Silicon Valley on Apple post-Jobs: success for now

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CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple headquarters is still standing in

this leafy Silicon Valley suburb even after Steve Jobs’

industry-rattling announcement that he was resigning as chief

executive of the company he co-founded in a garage more than three

decades ago.

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That news comes as little surprise in the Valley, where few doubted

Thursday that despite the loss of its legendary leader Apple would

continue to succeed – at least for the next few years.

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“I don’t think in the short term it will suffer,” said Ethan

Salter, 35, an engineering consultant who had stopped at a

Starbucks just down the road from the Mountain View headquarters of

Google Inc., a major Apple competitor. “In the long term, things

change really quickly around here.”

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Tech workers interviewed by The Associated Press said they were not

shocked to hear Wednesday that Jobs was stepping down. His health

troubles, which have included pancreatic cancer and a liver

transplant, are well-known.

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Yet in a place where the lightning speed of success is matched

perhaps only by the careening pace of failure, some wondered

whether Jobs’ departure could ultimately lead to a turn in its

fortunes.

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Apple itself floundered for a decade after Jobs left the company,

and its rise to its current success did not begin until he returned

in the late 1990s, cementing his image as the key to the company’s

rise.

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“Last time he left Apple, it wasn’t so pretty,” said Aaron Wegner,

31, a computer programmer at Lawrence Livermore National Lab

visiting Silicon Valley for the day.

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“I think he’s a driving force behind what their products end up

physically looking like.”

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Jobs’ reputation as a micromanager of Apple’s design process has

both helped and hindered the company. The company’s string of

commercial triumphs over the past decade has convinced many

consumers and investors that with Jobs in charge Apple could do no

wrong. The flip side of that confidence is an anxiety about whether

the company will falter without him.

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Mi Young, 43, a business operations manager at a small computer

networking company in Santa Clara, said she doubts Jobs would have

stepped down without a plan in place.

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Many of the ideas to come out of Apple in the next five years she

believes will still bear Jobs’ stamp. “Beyond that, I don’t know

who will be able to fill those shoes.”

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Part of the concern among Apple fans hinges on how heavily the

company itself has relied on Jobs’ cult of personality to market

its innovative products.

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His onstage appearances to unveil Apple’s newest designs draw

thousands of adoring fans and hundreds of journalists who broadcast

his every word around the globe.

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“There’s this identification of the company with the man,” said

Alex Bochannek, curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain

View. That kind of identification is not unique to Apple in the

history of computer companies and leads to the assumption that

these large, complex organizations are run singlehandedly, he

said.

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But Jobs has clearly surrounded himself with smart people,

Bochannek said, such as lead designer Jonathan Ive, best known to

the public as the stylish Brit who extolls Apple’s latest products

in the company’s online marketing videos.

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“I don’t think anyone thinks Apple is going away tomorrow,” he

said. At the same time, he said, “ultimately it’s the leader who

creates a culture.”

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While Apple’s focus on attractive design and ease of use has

fostered a culture of innovation, heavy secrecy is also a

cornerstone of its operations.

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The veil the company drapes over its inner workings encourages a

furious online trade in speculation and rumors about Apple and its

products.

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Outside the company’s Cupertino headquarters Thursday, Apple

employees were unsurprisingly tight-lipped about their boss’

decision, saying they’re under strict orders not to talk to

reporters.

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“It’s called job security,” one employee said.

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Jobs’ replacement as CEO is Tim Cook, a longtime Apple executive

who has temporarily filled the spot when Jobs has gone on medical

leave. While no one including Cook can currently match Jobs’ tech

industry star power, some longtime industry observers say the key

to Apple’s future success lies in how much attention it can

continue to draw to its products, not its leader.

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Says Computer History Museum software curator Al Kossow: “The

question is whether Tim Cook is going to keep

innovating.”

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—

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Marcus Wohlsen can be reached on Twitter at

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