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Apple's Reorganization Goes Deeper Than Just Who's In Charge

technopimp said:
All I want out of this shakeup is for people to stop saying skeuomorphism.

That, and for Ive to get a new picture taken where he's not doing the arms-crossed/frowny-artsy-aloof thing.
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Apple needs a new head of product design...I am getting tired of this aluminum metal and black trend that Apple has been stuck on since what...2002? Sharp edges on everything, "everything must be thin" and tiny....I never had a more beautiful machine than my Power Macintosh 9500, and that was NOT designed by Jonathan Ive. The iPhone 4/5 is not a very ergonomically pleasing device to hold...very sharp edges, an industrial design failure in many ways....Apple has lost their sleekness in design and thinks everything must be "carved" out of a block of metal. Maybe that's what they are paying those Chinese robots the low-bucks to do...
 
I'm sorry but as the old saying goes
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"

Why reorganize when the business continues to climb?
 
GQB said:
No, 'smug' is judging people you have never met, do not know, and to whom you don't hold a candle.
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smug   [smuhg] Show IPA
adjective, smug·ger, smug·gest.
1.
contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.
2.
trim; spruce; smooth; sleek.

..doesn't have anything to do with judging people in my book (superiority is leaning that way, but still not quite the same thing), or the dictionary it seems.

I have the utmost respect for people who are incredibly successful and conduct themselves graciously and gracefully - quintessentially British traits - or so I'd like to think :) I just get a whiff of 'smug' from his presentations of late, and I think it's a shame - that is all.

M
 
iEvolution said:
I'm sorry but as the old saying goes
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"

Why reorganize when the business continues to climb?
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So Apple should just rest on their laurels and hope the competition doesn't catch up? Not a good idea IMO.
 
Stosh68 said:
Who decided that google maps had to be removed now? It's been widely reported that the google maps contracts still had another year before it expired, Apple was under no external pressure to remove google maps.

If Scott decided that google maps had to go now and was unable to get the new mapping app working before the release deadline, then it is obviously Scott's fault. But if it was Cook's or somebody else's desire to jettison google maps now without giving Scott enough time to get the new map app up to par, that's not Scott's fault.

Based on the reported refusal of Scott to apologize himself, that could possibly point to Scott knowing full well the new map app was not ready, and his refusal to be somebody else's fall guy to take the blame for a decision to replace google apps before the new map app was ready.

Something doesn't add up here. If Maps and Siri were released in poor condition because of a set schedule, who sets the schedule? If everybody knew Maps was not ready and you still had google maps under contract for a year, why get rid of google maps? Those don't sounds like decisions that Scott would be in charge of making, those sound like CEO decisions.
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Finally somebody with common sense. Why everyone is blaming Scott, I have no idea. I'm sure Scott and the rest of the Apple engineers had to known that their map app wasn't ready. Scott shouldn't have to apologize for Tim.
 
taxiapple said:
No question Ives is a genuis, but it does seen to me that some of the products lately have followed form over function.

Examples; thin & light phone but with poor battery life, imac...super thin if looking from the side, but no optical drive, non expandable ram, ect.
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And Magic Mouse, which is about as un-ergonomic as any device, ever. I gave it 30 minutes but my hand cramped so bad I returned it. And I wasn't even holding it wrong.
 
doelcm82 said:
And of course we will complain bitterly that Apple doesn't care about us, the users, when we don't get the updated products on the schedule we've come to expect:

New iPads ALWAYS come in the Spring! It's been that way for as long as I can remember (back to 2010, that is). How dare they refresh it after only seven months! We iPad 3 buyers deserve a full year of having the latest and the greatest. And the Mac Pro needs to be refreshed NOW, whether it's ready or not.
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I can't decide if your tantrum was serious or not.
 
NaCl said:
Finally somebody with common sense. Why everyone is blaming Scott, I have no idea. I'm sure Scott and the rest of the Apple engineers had to know that their map app wasn't ready. Scott shouldn't have to apologize for Tim.
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For those that read the book isn't this reminiscent of when Sculley was in charge trying to add traditional structure to a company that just wasn't built that way? Cook is a business man through and through and perhaps not best qualified to run a company like Apple? Sure he'll make everything efficient and make the bottom line look healthy but the attention to detail and showmanship that made them special might die a little as a result.

M
 
Be interesting to see how far this approach takes them. Now Steve's gone, Apple is now one grand experiment.. Who's to say what bits of Steve's approach should be kept and what needs changing. I think one thing that's certain is that trying to second-guess what "Steve would have done" is a major mistake for the people left at Apple... Try to learn from what he did; his approach to things, but ultimately Tim Cook has to run it his way and be praised or damned for it. I applaud the grand moves even if i don't necessarily agree with the decisions because sitting back and resting on the success they've had in the past will lead to failure....They have to continue to move forward, innovate, and yes, make mistakes... Tim has to be prepared to drive the company into the ground if need be, just to get that one last perfect device out the door, to say "we did it, we built perfection"... I always felt that was what Steve was prepared to do and in IMHO the reason Apple is such a successful company now. As long as that's the driving force behind Tim's thinking then i think he's being true to the spirit of Steve and Apple and i applaud him for it. Time will tell i suppose.
Just by 2p worth...

Oh, and one last (random) thing... RELEASE A BLOODY APPLE TV APP STORE ALREADY!!! ;)
lol
 
NaCl said:
Finally somebody with common sense. Why everyone is blaming Scott, I have no idea. I'm sure Scott and the rest of the Apple engineers had to know that their map app wasn't ready. Scott shouldn't have to apologize for Tim.
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"You're sure" really means you have no idea, just like the rest of us. My guess is Scott was not well liked amongst the other executives (for whatever reason) and some of them may have given Cook an ultimatum - either Forstall goes or I go. Over the past 24 hours I've read that Ive, Mansfield, Cue and Schiller didn't get along with Forstall. I've read that some of the engineers were glad to see him go. Read Apple's press release (and even Cook's internal memo). There were no warm fuzzier for Forstall. In fact the company press release doesn't even thank Forstall for his work with the company. Clearly there is some bad blood there.
 
I'm okay with skeumorphism

In principle, at least. What's bad is BAD skeumorphism. Like the Podcast app, which still has glitches in it, but the "pretend tape recorder" still turns, uselessly. (If you could rock 'n' roll the tape? Spin the reels backwards and/or forwards to different parts of the podcast? Okay, maybe...)

Seriously, the challenge is "Human Interface." When we started watching movies, we filmed plays. We had proscenium arches. Yes, eventually you get "Birth of a Nation" (evil content, but a brilliant movie for its time), but still, the past colors the future. If I see an icon like an address book, I know what that is: there will be pages full of names of people I know, with addresses and phone numbers. I bet Jony will do better making apps that look good, and which are as obvious as the iPod click wheel, but I also doubt he will totally doing away with it. At its best, it's a metaphor that is easily understood. What's this app do? Oh, it's got a movie camera on it -- not an iPhone that takes movies, it's a movie camera from 1925 or so, or a Mitchell from the '30s -- or the Hollywood sign. Oh, well, I can make or watch or edit movies with that, I bet. Oh, yeah, it says "Movie Edit", but the icon catches your eye.

So the Podcast app isn't completely wrong putting that tape recorder inside, but completely wrong because all you do is look at the reels go around.
 
There is nothing wrong with a bit of risk in design, that is why Apple is where it is.

I welcome some risk and thus innovation in the future of Apple products, it may bring back the old Apple shine.

Sure SJ was better at this - but it is still the best path forward.
 
MacRumors said:
The time-based schedule is one of the reasons why Siri and Maps arrived as half-baked products and were met with derision. Many engineers inside Apple could foresee problems with Maps. Why? Because Maps were driven by a time schedule.

Maps and Siri are complex products whose dependencies (for the lack of a better word) go deep into different parts of the phone and even the network. The schedule-driven release culture makes folks less daring -- why take arrows in your back for failing to deliver a radical new feature on a pre-dictated time? If this cultural warp continues, Apple might have a bigger headache on its hands. Ive's appointment as the Human Interface honcho means that more risk-taking needs to come into the products.
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Who didn't know that ???
so they screwed up things and millions of frustrated, angry customers. and now they telling this things, Why Cook or whatever person who makes the final decision didn't stop this Scott (if everything his fault).
Or he can release iOS upgrades without asking CEO???
 
SSDGUY said:
And Magic Mouse, which is about as un-ergonomic as any device, ever. I gave it 30 minutes but my hand cramped so bad I returned it. And I wasn't even holding it wrong.
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no way, apple puck mouse was worse... ever

.
 
dstark93 said:
Just more evidence Apple has lost focus and direction since Jobs passed away.
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Seems to me Cook is trying to add focus. And the press release mentioned collaboration (and also never thanked Forstall for his time with the company) so reading between the lines we can surmise that Forstall was not a team player. And perhaps he felt he should have been CEO, not Cook?
 
Probably a good move in the long run and will benefit Apple greatly. I would have liked to see Federighi gone as well, as his handling of OS X has been extremely anemic..

..in fact it has been like it's on autopilot since Snow Leopard. :confused:
 
So they admit that iOS has fallen behind agaisnt the competition?

But the fanboys are still gonna say its the most powerful and best mobile OS...
 
monty77 said:
For those that read the book isn't this reminiscent of when Sculley was in charge trying to add traditional structure to a company that just wasn't built that way? Cook is a business man through and through and perhaps not best qualified to run a company like Apple? Sure he'll make everything efficient and make the bottom line look healthy but the attention to detail and showmanship that made them special might die a little as a result.

M
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I definitely think there were people who didn't like Forstall, but what happened that was bad? They guy had Maps and Siri under his authority. He refused to sign Cook's apology, which sealed his fate, we are told. And Cue? He built the online Apple Store. He took over iTunes and Mobile Me (after the flop). He's got experience and a record of success in online services. Jony Ive has, well, a great artistic eye. One of the best around. And Bob Metcalfe? He will know how to make the radio, chips and software work together slickly.
 
I see where this guy is coming from about the downside of being schedule-driven, but for something like maps, where everyone generally knows what the final feature set is, deadlines are crucial; not only to ensure the product ships, but oddly enough, the pressure imposed by deadlines brings greater focus, leading to higher quality products. Of course, there are times when things just don't fall into place by self-imposed deadlines, but on the whole, I've found that schedules and deadlines drive people to do better work.
 
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