From Cool Cat to Crazy Cat? A look at the recent cat fights between Steve Jobs and well…. everybody else.

Now before I say what I’m about to say, let me immediately establish the following:

I’m an Apple fan-grrl. Have been for years. I wax poetic about all things Apple. And I think Steve Jobs is brilliant and a master at what he does, albeit no one gets anything accomplished without a team. [Remember this it's important later].

And I want to say I am sincerely sorry for the health issues Jobs has had to deal with.

Having said that, is Steve Jobs losing it? Is he going from cool cat to crazy cat? Are the pressures of running Apple and ill-health taking a toll?

There’s no question, Jobs is sending out a big F You to Adobe, Google, Gizmodo, Mac OS X developers, and even iPad customers with the LIFETIME limit of 2 per person [or not - it's ummmm not clear].

Adobe Flash: I’ll be the first one to say I can’t stand Flash and as a Web Developer refuse to create websites in Flash. Adobe Flash is a resource hog and prone to a litany of issues that have all be discussed before. And I do agree with what Steve Jobs writes in his letter to customers and critics outlining why Adobe Flash is not available on the iPhone, iTouch, or iPad.

Steve Jobs has never been one to hold back on what he’s thinking and this is no exception: “About Adobe: They are lazy, Jobs says. They have all this potential to do interesting things but they just refuse to do it. They don’t do anything with the approaches that Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support

Flash because it is so buggy, he says. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash, he says. The world is moving to HTML5.

However, also significant and not to be ignored is the fact that Adobe Systems Inc. won a Best of Show Vidy Award at NAB 2010 in Las Vegas this April. I think that’s pretty significant. And it could mean that Adobe’s Flash is not going away any time soon. Perhaps Adobe is innovating and creating software that will keep up with the future demands of mobile technology. I’m not convinced yet. I’m going to have to use it and see it implemented. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting.

As we know, the Jobs – Google cat fight has been ongoing beginning with the Google Voice app being rejected from the App Store and ramping up with Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt stepping down from Apple’s Board of Directors. At first we thought maybe Jobs and Google’s Schmidt were going to kiss and make up, as they were seen having a seemingly friendly chat outside a cafe in Palo Alto in March.

But tensions are still running high with Jobs saying Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ mantra is ‘Bullshit’ and if you want to watch porn well then, buy an Android phone because Apple just isn’t that trashy.

“On Google: We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them, he says. Someone else asks something on a different topic, but there’s no getting Jobs off this rant. I want to go back to that other question first and say one more thing, he says. This don’t be evil mantra: “It’s bullshit.” Audience roars.

Steve Job’s response via email to a customer’s inquiry: “…we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy and [sic] Android phone.”

And next up Apple just bought Siri – which is a direct shot over the bow at Google’s voice-activated computing as reported in the New York Times yesterday.

Okay well… Adobe and Google are outsiders, you argue. It’s understandable because it’s Us vs. Them. As if…

Next up, Steve Jobs seems to have snubbed his own Mac OS X developers and iPad customers.

As reported by PCWorld, Apple drops Mac category from Apple Design Awards for the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. “I think it’s a mistake for Apple to miss such an easy opportunity to acknowledge Mac developers,” says Red Sweater Software proprietor Daniel Jalkut. “While the iPhone and iPad are understandably hot right now, the Mac is still a huge part of Apple’s business, and Mac developers are important in sustaining that.”

OUCH! I am left to sadly shake my head asking WHY??? WHY??? WHY would you do that, Mr. Jobs? (Okay everyone, say it with me – “No one gets anything accomplished without a team!”)

And I have to admit I was more than a little unnerved when it was reported that you could actually be banned for a LIFETIME from buying iPads. No really… apparently if you piss Apple off enough (even unwittingly) even YOU oh faithful Apple fan-boi or fan-grrl will be turned out onto the street and banished from the land of Apple.

Okay to be fair, perhaps Apple was just trying to prevent price gouging and trying to protect the unwitting consumers of such nefarious activity. Or maybe there was some international debauchery going on that we weren’t privy to. I mean after all, the iPad was even banned in Israel for God’s sake! (Maybe literally).

But there still seems to be a grey area about the limit of two and the lifetime ban and what all that really means. I legitimately bought two iPads after standing in line on release day. One for myself and one for a family member. In reality, my intentions as an early adopter were to just be able to experience this new, sexy technological wonder for about a month, then sell it and buy the Wi-Fi + 3G version when that one was released. But now I have a little reservation. Will I be banned from Apple if I buy another one? Will I be able to plead my case explaining my Apple addiction is harming no one but my bank account?

So what is it these days where it seems that Jobs is at odds with everyone?

It’s one thing to say, Okay… competition is a good thing. We’re going to build the best product out there and show people why they want to by our gadget x instead of their gadget y.

It’s quite another to publicly go for the throat of anyone who even slightly poses a threat of any kind.

It’s one thing to say, We really want to focus our attention on the iPhone, the iPad and the future of mobile computing, but let’s take a moment to give kudos where due and give a hand to all our hardworking Mac OS X developers who have had to take a back seat recently. They deserve recognition to.

It’s quite another to just snub them and drop them altogether from the upcoming 2010 WWDC. Ummmmm… de-motivational at minimum.

It’s one thing to stop people from buying 50 iPads on release day knowing they’re going to show up on eBay faster than someone can say “scalping”…

It’s quite another to have some kind of vague policy that leaves one scratching one’s head in confusion trying to figure out if some crime against Apple has been committed.

Now I know I’m oversimplifying things and there’s a cut-throat world out there that doesn’t play by the rules. Trade secrets and patents get stolen. Intellectual property leaks outside of determined boundaries. A young man’s drunken frivolity and irresponsibility have far-reaching consequences.

I have no illusions that we ARE all going to just get along or that we’re all going to join hands around a fire and sing Kumbaya. Life’s not fair. I get it.

Something I have learned though… is you don’t get very far in life alienating everyone around you. None of us gets very far with the “I’ll do it my damn self” attitude. Because believe me, sooner or later you’re going to need help with something and if all you hear are crickets in the background when you call out for help… well… eh hem… as I said before – no one gets anything accomplished without a team.

Nevertheless, it seems to me that Jobs is creating (or at least not squelching) a public relations nightmare for Apple. Just months ago, all the headlines were about the latest firmware or software innovations from Apple, people breathlessly speculating about some new shiny gadget or new apps. These days the majority of headlines seem to be about one cat fight or another with Steve Jobs, claws bared, center stage.

Are we going to find out he’s crazy like a fox and he has been right? That he was the only one with some cajones to call it like it is while others just look down whistling dragging their toe in the dirt?

Or will all the stunningly breath-taking technological innovations of the past decade fall into a heap of dust with Steve Jobs being remembered not as a … but just as that cat who went crazy?

I guess only time will tell.