If Apple is richer than ever, why does it feel so broke?

First off, the Macalope would like to assure you that he is not in the Epstein files. Let’s just get that out of the way.

The Macalope is letting you know because it seems like lately a lot of people are turning up in them, including one Tim Cook! Yes, Cook’s Lack of Good Sense Tour continues as the Apple CEO is caught, fortunately, with his pants up but his values down.

The Macalope’s going to clue you in on a feature of iOS you may not be aware of, Tim. When someone calls whom you don’t want to talk to or just really should not, there’s a little button that says “Send to voicemail.” It’s a really handy feature when you get calls from spammers or annoying relatives or people who have been accused of multiple sex offenses.

Epstein was contacting Cook on behalf of Steven Sinofsky, who was getting pushed out at Microsoft. Epstein, in addition to trafficking underage girls to the rich, also apparently connected the rich to conduct business, sort of like a disgusting LinkedIn. Okay, a more disgusting LinkedIn.

This is the third accused sexual offender this week that Cook has been found to have consorted with, while X, Grok, and other apps that create non-consensual sexual images of women and minors continue to be hosted on the App Store, the safest store in the world, according to Apple.

[Rainbow, star, jingle, “The more you know” catchphrase.]

Surprising no one, the guy who runs both X and Grok, is also part of the Epstein files and in a much less passive, much more “Hey, buddy, when can we hang out?” way. (And, yes, the Macalope knows Bill Clinton and others are in there. Also gross.)

One may think back quaintly to 2018, when Cook was doling out sage advice to Mark Zuckerberg: the way to avoid having to deal with the fallout of bad situations is to not get into them. Cook should have listened to himself.

We are experiencing a period of great angst in the Apple community, and most of it is the result of Tim Cook’s leadership. Cook has done a tremendous job over the years, building on Apple’s success and taking the company to new heights. For years, the Macalope skewered pundits who suggested Cook was a failure for not delivering a product as successful as the iPhone, as if it were reasonable to suggest he deliver another once-in-a-lifetime product. Cook’s tenure has been one of mature, stable stewardship, and over the more than decade and a half he’s led the company, Apple continued to ship hits like the Apple Watch and AirPods.

But Apple has burned through a lot of goodwill with its biggest fans because of the company Cook has been keeping, its maniacal grip on the App Store (but it magically loosens for Elon Musk), some recent design choices (cough–Liquid Glass–cough–horrible icons–cough), and an inability to ship enhanced Siri. People who used to be counted as largely friendly to the company are having less of a good time being in its corner these days.

Kevin Renskers says, “Tim Cook sold Apple’s soul”. Now, Kevin, while the U.S. Supreme Court has said that corporations are individuals, it has yet to grant them souls, so the Macalope will thank you to stop overreacting. Think of a corporation as you would a sexy vampire, such as Lestat, Spike, or two of the four guys in Vampire Weekend.

All of this after John Gruber’s “Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino” last year (and many posts since).

For years, pundits have told us this time it’s different because honk-honk blazzlefrozzle with jelly on it, and the Macalope made fun of them every time. And, indeed, to Gemmell’s point, no one is saying the company will feel any effect from this outpouring of dissatisfaction. More’s the pity.

But while the game may still be going on and the home team may still be winning, the fans are leaving the arena. The cheering is dying down.