Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian to the rescue?

At the start of 2001, Apple was (still) in terrible financial shape. Revenue had cratered to the lowest level since the late 1980s. For years they had been selling off assets—such as ARM Holdings—just so they could continue to tread water.

In February, my coworkers and I gathered in a conference room at Apple to watch the keynote address for Macworld Tokyo. People were in an anxious mood and were hoping for something compelling to be unveiled.

Steve Jobs walked out on stage, looking paunchy and visibly sweating at times. He looked clearly uncomfortable in a suit and was sporting a wrinkled tie.

Doesn’t this look Photoshopped?

Our hearts sank as this sweaty man unveiled some of the oddest-looking products Apple has ever made.