Dear Steve Jobs,

I am writing from my little corner of the world to ask, how do you do it? How do you manage to build layer upon layer of anticipation, sandwiched between two slices of speculation with a sprinkle of fanatical devotion to create the perfect BBLT (beef bacon, lettuce and tomato) of a product launch every single time?

The most current being Apple’s latest tablet computer, the iPad, which looks like the company’s answer to netbooks and online retailer Amazon’s Kindle book reader. In the months leading up to last Wednesday, you had almost every tech journalist scouring every random patent Apple had filed. Some were even using electronic devices to scan your Cupertino grounds for tablet-like devices.

I am asking because Malaysia’s corporate scene could do with some of this excitement. Here, there is no shortage of incidents when a company announces a huge project, which pushes up the share price, only to have it not materialise and leave the shareholders feeling wrong-footed.

Maybe the difference is that most of the time, Apple does deliver. However, since the response to your new iPad has been a collective round of “meh”, there is a chance that it will go the way of Apple TV, that is, a flop. 

Still there is no question as to your clout, which is why I am hoping that you will pay a visit to our part of the world one day. I understand that since your sabbatical, you haven’t been well but I reason that if Sarah Palin can do a book tour, why not you?

I am hoping that the lesson you can bring is not to only be a showman, but how to create something revolutionary. The main issue with the technology sector in Malaysia is that most of our companies never seem to move up the value chain, leaving us at the mercy of cheaper cost centres like Vietnam and China.

Never mind that in the grand scheme of things only 10% of personal computers out there are Apple machines. The important thing is that you almost never hear of people lining up blocks for your close rival’s products. Your soaring stock and estimate-beating financial numbers should also be more than enough proof. Now, that is presence.

Take the case of a 24-year-old British girl who is currently lobbying her government to make it legal for her to marry her laptop. Although she is not gauche enough to name the brand, because love is blind, it is clear from her video that her laptop is a Macbook.

That is clearly devotion, where you have managed to create a piece of machinery so perfect that people are willing to defy natural laws to marry it.

But I do have a bone to pick with you about your new iPad. It is never a good thing when the name of your product gets more stories than the actual item itself. I think iTab has less of a hygiene product ring to it, and you should consider it for your tablet PC version 2.

And, given that my work still appears predominantly in print, my concern is that your invention will launch a host of cheaper copycats that will usher in the end of my medium even quicker. However, as I said earlier, maybe it is this kind of invention that will force us to finally think outside the box and move up the value chain even faster.

Hope to see you soon in Kuala Lumpur.

Sincerely,
A Mac Devotee




This article appeared in Forum page of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 791, Feb 1-7, 2010.