"Why was Apple able to [ignore Wall Street outright], when other major corporations can't seem to shake their Wall Street shackles? I would guess that it had a

"Why was Apple able to [ignore Wall Street outright], when other major corporations can't seem to shake their Wall Street shackles? I would guess that it had a lot to do with an early chain of big hits. The iPod, followed by the massively successful generations of subsequent iPods and iTunes" I agree, but the chain of hits started with the iMac, which quickly became the bestselling personal computer ever. Also, Jobs had already demonstrated his ability to make tough decisions: when he became interim CEO at Apple, he appointed an entirely new board of directors, chose new VPs, slashed many product lines (Performa, Newton, Network Server, QuickTake, LaserWriter, etc etc), and he wouldn't take more than $1 in salary.