Public Opinion Says Apple Will Be OK Without Steve Jobs [INFOGRAPHIC]

Change is constant in the IT world; no individual or company can stay on top forever. Each of the previous "top of the world" IT companies had its downfall rooted in the legacy cash cow products of the past: IBM mainframes, Digital VAX/VMS, Microsoft Windows, RIM Blackberry.

Each of the previous leaders knew their cash cows needed to be replaced with radically different technology. But with massive infrastructure already in place, they struggled to keep their cash cows alive while competitors cheerfully accelerated the obsolescence of legacy products.

Apple and IBM both had near-death experiences and managed to reinvent themselves in a nick of time. Most tech companies don't fare so well. The jury is still out on Microsoft.

Apple's survival is not as dependent on Steve Jobs as it is customer satisfaction. When Microsoft/Intel machines offered better performance, more flexible hardware, and lower prices than Apple's 1st generation Macintosh products, where was the Steve Jobs cult THEN? As I recall Steve Jobs was fired because Apple was failing to compete.

Thanks to obsolescent Microsoft and RIM, Apple has a window of opportunity that transcends Steve Jobs. The customers are generally quite happy, to the point where they evangelize the brand every chance they get. With or without Steve Jobs, customers are dumping Apple's competitors at a frightening pace. For the first time in modern IT history, the home consumer is driving the market instead of the corporate consumer.

The only serious threats to Apple are Google and their Linux-based products. But Apple is a Unix product as well, so there isn't much Google can do that Apple can't quickly imitate. In the short run, the only way Apple can really screw this up is if they allow DRM to disappoint customers. Leave that to Microsoft.