It’s been suggested that Apple needs to bring back the Mac clone program or else show its personal computer line some serious love. Here’s another good idea:
Adam C. Engst, in a TidBITS column dubbed “Understanding Apple’s Marginalization of the Mac,” says Apple could make a Mac division a wholly owned subsidiary of the company a la FileMaker, Inc. Here’s his suggestion:
“Apple … could take FileMaker Inc. as a model. FileMaker, which emerged from the ashes of Claris, is a wholly owned subsidiary, but since the needs of the database development market differ significantly from those of Apple’s other markets, it has presumably made sense to give FileMaker more autonomy than other apps. Even if FileMaker’s independence is a historical accident — I don’t know what sets it apart from Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro, which Apple has kept in-house — the point remains: Apple could give the Mac division its head rather than tying it to the iOS wagon.
“Lots of corporate giants have divisions or subsidiaries that run largely independently, and I see no inherent reason why Apple couldn’t spin the Mac out just far enough that it could focus on the needs of Mac users, rather than merely trying to be supportive of iOS. That would apply to both Mac hardware and macOS, and yes, it would require significant coordination to ensure that Apple’s famed integration didn’t suffer in the process.
“Hard though it might be, letting the Mac team pursue its own goals could result in a Mac that would once again indisputably be the computer of choice for creative professionals.”
Of course, it’s possible that Apple really “loves” the Mac as CEO Tim Cook claims and “are as committed to it, in both desktops and notebooks, as we ever have been,” as Phil Schiller, the senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, says. If so, management needs to present their vision of the company’s Mac plans and how those plans fit into the “big picture” that involves iOS, tvOS, and watchOS devices.
If not, the company’s apparent discontinuation of its wireless routers, the termination of its product manager of Automation Technologies, the end of the Thunderbolt Display, and the long-in-the-tooth Mac Pro will only reinforce the notion that Apple doesn’t care about professional/creative users anymore. And perhaps not the Mac itself.
Apple, the ball is in your court.
