For comparative purposes, here's the procedure for doing the exact, same thing in Windows (which, I think FelixJam would agree, is a very business-centric operating system):
http://www.tomstricks.com/how-to-cr...clear-the-clipboard-in-windows-7-or-in-vista/
Is Microsoft to blame for also being "inconsistent" in their implementation of their clipboard feature, since they also have no "easy" way of clearing the clipboard?
Here's how to do it in XP:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4841971_empty-clipboard-windows-xp.html
Neither are "easy" or "consistent."
I'd like to see an example of an operating system that implements "clearing the clipboard" in a simplistic fashion so that we can compare and contrast Mac OS X's implementation against what you seem to think the experience is supposed to be like.
I agree that Mac OS X has some shortcomings -- but to blanket the entire operating system -- nay -- the entire
company as "inconsistent" because of the lack of a one-click "clear the clipboard" function is slightly hyperbolic, no?
Apple's "consistency" stems from the fact that they understand that user interfaces and the way people interact with software changes over time, and therefore, the operating system (and other programs running under the operating system) must change over time as well. A great example of this is the iTunes/iPhoto file-management paradigm: what was once done manually by the user (organizing files into a hierarchical folder structure) is now handled by the program, and the user's interaction with those "files" has now shifted... from managing folders and files to managing tags and dates. People railed against it ("How dare you touch my file structure!") but you don't hear much of that anymore, because it truly is, for most people, an arguably "better" way of doing things.
Apple may try and fail in certain cases (the first AppleTV -- sync all my content? Really? What's the point of this box, then?) but they usually follow it up with a home run (AppleTV 2 -- nice!). Sometimes they don't. But they surely don't fail more than any other company, and they surely hit a lot more home runs than other companies.
If Apple were to have stayed absolutely "consistent" over time, we'd still be using something akin to the GUI in OS 7 and we'd still all be managing our files manually (which is a much different experience and much different scope on a 1.3GB hard drive than it is on a 2TB hard drive).
Not being able to clear the clipboard "easily," while a very valid concern, is not, by any means, the "inconsistent" hurdle that's keeping Apple from breaking into the corporate sector. It's a minor detail -- one that's overlooked by just about every OS on the market today.