Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,287
30,363



anobit.jpg
Just over a year ago, Apple acquired Israeli flash memory firm Anobit, and now that Anobit founder and CEO Ariel Maislos has left the company to start his next venture he has been able to share some details on his experiences with Apple. ZDNet covers an interview with Maislos at a recent meeting of the Israel Semiconductor Club, an event where Maislos shared details about how the acquisition came about and how Apple's culture compares to that of Intel, another company Anobit had worked closely with.

On the acquisition front, Maislos noted that Anobit wasn't looking for a particular exit for the venture but that an existing relationship with Apple developed to the point where an acquisition made sense for both sides.
"We had already had a close working relationship with Apple," Maislos revealed. "When you are working in the flash memory industry, it's kind of hard not to come across Apple at some point, as a partner or a customer - and they were a very big customer. We developed a very good relationship with them, and a mutual appreciation developed between both companies."
Maislos contrasts the culture and expectations at Apple with those of Intel, which had previously invested $32 million in Anobit during an earlier financing round, noting that Apple's return from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s has instilled expectations of excellence that simply don't exist at Intel.
While Intel engineers are given assignments and are rewarded for ingenuity and creativity, he said, it's a given at Apple that engineers will be at the top of their game. "At Apple, you have to run ahead just to stay in place, and there are very high expectations of everyone. Apple expects everything you do to be amazing.

"That is not the case at Intel, where no one expects you to be 'amazing'," said Maislos, although Intel does reward those who give their "A+ game".
Maislos went on to note that Apple is extremely focused on its goals, demanding much more personal excellence than Intel or perhaps any other tech company.

Maislos is of course not a neutral observer, given the close relationship he has had with Apple and the exit it provided for Anobit's founders, but his comments do provide a small glimpse at how an experienced outsider transitioning from partner to employee views Apple's culture.

Article Link: Former Anobit CEO Discusses Acquisition by Apple, Contrasts Cultures of Apple and Intel
 

newagemac

macrumors 68020
Mar 31, 2010
2,091
23
This is not surprising at all. Steve Jobs instilled a commitment to excellence in Apple and it shows. Doesn't mean everything will always be perfect but compared to their competitors it is quite obvious. Dell, HP, Samsung, Motorola, and the rest of their competitors seem to operate around something quite different.
 

Squilly

macrumors 68020
Nov 17, 2012
2,260
4
PA
Just another company for Apple to ruin. Or maybe... miraculously.... it'll be a decent partnership/buyout.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
This is not surprising at all. Steve Jobs instilled a commitment to excellence in Apple and it shows. Doesn't mean everything will always be perfect but compared to their competitors it is quite obvious. Dell, HP, Samsung, Motorola, and the rest of their competitors seem to operate around something quite different.

Yes clearly those other companies you mention don't have any commitment to excellence :rolleyes:
 

GuitarDTO

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2011
687
110
One of my favorite parts of the Jobs biography was the talk about how he didn't want "B team" players at Apple, only A team players. Sounds like they still carry that approach. Not many companies do it that way either, there are always B team players. It's fascinating I think.
 

SmileyBlast!

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
654
43
One of my favorite parts of the Jobs biography was the talk about how he didn't want "B team" players at Apple, only A team players. Sounds like they still carry that approach. Not many companies do it that way either, there are always B team players. It's fascinating I think.

I think he also said that the leverage you get from a really good programmer is like 25 times or something.

Sure puts the pressure on people in that field.

Working at Apple must be pretty stressful at times.
 

carmenodie

macrumors 6502a
Apr 25, 2008
775
0
All that expectation and all they can do is release the same phone 5 years in a row
KFC has been frying of chicken for over 40 years in a row and that **** is still fingering licking good.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

rbonzer

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2011
17
3
Not in software

It must just in hardware where Apple requires the A-Game. Their software UI design is excellent, but the execution is pretty average.
 

phillipduran

macrumors 65816
Apr 30, 2008
1,055
607
KFC has been frying of chicken for over 40 years in a row and that sh** is still fingering licking good.

True words!

People often scream so much for innovation, but sometimes, things reach a point that they are really good enough how they are and change or addons for the sake of being different might not be the best choice.

----------

same taste, different chicken :D

Nah, you're just eating it wrong. :D
 

12dylan34

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2009
884
15
Apple went Bankrupt in the late 1990s??????????????

Without the leadership of Steve Jobs, yes. While Steve was off founding NEXT, Apple's leadership was shotgun-blasting the market with products like printers, CD players, speakers, and digital cameras.

Steve came back by Apple acquiring NEXT and made the famous chart with consumer and professional on one axis and portable and desktop on the other. He minimized their computer line to 4 products, which, along with some funding from Microsoft, saved the company.
 

guerro

macrumors 6502
Jul 18, 2002
267
473
Parts Unknown
Without the leadership of Steve Jobs, yes. While Steve was off founding NEXT, Apple's leadership was shotgun-blasting the market with products like printers, CD players, speakers, and digital cameras.

Steve came back by Apple acquiring NEXT and made the famous chart with consumer and professional on one axis and portable and desktop on the other. He minimized their computer line to 4 products, which, along with some funding from Microsoft, saved the company.

Thanks for the History update. I already know all this. However, you might not have been able to sense my sarcasm. And, no, Apple did not go bankrupt.
 

H2SO4

macrumors 603
Nov 4, 2008
5,631
6,926
All that expectation and all they can do is release the same phone 5 years in a row

Haven't Porsche been doing the same thing for the last 30 years with the 911? Doesn't seem to have blunted the sales, (except with me I think they're well boring).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.