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Who carves an Apple symbol into their head when most kids would probably prefer a mohawk?
This kid. I love this story.
It surprises me that no one has talked at all about Tim Cook joining Apple’s board at the same time he’s stepping into the CEO role. This has been speculated since Eric Schmidt vacated his seat in August 2009 (see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125019983643730309.html). One can only infer that this succession plan has been in place for at least two years despite public pressure for the company to reveal a plan.
Steve J doesn’t do anything without a ton of detail, and you’ve got to believe his press release jab was more than just a passing reference to succession plan demanders.
Robert Scoble pens this Steve Jobs retrospective.
The big question in the interim is ‘how’s his health?’ and I’m not sure we’ll have the answer anytime before we hear any really bad news. He will continue to drive product in his new role as chairman and employee – ain’t collecting COBRA alone. What he has done is provided Cook with a fantastic opportunity to employ brilliant supply chain dynamics that assure Apple’s competitive product advantages give them far more runway and net profit than any similar company in history, and that alone will buy a ton of time even if they lose some of that creative force. I’d contend much of their unique product DNA will remain intact and what will remain unanswered is how they identify and implement features from here forward. Theory is there’s at least one more product in the kitty – perhaps 2 or 3 – that are ready to go and waiting for the market to systemically green light them. When you consider the iPad was around 4-5 years before any touch device was released that wouldn’t be surprising. There’s touch-hybrid line of computers, some kind of TV-style media device, and loads of cloud products that are at least 80% assured of showing up in the next couple years alone, and their transition to Apple-developed CPUs will at minimum lock their trajectory for several years while they continue to lock-in their adjusted executive chemistry.
Interesting insights on the future and Steve Jobs’s vision for it from Gasée’s Monday Note.
Computerworld offers results in the ongoing back and forth regarding Adobe Flash’s viability on mobile platforms. In short, tests conducted using Flash on several mobile operating systems including Google’s latest (Android Froyo) show a marked battery and performance drain and even crashed at one point.
No doubt Apple needs to work a little harder to avoid appearing heavy handed in this and other lines they’ve drawn in the sand. However, the facts on this one are hard to dispute – even if Apple’s protecting their own turf more than they’re protecting their customers.
Looks like Ryan Tate over at Gawker got Steve J’s attention, because Jobs’s usually five word response became a multi paragraph, multi message exchange between the Gawker writer and Apple CEO. Keep in mind we have no way of verifying the authenticity of this exchange other than trusting Tate, but if it is in fact genuine it opens up a whole new view into Steve’s thinking.
“Freedom from porn” was perhaps the most controversial stand Jobs took on behalf of the Apple App Store, as many who’ve allied with the company in past have done so in the belief it stood for all that is free, right, and institutionally challenging in the world. It will be interesting to see how this one carries over to the weekday news cycle.
Follow the link above for more on the exchange as reported by the Tate.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs personally monitors the so-called carry list of staff members allowed to take pre-release devices off the company’s campus, according to the former employee.
More: Apple Probably Will Limit Pre-Release Use of Devices.
There’s something inexplicably pitiful about a company as dominating as Microsoft being completely unable to make up its collective mind on branding.
What this unexpected name change says is the company doesn’t even trust its own decision making.
Microsoft lacks a collective confidence and decisive leadership that stands by things as important as marketing and branding decisions. Do you think Steve J really cares about all the humor regarding the iPad name?
Yes he does. All the way to the bank.
What about that fight between Jobs and Schmidt? One way or the other they seem to have at least patched it up enough to have coffee together.
Now if we could just get them to wear something different for a change. Sheesh.
