Apple Announces Management Changes: Scott Forstall and John Browett Out, Ive and Others Add Responsibilities

[Technarchy]

Interesting that this news comes out today when Windows 8 and Android 4.2 were shown today.

Maybe Cook wants a more aggressive approach to software instead of letting hardware lead the way.

 

[ablashek]

The mayans were right!

hahaha just what i was thinking!

 

[zephonic]

Forstall hasn't had a role in OS X development since he was put in charge of iOS. Blame Craig Federighi for that, the guy now in charge of iOS.

Yeah, I'm worried. Not understanding why Forstall is taking so much flak here.

The App Store is one of the most profoundly evil things Apple has ever done.

Not for the users.
I am very happy there is a centralized place where I can find anything I need, and not having to worry about whether it will compromise my system.

 

[50548]

I wonder what led to this.

Nevermind...this is the BEST news of the year - Forstall and Browett were clearly dissonant and way below Apple's standards.

Wanna make it better, Tim? Bring Serlet and Tevanian back NOW!

APPLE IS ALIVE.

 

[Cougarcat]

Thank u! Good riddance I say!

Steve jobs would approve!

I don't think Steve would have approved. The leather stitching was his idea. Forstall was Steve's guy.

 

[AppleMooseMan]

Considering Forstall was an idiot, this is good news.

Your use of the word "idiot" is interesting.

 

[kas23]

Steve Jobs put Forstall where he is...

That doesn't mean that was a good thing. For all the great ideas Jobs had, he had some that were absolutely horrible. He was not infallible. Forstall had it coming to him. Everyone at Apple seemed to clash with him.

 

[The Phazer]

So evil that it made a ton of money for developers ($6.5B!). Far more than Palm ever made for PalmOS developers by not creating a centralized controlled app store, and thus letting all the independent app distribution channels fight, raise their percentages, and even go bankrupt without paying.

I'm sure depleted uranium ammunition is extremely profitable too.

Explain How?

Making money for Developers?

Proving a rich choice of software for users ( and a lot of junk - nut not apples Fault that )

Money driving Devs to make better software to make more money

As opposed to googles that has been a pirate heven where devs had all but given up making any money at all until they finally code signed ( although all still piratable )

Yup positively Demonesque.

It's the biggest source of censorship ever achieved in human history since the widespread adoption of the internet, and has been used for massive anticompetitive actions by Apple all throughout it's history.

And even worse, it's begun to infect the rest of the industry.

 

[iphoneclassic]

Not gonna happen. However, do expect that Apple Maps is getting the top priority.

Apple Maps implementation approach has a fundamental flaw. If it was just correcting the data one can hope it will get better. It has been 5 months since product announcement and 6 weeks since product launch. No significant breakthrough came out. It will take 1-2 years to make Maps useable and probably 5-10 years to make it at par with Google Maps.

Apple owned the good old maps application. Google only provided data and search engine. It is disingenuous for Apple to claim Google didn't provide Vector Maps & Voice Navigation.

They could have simply switched source to vector Google Maps data and get the voice navigation software from TeleAtlas (TomTom). TeleAtlas was navigation provider for Google Maps prior to Google switched to internal navigation software.

 

[The Phazer]

Not for the users.
I am very happy there is a centralized place where I can find anything I need, and not having to worry about whether it will compromise my system.

It caused immeasurable damage to users. Apple used their clout to protect their own services, pushing prices up at the expense of competition, and restricted the free flow of information.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Scott Forstall always seemed like a douche from the Apple product videos alone. The fact that he spent so much time making a virtual shredder for Passbook (and then tried to impress everyone on stage with it, all to no reaction thank god) proves he's all eye candy and no taste. Cook probably recognised that if he wasn't going to contribute anything worthwhile in the longterm, then he may as well move along and consolidate the staffing.

Now that Ive has this new area of responsibility, we should see more effective design choices in iOS. As a Brit myself, it always makes me so proud to hear any good news about this guy. He's a complete utter role model.

 

[kas23]

Interesting that this news comes out today when Windows 8 and Android 4.2 were shown today.

Maybe Cook wants a more aggressive approach to software instead of letting hardware lead the way.

Excellent points. Where we see Android marching, iOS has now started to crawl. I see iOS begin to open up more now. A good thing.

 

[Takohashi]

1st thing to do: change that awful notes app on iOS and OS X - it's the perfect example for a stupid interface that keeps the app behind its possibilities just for the sake of fake "beauty".

I like Notes! And I love skeuomorphism!

 

[AppleMooseMan]

So Forstall fired from Apple just like Steve Jobs was? In ten years Forstall will come back to save Apple from bankruptcy... Yes I'm kidding.

No, Apple are too rich to go bankrupt in such a short period of time, but it would not surprise me in the least to see Forstall back at Apple within a few years!

 

[Born Again]

Scott Forstall looks like that evil nerd who is probably an really big jerk.

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I like Notes! And I love skeuomorphism!

dude notes needs to be like google notes

big text!

 

[Tartarus]

am i the only one who likes the skeuomorphic approach to ios and osx? i mean, a calendar that LOOKS like a calendar! what a revolutionary concept! thats what many people i know buy apple products for is because they are simple and elegant, and easy to use, think in layman's perspective software that resembles real life objects makes an easier learning curve

 

[AppleMooseMan]

Excellent Post!

What many are overlooking is the fact that anything & everything Forstall wanted to do was heavily controlled by Steve. I don't say that as a knock on Steve, but rather just a fact of life.

Why people on this forum seem so eager to side with Apple, quickly forgetting about various executives accomplishments reeks of hero worship ... Is more revealing of who they are, and how little they understand about the inner workings of large scale enterprise.

Because they've already formed their opinion of Scott and are allowing their dislike for the man cloud their judgment.

 

[knemonic]

Sounds like Cook avoided another Macintosh/Lisa fiasco. I was getting worried that the software leadership was going in a very different direction than the hardware. Plus, I think what has been missing Katherine design oriented leadership Jobs provided that Cook simply can't.

 

[komodrone]

What sort of hardware? Ive was in charge of design of cases. That's the least important hardware in a computer.

what?

 

[diarbyrag]

Boo Browett!

I said months ago - Look at the mess Dixons was in - Browett - Apple has seen the light !

 

[Cougarcat]

And even worse, it's begun to infect the rest of the industry.

Closed, curated App stores have always been around. It's even more restrictive in the console market.

Scott Forstall always seemed like a douche from the Apple product videos alone. The fact that he spent so much time making a virtual shredder for Passbook (and then tried to impress everyone on stage with it, all to no reaction thank god).

He got a reaction at WWDC. I can't remember if he demoed it again at the iPhone event, but if he got no reaction there it's because everyone had already seen it.

 

[MagicBoy]

Good riddance to Browett. Hopefully he can go run a company I really don't like and drive it into the ground.

Writing was on the wall the other week when he cashed in the share options. Might have been a disaster for Apple, but he did quite nicely out of it.

 

[AppleMooseMan]

Forstall was one of Jobs' favorites for a reason. There would have been no iOS app store without him. Jobs originally wanted a closed system, but it was Forstall that kept arguing with him about the benefits of bringing in third party developers, and finally Steve agreed.

And for all the comments about skeuomorphism, it may be helpful to rememer that most of that came from Steve; Forstall merely kept it going.

I'm not saying there isn't a potential upside to having Ive manage SW along with HW, but it's not quite clear just yet that this is an unquestionable win. Sometimes it helps to keep people focused, to not spread them too thin. Ive is a remarkably capable designer, but he's only human.

Nice post. But Scott is evil according to some in here!

 

[Aldaris]

am i the only one who likes the skeuomorphic approach to ios and osx? i mean, a calendar that LOOKS like a calendar! what a revolutionary concept! thats what many people i know buy apple products for is because they are simple and elegant, and easy to use, think in layman's perspective software that resembles real life objects makes an easier learning curve

... I buy the cutting edge of technology... To have a calendar that looks like what uses to be at my grandparents house.

How many iOS users have ever owned an actual contact book?

Lets let industrial design be seamless industrial design.

 

[See Flat]

Bye-bye skeuomorphism, we never liked ye.

thank god