When I was growing up, my brother was one of those kids who would get into all kinds of trouble. Unlike the rest of us, however, he would escape the wrath of our parents by smiling or giving my mother a bear-hug.

In many ways, Apple reminds me of my brother. No matter how often it drops the ball with a service (MobileMe) or product (3G Apple iPhone) that doesn’t work, batteries (iPod Nano, MacBook) that over-heat or slashing prices only a few months a product has been released (original iPhone), Apple somehow manages to stay out of trouble. For whatever reason, consumer have such a love affair with Apple that it can literally do no wrong.

If Microsoft screwed up as badly, the cacophony would be overwhelming with people calling for boycotts and Steve Ballmer’s head.

This is not to suggest that Apple doesn’t do a lot of things extremely well. But why Apple constantly get the benefit of the doubt may have to do with its long-time role as the valiant underdog battling the evil empire (aka Microsoft).

Or it may have to do with the cult of personality given the aura surrounding Steve Jobs. With Steve the Visionary at the helm, it’s impossible for Apple to go wrong because it’s such a cool, hip, leading edge player in an industry chock-a-block with blandness.

Still, you wonder if the Apple will be vulnerable to the same kind of criticism and pushback most companies endure. If Jobs, for example, stepped down would be successor get the benefit of the doubt when things went wrong? I doubt it.

A sign of what’s ahead could be Mike Arrington’s riff on how Apple is “flailing at the edges”. Arrington is probably saying what a lot of people are thinking but don’t want to admit because it’s not cool to criticize Apple.

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