Innovation: Is it only a dream?

I had the craziest dream last week. Apple CEO Steve Jobs somehow had seen one of my columns calling for innovation (Hey, it was a dream, OK?) and came by to tell me he was going to launch a home furnishings division.

Jobs then explained how he was going to explode the business by bringing the buzz and technology of the iPod, iPhone and related Apple products to furniture. "Man, can’t you just see it?" he asked, with a far-away look in his eyes. "We’ve developed a heat-sensitive fabric that keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

"We’ve also made a sofa with a keypad in the arm that allows you to call a friend, regulate the lights in the room and monitor activities in any room of the house."

He went on to tell me about AppleBeds, which allow users to learn foreign languages while sleeping, armoires that select color-coordinated outfits, and other home furnishings that seemed more appropriate to George Jetson’s family than mine.

"And just like with the iPhone, people will stand in line to be the first to have all of these goodies," Jobs told me.

Then I woke up.

But when I got out of bed and turned on CNN, what I heard was no dream: Apple’s profits had surged 67% in its fourth quarter. I was fascinated by what had helped post those incredible gains. We all know how the company’s introductions of whiz-bang devices such as the iPod and the iPhone juiced sales.

The other profit driver was the incredibly strong sales of Macintosh computers in the quarter, almost 2.2 million units. One analyst cited "the halo effect," meaning Macintosh computers enjoyed exposure and subsequent sales from the buzz surrounding iPods and iPhones.

And Apple recently announced a new operating system called Leopard, making it clear Jobs still has the eye of a tiger. Simply put, Leopard has a new look, responds faster, offers new options and will work in most corporate environments, which suddenly gives Apple much more appeal with corporate IT buyers, many of whom prefer Microsoft platforms.

Where are you, Mr. Jobs? Plug me in, please. Beam me up. Do something, Steve.

We need your vision and we need it now.