Last sentence nailed it. Too many people would simply write off 20% (or whatever the number is) each week and move on without producing anything of value.
It will be interesting to see if this new program yields any notable results in the next few years.
I don't think so; those kinds of people will be obvious. You don't limit a poor work ethic to 20% of your week.
I'm really happy about this; I've been ranting and raving about Apple's culture hindering creative people. I've heard about it from a lot of people.
Creativity comes from nowhere. That's literally where it comes from. You're staring out of the bus and then >pop<, you get inspired for some idea that has nothing to do with what you're doing. In a corporate setting, you need a bit of freedom to move and explore and discover talents and sides of your thinking you didn't even know you had!
That said, creative people can go for months or years producing nothing of value in that time, then suddenly come up with a breakthrough. Too many reporting obligations hinder the process.
It's good to see they're trying to make Apple a more attractive place to go and work. Some people do it because they "love the company" or whatever, but creative people love their freedom to explore more than anything. Google's held the undisputed edge there for a long time.