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Apple Hires Cable Industry Veteran Jean-François Mulé as Engineering Director

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Apple has hired Jean-François Mulé, the former Senior VP of Technology Development and longtime employee of CableLabs -- an R&D joint venture run by many of the biggest cable operators in the U.S. -- as an engineering director.

The hire was revealed on Mulé's LinkedIn page and first noted by Multichannel News. He has been working at Apple since September and says in his Apple job description that he is "challenged, inspired and part of something big".

He claims extensive experience in software development for cable applications like Internet data, IP voice and video, TV apps and more. From Multichannel News:
Before joining Apple, Mulé spent the last two years as senior vice president of technology development at CableLabs, where he founded the organization's San Francisco office (CableLabs is in the process of building out a new R&D outpost/innovation center in Sunnyvale).

During his earlier career at CableLabs, Mulé also served as VP of IP technologies and services, director of the PacketCable Architecture, and chief architect. During that span, he ran or helped spearhead several projects, including PeerConnect, the cable industry's peering registry, a development program for cable industry-focused wireless services (Wi-Fi gateways, device management, inter-operator Wi-Fi roaming, and mobile offload services using femtocells and Wi-Fi), and was involved in several high-profile, IP-based CableLabs programs such as DOCSIS 3.0 and APIs for second screen video apps.
Click to expand...
Apple is rumored to be developing both a television set and an expanded set-top box that would work with services provided by existing cable television providers, or, alternatively, a set-top box with television content provided directly by Apple over the Internet, bypassing current cable companies.

In his biography, Steve Jobs said he had "cracked" the redesign of television to make it seamless and easy to use, and some analysts have been claiming for years that Apple is working on a television set.

With Apple negotiating with both content providers like Sky News and ESPN, as well as cable companies like Time Warner, the company appears to be examining multiple possible strategies for reinventing television.

Article Link: Apple Hires Cable Industry Veteran Jean-François Mulé as Engineering Director
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/01/apple-hires-cable-industry-veteran-jean-francois-mule-as-engineering-director/
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WatchTheThrone

WatchTheThrone

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2011
239
137
Hopefully Apple does something industry changing with tv. Cable right now sucks since I have to buy 200 channels just to get 5 channels that I actually watch.
 
HMI

HMI

Contributor
May 23, 2012
838
319
Hmmmm curious.

I'm wondering if this guy might also give them insights and technological ideas regarding the NSA monitoring.
 
blue22

blue22

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2010
505
18
Apple TV launch just around the corner?

my fingers & toes are crossed that the purported Apple TV will debut before X-Mas of this year. :D
 
G

gatearray

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2010
1,130
232
Toshiba just announced lay-offs because they can't make any money selling TVs, so if you think Apple wants to enter the razor thin single-digit margin world of TVs you're not thinking like a business would.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic..._to_cut_3000_jobs_from_struggling_tv_division

Now, making a "converter box" with a nice Apple GUI and all the bells and whistles is another matter entirely. Let some other company make 5% selling the glorified panel...

Think about it, does the Apple Store at the mall really want to stock, sell, and service 50" or 60" televisions for virtually no profit, while taking away all that physical space from tiny, high margin products that people upgrade every couple of years?

Ain't gonna happen in my opinion. :)
 
A

Atomic Walrus

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2012
878
434
No interest in an actual Apple TV set (I'm sure it'd be an excellent LCD, but no LCD is replacing the Kuro), but an alternative to cable from a company like Apple couldn't come soon enough. I'd even take an Apple-made set top box that I still have to use through my local cable monopoly, anything is better than the stuff those guys produce.
 
P

portishead

macrumors 65816
Apr 4, 2007
1,114
2
los angeles
WatchTheThrone said:
Hopefully Apple does something industry changing with tv. Cable right now sucks since I have to buy 200 channels just to get 5 channels that I actually watch.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of crap, but better to have a lot of options instead of just a few. Also people have different interests than you, just because there are some you don't watch, others may like them.

If you're referring to a la carte, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
 
iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,792
906
gatearray said:
Toshiba just announced lay-offs because they can't make any money selling TVs, so if you think Apple wants to enter the razor thin single-digit margin world of TVs you're not thinking like a business would.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic..._to_cut_3000_jobs_from_struggling_tv_division

Now, making a "converter box" with a nice Apple GUI and all the bells and whistles is another matter entirely. Let some other company make 5% selling the glorified panel...

Think about it, does the Apple Store at the mall really want to stock, sell, and service 50" or 60" televisions for virtually no profit, while taking away all that physical space from tiny, high margin products that people upgrade every couple of years?

Ain't gonna happen in my opinion. :)
Click to expand...

So true. Big TVs require big spaces for storage. Apple is all about being small and efficient, small size, high value and margin products is what makes Apple so big. And also you cannot reduce the size and thickness of a huge screen TV too much because somehow you need to support the weight.

If anything, it would be more logical for Apple to just license its iOS to Smart TVs OEMs just like Apple did to Siri with car manufacturers.
While still making money with the same Apple TV on the side.
 
Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,142
31,195
iSayuSay said:
So true. Big TVs require big spaces for storage. Apple is all about being small and efficient, small size, high value and margin products is what makes Apple so big. And also you cannot reduce the size and thickness of a huge screen TV too much because somehow you need to support the weight.

If anything, it would be more logical for Apple to just license its iOS to Smart TVs OEMs just like Apple did to Siri with car manufacturers.
While still making money with the same Apple TV on the side.
Click to expand...

Which TV OEMs would Apple license to? Apple likes to control the whole widget so if they're going to make a big play in the TV space I can't see them doing it without a big ass TV to to with it. You can't really compare TVs and cars. Car manufacturers aren't in direct competition with Apple. Many TV manufacturers are.
 
Sky Blue

Sky Blue

Guest
Jan 8, 2005
6,856
11
What I'd like to see:

- live TV available on any Mac, iOS device in the home.
- DVR access on all devices inside/outside the home.
 
WatchTheThrone

WatchTheThrone

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2011
239
137
portishead said:
There is a lot of crap, but better to have a lot of options instead of just a few. Also people have different interests than you, just because there are some you don't watch, others may like them.

If you're referring to a la carte, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I meant. Different people have different taste. A la carte is what I meant without actually saying it and it will happen!! And who better to do it than Apple. They changed the music industry and now It's time for the tv to change.
At first the industry is going to fight it but just like the music industry they too will fold....eventually.
 
D

davydavy

macrumors member
Sep 26, 2011
60
4
portishead said:
There is a lot of crap, but better to have a lot of options instead of just a few. Also people have different interests than you, just because there are some you don't watch, others may like them.

If you're referring to a la carte, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I guess what everyone wants is to be able to purchase TV, movies, sports channels etc. without having to pay monthly rentals to the cable companies.

Considering that the cable companies' contribution to this value chain has been pretty much about delivery and nothing else, I can't see the old model being sustainable when content-providers can deliver the same content over the internet quickly and at low cost. Apple is doing the right thing in getting in early, and if they play their cards might just become the world's first truly global media company.

On the other hand, if Apple's plan becomes stuck within US borders and tied to the cable companies they will probably cede this opportunity to someone else. But I wish them luck!


ps. Jean-Francois must be the youngest-looking veteran I have seen in a while, unless I'm starting to get old :)
 
swarmster

swarmster

macrumors 6502a
Jun 1, 2004
641
114
gatearray said:
Toshiba just announced lay-offs because they can't make any money selling TVs, so if you think Apple wants to enter the razor thin single-digit margin world of TVs you're not thinking like a business would.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic..._to_cut_3000_jobs_from_struggling_tv_division

Now, making a "converter box" with a nice Apple GUI and all the bells and whistles is another matter entirely. Let some other company make 5% selling the glorified panel...

Think about it, does the Apple Store at the mall really want to stock, sell, and service 50" or 60" televisions for virtually no profit, while taking away all that physical space from tiny, high margin products that people upgrade every couple of years?

Ain't gonna happen in my opinion. :)
Click to expand...

I love comments like yours because its similarity to the way people acted before the iPhone reveal makes me excited for what Apple could put out.

'Why would Apple want to make a phone? iPods are where the money is. Nokia owns the market with tons of cheap phones. Why would anyone want to pay a premium for an Apple phone when they already have one that can make calls perfectly fine? The ROKR even plays music!'
 
iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,792
906
Rogifan said:
Which TV OEMs would Apple license to? Apple likes to control the whole widget so if they're going to make a big play in the TV space I can't see them doing it without a big ass TV to to with it. You can't really compare TVs and cars. Car manufacturers aren't in direct competition with Apple. Many TV manufacturers are.
Click to expand...

Samsung, LG, Sony, whoever makes TV. Or even better Loewe? Some of them compete directly with Apple, yes. But so what? After all that happened, Apple still give Samsung a nice, big money to fabricate chips for iDevices. It's not impossible.

I don't know .. with Apple is all about going smaller over time. There was a 30" ACD and 23" ACD but hey Apple felt it too big for the masses. So now Apple makes 27" iMac/TBD and 21.5" iMac.
Apple TV also got a huge size reduction from the 1st gen.
And somehow Apple likes to promote iPad Mini more than current iPad w/ RD.

But now they want to make a huge TV? The margin would be too small (by Apple standard) it would be like charity for Apple.

Even a mighty :apple: has a limit of pushing how much people would pay for their shiny devices (remember PowerCube and 1st gen MBA).

Again, low volume high value stuff is what makes Apple so huge.

There's a few exception though, iPhone screen is going (a tad) bigger but hey it's also thinner ;)
 
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