"If Steve Jobs were still alive, would the new map application on the iPhone 5 be such an unmitigated disaster?" asks Joe Nocera. It's a question many others are also asking, given the huge backlash to iOS 6 Maps. But to Nocera, a potentially bigger concern is that Jobs' absence will limit the risk-taking that drove Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) meteoric rise. Joshua Topolsky: "The iPhone 5 is unquestionably the best iPhone ever made ... but right now Apple seems to be in a holding pattern, too comfortable or too scared to take real chances." (also: I, II)