Apple Shareholder Meeting Notes: iPhone, iTunes Movies, Jobs' Successor [Archive]

MacRumors

Mar 4, 2008, 03:59 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple held (http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8451237) their annual shareholder meeting today. MercuryNews provides (http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8451237) some notes on the meeting. Investors passed a proposal asking the company to allow investors to have an advisory vote on executive compensation."It's a great vote," said Scott Adams, a research coordinator at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a member of the AFL-CIO, which sponsored the proposal. Even though Apple is "a great company, shareholders still want a say on pay," he added.
The board can choose to accept or ignore the proposal. In general the mood seems to have been positive, with a few common questions being addressed:

- Jobs and executives, of course, would not comment on future products or plans.
- Jobs confirmed that they were expecting to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008.
- Apple does plan on offering the iPhone in China and India "one day".
- Jobs stated he is "not happy about" the fact that they were unable to meet the 1000 movies on iTunes goal by the end of February. Jobs blamed the delay on movie studios getting the necessary approvals from various rights holders of each film.
- Regarding Steve Jobs' successor, he sees many possible candidates amongst Apple's current executives.
"We've got great talent, and I think the board would have a few really good choices," said Jobs, 53. "We talk about that a lot." Candidates include Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, he said.

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/04/apple-shareholder-meeting-notes-iphone-itunes-movies-shareholder-vote/)

stagi

Mar 4, 2008, 04:04 PM

Too bad no dividend or stock buy back, they need to put some of that cash to work

lazyrighteye

Mar 4, 2008, 04:04 PM

Seems if Chinese and Indian markets were iPhone-centric, that 10 million mark would be in Apple's rear view mirror. Almost instantly.

FakeWozniak

Mar 4, 2008, 04:10 PM

I wonder if they are accepting applications for the future opening. I'll wait :)

mogzieee

Mar 4, 2008, 04:13 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"

What is he retiring or something!?!?!

uNext

Mar 4, 2008, 04:13 PM

No plans to offer dividends or buy back stock.

That sucks ohh well.

Off to buy more AAPL they are at a sale price.

Mykbibby

Mar 4, 2008, 04:13 PM

Nice to know it wasn't Apple's fault with the 1,000 movies.

And when Jobs is not happy, things happen!

Much Ado

Mar 4, 2008, 04:14 PM

No plans to offer dividends or buy back stock.

That sucks ohh well.

Off to buy more AAPL they are at a sale price.

If you're buying more stock at this price then why do you want a buyback? :confused:

thejadedmonkey

Mar 4, 2008, 04:29 PM

If you're buying more stock at this price then why do you want a buyback? :confused:

a buyback shows confidence, and usually increases the price of the stock.

chr1s60

Mar 4, 2008, 04:30 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"

What is he retiring or something!?!?!

Not right away, but I would imagine that within the next 10 years he will step down. When you are looking for a replacement for such a high power position it takes many years to find the right one and it's never too early to start looking. The day Steve goes will be a sad day, regardless of who replaces him.

timmillwood

Mar 4, 2008, 04:30 PM

I would hate to see Jobs go?

I think Phil Schiller or Johnny Ive will be the best!

fluidedge

Mar 4, 2008, 04:32 PM

bommai

Mar 4, 2008, 04:33 PM

I would hate to see Jobs go?

I think Phil Schiller or Johnny Ive will be the best!

Actually Jobs mentioned Tim Cook or Peter Oppenheimer. While Schiller and Ive are good they are not good chief executives. Tim Cook has a lot of experience and he ran Apple when Jobs underwent cancer surgery three years ago.

Pukey

Mar 4, 2008, 04:33 PM

[...]

- Regarding Steve Jobs' successor, he sees many possible candidates amongst Apple's current executives.

"We've got great talent, and I think the board would have a few really good choices," said Jobs, 53. "We talk about that a lot." Candidates include Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, he said.

Oh come on, I think the obvious choice doesn't work at Apple now. We all know it's got to be the other Steve.
Steve Ballmer that is.

iJesus

Mar 4, 2008, 04:34 PM

Nooo!

I thought that Steve was immortal!
I cannot imagine :apple: without him!
:(

I just feel that without him, the soul of Apple is gone....
... no more reality distortion fields, SteveNotes, or the forever trendy black mock turtleneck.
:mad:

pkoch1

Mar 4, 2008, 04:34 PM

a buyback shows confidence, and usually increases the price of the stock.

Precisely why you would NOT want a buyback if you are looking to BUY stock. Once you own it, a buyback would be wonderful.

MrT8064

Mar 4, 2008, 04:35 PM

Yeh Ive would be great, but i'm worried that he doesnt seem all that public, we hardly ever seem him interviewed or on camera.

but still; Ive is VERY cool!

psychofreak

Mar 4, 2008, 04:36 PM

jonharris200

Mar 4, 2008, 04:40 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"

What is he retiring or something!?!?!
Succession planning is quite normal for any large company.

I think the big mistake would be to look for a Steve Jobs clone - he is one of a kind.

Thankfully though Steve has imprinted innovation on the DNA of the company. Even with a very different personality at the top, those core values run deep enough to see Apple through, as and when the time eventually comes.

I don't expect Steve to step down any time soon.

Play Ultimate

Mar 4, 2008, 04:41 PM

Let's not overlook the fact that SJ is not really a tech guy. Woz was the brains behind Apple whereas Jobs was the marketer.
Also, Tim Cook did a great job at the GS Forum the other day.

fluidedge

Mar 4, 2008, 04:42 PM

i too think SJ will be around for a bit, even when he goes he might still hold the chairman title or something and he'll probably still be on the board of directors. He'll still be involved with Apple, they'd be silly to just sever ties when he retires.

psychofreak

Mar 4, 2008, 04:43 PM

Let's not overlook the fact that SJ is not really a tech guy. Woz was the brains behind Apple whereas Jobs was the marketer.
Also, Tim Cook did a great job at the GS Forum the other day.

There is no way SJ has not become greatly knowledgeable about computers (maybe not to code/hardware making level, but still) while working with them for so many years.

donlphi

Mar 4, 2008, 04:44 PM

re: available movie rentals

uh... who cares

Can't wait for this Thursday.

fluidedge

Mar 4, 2008, 04:46 PM

whats happening thursday?

Fast Shadow

Mar 4, 2008, 04:47 PM

Let's not overlook the fact that SJ is not really a tech guy. Woz was the brains behind Apple whereas Jobs was the marketer.
Also, Tim Cook did a great job at the GS Forum the other day.

Woz was behind the Apple and Apple II computers. The Macintosh is the child of Steve Jobs.

zombitronic

Mar 4, 2008, 04:47 PM

Succession planning is quite normal for any large company.

I think the big mistake would be to look for a Steve Jobs clone - he is one of a kind.

Thankfully though Steve has imprinted innovation on the DNA of the company. Even with a very different personality at the top, those core values run deep enough to see Apple through, as and when the time eventually comes.

I don't expect Steve to step down any time soon.

Ive does look like (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive) jobs a little...but I don't think they have the same personality. From what I hear, Ive is kinda shy. If he could get over that, I think I'd rather see him giving future keynotes than one of the suits. He's got that artistic charisma.

Cassie

Mar 4, 2008, 04:54 PM

I've gotta be honest. I won't shed a tear when Jobs leaves. I truly believe his usefulness at Apple is coming to an end, and I think he knows this too.

Kirkmedia

Mar 4, 2008, 04:54 PM

I say Bob Iger in 5 years.

killerrobot

Mar 4, 2008, 04:56 PM

- Jobs confirmed that they were expecting to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008.

Should that read sell the 10 millionth iPhone? I lost track of sales a while ago, but I thought the original goal was 10 million, soo....:confused:

nukiduz

Mar 4, 2008, 04:56 PM

I've gotta be honest. I won't shed a tear when Jobs leaves. I truly believe his usefulness at Apple is coming to an end, and I think he knows this too.

Why do you think that? I'm just curious.

CrackedButter

Mar 4, 2008, 04:57 PM

Jobs successor has to be Jonathan Ive doesn't it?!

He represents everything that is cool about apple, not some overweight financial executive who may have the knowledge/experience to run Apple, but wouldn't quite be the face we'd like to see giving the keynote at MW would he?

Ive would be my choice.

I saw this kind of negativity on the Macdailynews website as well toward Tim Cook and Michael Oppenheimer and it kinda niggles at me when neither the person here or the person on the other website know who these people are.

Why make such generalisations over people you haven't met, just get a grip. I'm sure Steve Jobs knows what he's doing with his own company more so than us.

From the little insight I've learned about those 2 people they are solid characters to have and are not your typical financial types. Apple is known for its lack of levels in upper management and for a company its size it doesn't have as much bureaucracy as others do. Simply put, Apple won't be doing a Steve Ballmer like Microsoft did, something which Steve has commented on himself. Both of those people Steve Jobs mentioned have a firm grip on what Apple is I'm sure, so for the moment can we not show any negativity to people who so far have done a good job?

After all, it isn't Steve who is handling the financial side is it? He decided who he wanted by his side to take care of those aspects of the company.

pimentoLoaf

Mar 4, 2008, 05:03 PM

As a shareholder, I voted against telling the company who should get paid what. I saw no reason to watch them as the company can figure that out for themselves.

After all, the company isn't small, having horrific problems, so why bother monitoring?

jasonklee

Mar 4, 2008, 05:06 PM

Of course Cassie is right. She MUST be an Apple employee and gets to see, firsthand, Jobs's influence and work ethic, on a day by day basis. I mean, no one is that brazen enough to make an informed judgement without knowing what they're talking about, right?

FJ218700

Mar 4, 2008, 05:19 PM

iJesus

Mar 4, 2008, 05:20 PM

whats happening thursday?

The SDK media roadmap thing :)

Bubba Satori

Mar 4, 2008, 05:27 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"!?!?!

http://blog.kir.com/archives/carly.jpg

PygmySurfer

Mar 4, 2008, 05:35 PM

http://blog.kir.com/archives/carly.jpg

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For anyone who doesn't know, that's Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP.

Prof.

Mar 4, 2008, 05:39 PM

HLdan

Mar 4, 2008, 05:39 PM

Let's not overlook the fact that SJ is not really a tech guy. Woz was the brains behind Apple whereas Jobs was the marketer.

And what brings in sales? Marketing. :p Your giving too much credit to a man who practically now hates the company.

rhpixelfreak

Mar 4, 2008, 05:42 PM

IJ Reilly

Mar 4, 2008, 05:48 PM

a buyback shows confidence, and usually increases the price of the stock.

Almost automatically, at least theoretically. A buyback reduces the amount of stock available to investors, so the market value of the company is divided across fewer shares. Conversely, when a company awards options to employees, the current stockholder's shares are diluted. I'm sorry that they're not even considering a dividend. I think that would go a long way towards restoring investor confidence.

Wie Gehts

Mar 4, 2008, 05:49 PM

I vote for Gil Amelio

CrackedButter

Mar 4, 2008, 05:49 PM

And what brings in sales? Marketing. :p Your giving too much credit to a man who practically now hates the company.

Woz is still on the Apple payroll and a shareholder, that's some pent up hate right there I'm sure.:rolleyes:

carve

Mar 4, 2008, 05:49 PM

chr1s60

Mar 4, 2008, 05:50 PM

Ive would be cool but obviously there's more to that job than giving four keynotes a year so it's a little silly to say "Ive looks cool so he should be the one"

That said, he's probably very smart and able to direct Apple but I imagine Steve Jobs knows what he's talking about.

You could easily say that Apple may have never taken off like it has in recent years if it wasn't for Ive. He is largely responsible for designing three of the best selling Apple products. If he can have a lot of input on those, I feel he would be able to continue to create amazing products.

abrooks

Mar 4, 2008, 05:51 PM

I want Jony Ive to be the next CEO of Apple. He's cool guy. (not that i want Mr. Jobs to leave or anything).

http://img.timeinc.net/time/time100/2007/walkup/images/ive_jonathan_a.jpg
For those of you who don't know, that's Jony Ive

Recent picture:

http://photos.worldofapple.com/macworld08_postkeynote/tuesday15_macworld2008_postkeynote019.JPG

fluidedge

Mar 4, 2008, 05:52 PM

Prof.

Mar 4, 2008, 05:53 PM

has he got funny eyes?
You mean a lazy eye? I don't think so.:confused: Maybe it's just that pic.

jasonklee

Mar 4, 2008, 05:57 PM

Ive could pass for Jobs's son.

But I hear Ive is reserved and doesn't like the spot light. But if he's got the credentials and capacity to be the successor to Jobs, well, that's cool.

Still, it'd be fun if they could pluck a hair from Jobs, and once cloning becomes mainstream, have some lady gestate Jobs v.2.

cameronjpu

Mar 4, 2008, 06:00 PM

Ive does look like (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive) jobs a little...but I don't think they have the same personality. From what I hear, Ive is kinda shy. If he could get over that, I think I'd rather see him giving future keynotes than one of the suits. He's got that artistic charisma.

My crazy thought was... how about someone like Laurence Fishburne for CEO, and let the others run the company? ;) They need someone who can make a splash in front of a crowd at the top, and lets face it, that's pretty rare among CEO types :)

tuneman07

Mar 4, 2008, 06:02 PM

I would be EXTREMELY wary of letting shareholders having too much of a say in the company. Giving them too much power can really mess with a company. God help Apple if the unions get too involved. :mad:

fluidedge

Mar 4, 2008, 06:03 PM

My crazy thought was... how about someone like Laurence Fishburne for CEO, and let the others run the company?

Random.

It'd have to be Sam L Jackson though, coolest. guy. ever.

t0mat0

Mar 4, 2008, 06:09 PM

Random.

It'd have to be Sam L Jackson though, coolest. guy. ever.

If we're going actors, why not get Batman's outfitter - Morgan Freeman. He'd have the coolest tech in town :)

Apple Corps

Mar 4, 2008, 06:10 PM

I've gotta be honest. I won't shed a tear when Jobs leaves. I truly believe his usefulness at Apple is coming to an end, and I think he knows this too.

Might you shed some light as to why you believe that ????

Matthew Yohe

Mar 4, 2008, 06:18 PM

Ive is probably too shy to be the face of Apple.

EagerDragon

Mar 4, 2008, 06:20 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"

What is he retiring or something!?!?!

That worries me, how much will the stock tank right after he announces he is retiring?

Oh come on, I think the obvious choice doesn't work at Apple now. We all know it's got to be the other Steve.
Steve Ballmer that is.

That will be the answer for those always complainig about Apple turning into another Microsoft, LOL.

http://blog.kir.com/archives/carly.jpg

I think the wicket witch of the west is more attractive than her.

MattInOz

Mar 4, 2008, 06:21 PM

Let's face it Jobs isn't going to be replaced by just the next CEO he going to be replace by the whole 3Letter Team. There won't be the single figure type person those are rare.

Each one likely to be the star of their own keynote each year and support cast at others. Jon Ives for Product launches and Macworld share with Tim Butcher The iPod guy, Tim Cook and Robert Op stars at Financial and Shareholder functions.

Good thing most the pieces are in place.

cameronjpu

Mar 4, 2008, 06:21 PM

Random.

It'd have to be Sam L Jackson though, coolest. guy. ever.

Another good one. Oratory skills are key :) There are plenty of them in Hollywood, not many in Cupertino.

asdavis10

Mar 4, 2008, 06:26 PM

I think Jony Ive would be a good successor. He seems like he would keep some of that old hippy-ness that Jobs had in the early days when Apple seemed so revolutionary. I think that his succession along with keeping the other executives like Tim Cook and Michael Oppenheimer in place would be a good fit. But regardless of who Jobs picks, if indeed it is primarily his decision, they will be the best person for the job.

And hey, if it turns out to be a total failure, Jobs can just step inside Time Machine and undo the damage.

EagerDragon

Mar 4, 2008, 06:31 PM

neoserver

Mar 4, 2008, 06:32 PM

If we're going actors, why not get Batman's outfitter - Morgan Freeman. He'd have the coolest tech in town :)

Agreed. He would totally trump SLJ. :p

I'd like to see Ives get at least a consideration, if he declines, I'd be cool with that too. I just want the company to be in good hands when Jobs is done. I'd hate to have a repeat of what happened when he left the first time...

kagharaht

Mar 4, 2008, 06:41 PM

I guess everyone kinda missed that little bit about no Flash Support for the iPhone period. :(

Padraig

Mar 4, 2008, 06:43 PM

What do people think qualifies Ive as the successor to Jobs? So far those in favour seem to be of the opinion that he projects the right image and isn't a suit. Remember Jobs may have a strong vision for Apple but don't let the turtleneck fool you - the man is first and foremost a suit and a ruthless one and that. Perhaps this is indicative of Apple's ability to sell an image, where the CEO has to conform to some artisic ideal. As anyone who worked in Apple (and i'm sure that there are plenty others on here who did) will tell you, Apple is fundamentally not much different from most multi-national corporations.

Alphadorian

Mar 4, 2008, 06:43 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

"It's a great vote," said Scott Adams, a research coordinator at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a member of the AFL-CIO, which sponsored the proposal. Even though Apple is "a great company, shareholders still want a say on pay,"

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/04/apple-shareholder-meeting-notes-iphone-itunes-movies-shareholder-vote/)

What business the the AFL-CIO have to determine compensation for Apple's executives? Unions, these days, just have to have their hands in everyone's pockets, don't they?

Quillz

Mar 4, 2008, 06:58 PM

"Steve Job's Successor"

What is he retiring or something!?!?!No, but there's always a chance he could just randomly die tomorrow, as much as anyone else could. Corporations plan their future decades in advance, and obviously Jobs isn't going to live forever, so it's not unusual at all for corporations to plan successors for the current CEO.

It's just like how the Constitution has an amendment that explains who will succeed who if the president died or w/e...

Quillz

Mar 4, 2008, 07:00 PM

Agreed. He would totally trump SLJ. :p

I'd like to see Ives get at least a consideration, if he declines, I'd be cool with that too. I just want the company to be in good hands when Jobs is done. I'd hate to have a repeat of what happened when he left the first time...
Things are very different this time around. The first time Jobs left, honestly, the Mac OS wasn't all that great, and the success of Windows 3 proved this. The old Apple of the 90s had a major issue with releasing hardware that was overpriced and underpowered. But the "new" Apple has the iPod, Mac OS X (which is really good) and a huge brand loyalty following. Thus, at this point, it probably wouldn't make a ton of difference who the CEO was.

milo

Mar 4, 2008, 07:00 PM

Should that read sell the 10 millionth iPhone? I lost track of sales a while ago, but I thought the original goal was 10 million, soo....:confused:

Nope. The original goal was exactly what he said, 10 million in 2008. And it has been reiterated in multiple conference calls, this is yet another confirmation.

A number of news stories misreported it as 10M by the end of 2008, but if you look at the keynotes and conference calls, it's clearly 10M in 2008.

Dr_Maybe

Mar 4, 2008, 07:06 PM

Things are very different this time around. The first time Jobs left, honestly, the Mac OS wasn't all that great, and the success of Windows 3 proved this. The old Apple of the 90s had a major issue with releasing hardware that was overpriced and underpowered. But the "new" Apple has the iPod, Mac OS X (which is really good) and a huge brand loyalty following. Thus, at this point, it probably wouldn't make a ton of difference who the CEO was.

Management is very important. That's way the CEOs gets paid so much. The shareholders don't give the CEOs money just to be nice, they do it to get good people and to reward good performance.

The iPod and the new Mac generations came about under Steve Jobs' management. The market expects Apple to grow. Apple can't just continue selling the existing products for the next few years. The company needs to innovate and improve it's products all the time.

elppa

Mar 4, 2008, 07:11 PM

Would Scott Forestall be considered?

Or is he not experienced yet? Either way, I hope Steve stays at Apple for a while yet, he provides leadership and direction. People often disagree with him, but he is rarely completely wrong and often he gets it spectacularly right (too many times for it too be a fluke).

Quillz

Mar 4, 2008, 07:22 PM

Management is very important. That's way the CEOs gets paid so much. The shareholders don't give the CEOs money just to be nice, they do it to get good people and to reward good performance.

The iPod and the new Mac generations came about under Steve Jobs' management. The market expects Apple to grow. Apple can't just continue selling the existing products for the next few years. The company needs to innovate and improve it's products all the time.Exactly, I agree with you everything you say. All I'm saying is that there are other people who would be just as capable as Jobs is when it comes to managing the company. I think the RDF has let some people to believe that Jobs can someone only be Apple's sole CEO.

I believe that Tim Cook has been the substitute CEO every time Jobs had to briefly step down, due to health reasons, etc.

gwangung

Mar 4, 2008, 07:22 PM

What business the the AFL-CIO have to determine compensation for Apple's executives??

If the union pension fund holds Apple stock...a whole lot of business. Is there a reason why they should'nt? (Aside from reflexive union bashing, that is....)

gnasher729

Mar 4, 2008, 07:27 PM

a buyback shows confidence, and usually increases the price of the stock.

Apple has traditionally done whatever is good for the company and its business instead of any dubious activities to manipulate the share price. Buying back shares means giving your hard earned cash to people who at the second they receive the money cease to be share holders. Why would you do that?

cameronjpu

Mar 4, 2008, 07:37 PM

Apple has traditionally done whatever is good for the company and its business instead of any dubious activities to manipulate the share price. Buying back shares means giving your hard earned cash to people who at the second they receive the money cease to be share holders. Why would you do that?

Because by removing those shareholders from the list of owners, they commit highway robbery and screw over those ex shareholders by influencing the stock to rise?

What better way to put your thumb in somebody's eye than by agreeing to buy something they are actively selling that you know will be worth more in the future! You know the secret that they don't - all those great products that are coming down the line and the profits that will start growing from ATT and O2 and the rest. :)

akadmon

Mar 4, 2008, 07:37 PM

See ya, Steve!

Cassie

Mar 4, 2008, 07:52 PM

Why do you think that? I'm just curious.

Lately, he seems to have become even more of an ego maniac then he previously was. His ideas have always been a little different, and yeah, that's what makes Apple the company we love, but some of the products that have come out lately don't seem to make a lot of sense in where they are targeted/how to use them and what they are for in general.

It seems like he's running out of great idea's, and is just pulling stuff out of his @$$.

arn

Mar 4, 2008, 08:02 PM

Lately, he seems to have become even more of an ego maniac then he previously was. His ideas have always been a little different, and yeah, that's what makes Apple the company we love, but some of the products that have come out lately don't seem to make a lot of sense in where they are targeted/how to use them and what they are for in general..

More of an ego maniac? I think you might not have been around in the early days.

I was a young customer at the time but Jobs has always been a little maniacal about strange details that seemed to make no sense.

This is just off the top of my head, so don't remember all the detasil. He was very anti-gaming in the early days. I think part of the reason the Mac was black and white originally. He definitely did not want the original Mac to be expandable. No RAM, no slots. I think it took a long time to get any expansion at all in the Mac.

stuff like that. I think Jobs has mellowed in his recent years, if anything.

edit: some quotes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_128K

Steve Jobs insisted that the Macintosh ship without a fan, a marketing (not engineering) decision that persisted until the introduction of the Macintosh SE in 1987, after Jobs was forced out of Apple. This was the source of many common — and very expensive — component failures in the first four Macintosh models

http://www.landsnail.com/apple/local/design/macintosh.html

In order to reduce costs, Jobs' insisted that the Macintosh be sold with 128 k of RAM rather than the then hugely expensive 1 Mb placed into the Lisa. The Macintosh team wrote software to fit within this limited memory, but so little was left free that copying a disk had to be done in stages, requiring a frustrating number of disk changes (Levy, 187-9). A hard drive could have elevated some of this problem, but Jobs refused to include one as it would not only increase the price, but also make the machine less elegant; Jobs had long thought that noise from the necessary fan made a computer seem "inelegant" and impersonal (Kunkel, 16).

Jobs had forbidden the Macintosh team even to provide the capacity for more memory, but Smith defied him, building the potential for expansion to 512 k in the design.

arn

IJ Reilly

Mar 4, 2008, 08:06 PM

He definitely did not want the original Mac to be expandable. No RAM, no slots.

He was against networking too. The engineering team literally snuck AppleTalk into the Mac without Steve's knowledge. That turned out to be one of the reasons the Mac survived.

iDmitry

Mar 4, 2008, 08:17 PM

dosers

Mar 4, 2008, 08:18 PM

Cassie,
what possibly do you base that on? On the few times we see him on stage, or quoted by the press?
If anything, the product decision Apple has made seem to make absolute sense. Point at one product that you are referring to ?!

The Air for example was a form factor long clamored for and appears very well targeted for a specific audience. If you have beef with lack of ports for example - that's another (design) story.
If anything, even product that has -arguably- initially failed (Apple TV) has been improved to make it more usable for a general audience.

If SJ is an egomaniac (and I think he's a lot more mellow than he used to be!) there is little translation into Apple Products. He is displayed as The Public Image of Apple - and does it very well. Don't believe that these decision, in reality, are made in a vacuum. He's too shrewd a business man for that.

cheers
d

Lately, he seems to have become even more of an ego maniac then he previously was. His ideas have always been a little different, and yeah, that's what makes Apple the company we love, but some of the products that have come out lately don't seem to make a lot of sense in where they are targeted/how to use them and what they are for in general.

It seems like he's running out of great idea's, and is just pulling stuff out of his @$$.

akadmon

Mar 4, 2008, 09:34 PM

He was against networking too. The engineering team literally snuck AppleTalk into the Mac without Steve's knowledge. That turned out to be one of the reasons the Mac survived.

Jeez, how many times will I have to say this: so long, Steve!

knelto

Mar 4, 2008, 10:27 PM

I vote for Gil Amelio

What about that John Sculley character? He seemed to do all right with that soda water stuff... :p

IJ Reilly

Mar 4, 2008, 10:57 PM

Jeez, how many times will I have to say this: so long, Steve!

About 6,000 times too many, apparently.

rowanmmcdonald

Mar 5, 2008, 12:19 AM

all this talk of successors makes me want to crawl up in a corner and cover my ears. if steve leaves i will die.

TheSpecialist

Mar 5, 2008, 08:02 AM

I don't get why people are so upset when Steve leaves Apple. As Steve said in his 2005 Stanford commencement. He's talking about death there. But for me, it means the same for when he leaves Apple. Why?

Beause Steve said then, that death is the single best invention of life. A way, to clear the old, and make way for the new. And that is as it should be.

And I think he's right. Under Steve, Apple is a sort of company that has his spirit, and his way of thinking. But to make way for a new way of thinking, and that is neccesary, the old has to be cleared. In this way, Steve.

I'm not saying Steve should be leaving anytime soon, because I love the way he rules Apple, and how he invents, and pushes the tech world forward, in new and innovative ways. But when he has to go, it's just the time for that then, and the new will come in. Which will bring other, innovative things.

:apple::rolleyes:

digitalbiker

Mar 5, 2008, 11:07 AM

I love the way he rules Apple, and how he invents, and pushes the tech world forward, in new and innovative ways.

I think too many people give SJ too much credit. Steve doesn't invent or innovate. Apple invents and innovates.

Steve sells. He is number one, a salesman. He also has a strong veto power over products that Apple develops or releases for sale.

However, he has never developed, invented, or personally created any hardware or software. He is not even an idea man. He gives opinions on products developed but he doesn't design or provide initial ideas for a product. Apple engineers, designers, programmers, and other specialists do all the work.

Woz was an engineer and designed the first Apple & Apple II. Steve arranged marketing and sales.

Steve heads the corporation and is the face of Apple.

IJ Reilly

Mar 5, 2008, 11:27 AM

I think too many people give SJ too much credit. Steve doesn't invent or innovate. Apple invents and innovates.

Steve sells. He is number one, a salesman. He also has a strong veto power over products that Apple develops or releases for sale.

However, he has never developed, invented, or personally created any hardware or software. He is not even an idea man. He gives opinions on products developed but he doesn't design or provide initial ideas for a product. Apple engineers, designers, programmers, and other specialists do all the work.

Woz was an engineer and designed the first Apple & Apple II. Steve arranged marketing and sales.

Steve heads the corporation and is the face of Apple.

It's at least a little more complicated than that. Apple's entire product line reflects the Jobs influence, as I think any of us who've lived through the days when others ran the company know well. Jobs decides which project go forward and which designs will be sold and which ones are rejected.

Antares

Mar 5, 2008, 11:55 AM

I am 99.999% certain that Jobs will step down as CEO of Apple sometime in the next 30 years. Ive might not be a good choice, "operationally," but he would be pretty cool. However, Tim Cook seems like he would make a good replacement. Now, there will never be an exact copy of Jobs once he leaves. We shouldn't expect that. Instead, the next CEO will need to stand on his own merits and personality.

On the bright side, once Jobs retires, he can finally join MacRumors and post here to his heart's content. :D

eliamx

Mar 5, 2008, 12:37 PM

johnnyjibbs

Mar 5, 2008, 12:45 PM

Um.. I don't get all the anti-Steve here.

Apple almost went under in the mid-90s. Steve came back and suddenly out popped the iMac, the iBook, then Mac OS X, iPod, etc. At the same time, Macs went from dull biege boxes that were lost among the PCs as more expensive, less compatible versions to having their identity and edge back. Apple is back at the forefront of innovation once more.

Concidence? :rolleyes:

Quillz

Mar 5, 2008, 12:49 PM

How about Gil Amelio?
He should succeed Jobs.
Or better yet, Michael Eisner.
Eh? Why not, they'd be great for Apple.

An Apple without Jobs is like a ship with 100 holes on the bottom, and nobody to steer it in the right direction. :(
No, it's not. Seriously, Jobs is a great CEO, but there are many others who would do just as good a job.

Quillz

Mar 5, 2008, 12:52 PM

all this talk of successors makes me want to crawl up in a corner and cover my ears. if steve leaves i will die.
If you are seriously that attached to a person you don't even know, maybe you should die along with him... :rolleyes: Do you fantasize about Jobs every night before you go to bed?

IJ Reilly

Mar 5, 2008, 12:52 PM

No, it's not. Seriously, Jobs is a great CEO, but there are many others who would do just as good a job.

Name 'em. After all the mediocre to poor CEOs that Apple had before Jobs (all of whom looked good on paper at the time), I wonder what rabbit is going to jump out of which hat.

gifford

Mar 5, 2008, 01:18 PM

im quite happy to take charge of apple! i do actually have much in common with his ethos and history. but no doubt some coke seller will end up taking charge running it like a 'normal' business and screwing it up again. 98% of CEO's have no style or character and are frankly bollox IMO.

twoodcc

Mar 5, 2008, 01:31 PM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

interesting. Hopefully jobs will stay awhile though

kayno

Nov 19, 2008, 11:23 AM

I want Jony Ive to be the next CEO of Apple. He's cool guy. (not that i want Mr. Jobs to leave or anything).

http://img.timeinc.net/time/time100/2007/walkup/images/ive_jonathan_a.jpg
For those of you who don't know, that's Jony Ive

Jony Ive is the only guy that could actually give presentations with the same charisma and skill as Jobs... actually I think he does a better job.. look at his unibody presentation.. he gave the presentation like he had an intimate relationship with the device.. yes people.. I said.. The british accent helps information retension.. lol