The technology and consumer electronics markets are awash with companies that seem to be barely meeting expectations or are, like Sony, Sun and Yahoo, on and off death watch. They aren’t alone; the relatively new Obama administration seems to also be failing, and the latest State of the Union address wasn’t particularly inspirational. Apple just reported incredibly high earnings and launched a product no one should want — but it seems many do. This is because Apple has one skill these other entities lack: It knows how to get people excited and manage expectations.
