wonder if all the people that will follow will be able to say no. Because I feel that was Jobs greatest talent: saying no. Saying no to the "standard" ways of making more money, of doing business. I wonder if the culture will remain. Weren't there just articles about what happened to HP? Possibly spinning off their consumer PC business? What happened the last time Jobs left, or was fired? Wasn't Apple then trying to do things like everyone else? Will they still remain leaders without someone saying no? And I worry because there's no visionary. And I worry that the computing/consumer electronics industry no longer has someone to follow. And I worry that at some point all the stuff will stop just working, and instead, well, I'm scared. Well, not scared, scared is probably too strong a word. But anxious about possibly being annoyed in the future. Fingers crossed there's someone else out there who makes the Metaverse, Matrix, OASIS, whatever. Sensory stimulation. Someone needs to make that science fiction reality. Of course, Steve's not leaving leaving, but you wonder how much power he'll still have, and I'm guessing, or at least hoping, people would still listen to him, since the company did so well under him. At least that's the hope. And the fear that someone there thinks they know better. And we'll see the xMac, and Flash in iOS, and USB3, iPhone nanos, the xserve, WebObjects?