Bob Mansfield's Return to Apple Reportedly Influenced by Scott Forstall's Departure

[andrewzz]

Soap

Hey MacRumors,

Have you considered making an Apple drama forum?

Thanks.

"Tonight on The Returned, the Promoted and the Ousted.... Will Bob embrace his new responsibilities with boundless enthusiasm? Will Scott regroup and strike back at Apple with a lawsuit? Is Eddy the new CEO in-waiting? Will Ive's design acumen be expanded to software design? Find out...next"

 

[everything-i]

It's clear now that Scott was only kept because Steve liked him. Thank Goodness Steve highly recommended Tim and not Scott.

Thank god, Forstall would have destroyed Apple if he had been put in charge.

 

[britboyj]

When I worked at Apple Retail, Mansfield and the Liaison-to-Apple from SAP paid a visit to the brand new store I helped open (R302 - Apple Stonebriar) and pretended to be customers for 15-20 minutes asking about a Mac Pro.

They were the nicest guys, didn't even ask to talk to our managers (though they did eventually) but just really wanted to talk to the regular employees about the store, the experience, the products and really get feedback from Apple lovers. (The SAP guy less so, but you could tell he was still an Apple fan)

After I was promoted and moved to Corporate, I knew mid-level managers who would take "sick days" and call in to meetings where Forstall would be present rather than deal with him face-to-face.

 

[Carl Sagan]

Take a look at Clear and Solar for iPhone, then take a look at Apple's Weather and Reminders apps. Don't tell me Scott going is a bad thing, Jony Ive ftw!

 

[SeattleMoose]

Great News!!!

This will be good for Apple. Welcome back Bob!!!!

 

[Prallethrin]

My god. This Forstall guy sure pissed off a great deal of people.

Wrangled with Ive over the look of the UI, nearly starting a civil war by splitting the company's designers into two camps, now it turns out Mansfield doesn't like him either and hated having to deal with him.

 

[(Kerfuffle)]

Take a look at Clear and Solar for iPhone, then take a look at Apple's Weather and Reminders apps. Don't tell me Scott going is a bad thing, Jony Ive ftw!

As a user of Solar and a bit of snooping at Clear on the App Store, I see nothing wrong with Jobs/Forstall's skeumorphics (sp?). The only reason both of those apps are better than the Apple defaults is Solar and Clear's clever use of multitouch.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

I don't think so. And obviously others, too. I've been trying to sell my Apple shares for the last few days (since the announcement of Forstall being fired), but they fall all the time.

We are in a time where people feel insecure and therefore put too much weight on "teams" and "harmony" and "say nice things". Teams do not "change the world". It has always been individuals.

1. The alphabet
2. Battle of Normandy
3. Nuclear energy
4. DNA
5. Moon landing
6. The internet

Nope, teams of people have never done anything.

Being a team does not mean always being in harmony. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite; diverging opinions are healthy and are required to move the team forward. However, it can be done respectfully.

 

[Prallethrin]

I don't think so. And obviously others, too. I've been trying to sell my Apple shares for the last few days (since the announcement of Forstall being fired), but they fall all the time.

We are in a time where people feel insecure and therefore put too much weight on "teams" and "harmony" and "say nice things". Teams do not "change the world". It has always been individuals.

Most of the time "Individuals" by themselves can't achieve **** though - while the Apple 1 & 2 was made more or less by one man (Woz; those were simpler times, literally), the Mac was a team effort.

Jobs achieved a great deal because he could rally people, talented people, to his cause. He had guts and vision, with ego and attitude to go with it, but he also had charisma and charm.

 

[Craigy]

Great, the other guy has crazy eyes. IMO.

Isn't it so strange how you really can get a grasp of someone from their eyes... We'll you can certainly pick out the people that are slightly nuts for sure

 

[krravi]

Great, the other guy has crazy eyes. IMO.

I have noticed this .. about crazy eyes.

People who are geniuses or, are famous even when it comes to crime, they seem to have squinted eyes.

Albert Einstein, Spielberg, Bertrand sertlet(spell?), forstall...

Next time you come across a famous person, check his eyes out. If its crazy then he/she is crazy enough to do something normal mortals wouldn't. I have often wondered if you altered your eyes surgically, will that make you a genius? j/k

Just an observation, nothing more.

 

[Bheleu]

Mansfield, Tim, and SJ

http://chill.com/scott/post/eed2481...ate-steve-jobs-collection&feature=watch-title

 

[Bill Killer]

Do you see the similarity between Forstall and SJ (being kicked out)? To get things done, you got to be brutal sometime. with this tyle, SJ and Forstall created what Apple is today. No one can dispute this success.

Apple fans need to understand this:

Steve Jobs's short temper, complete ****** tendencies, and brutal management style is the exception to the rule of good managing. It is not the rule.

 

[marksman]

What was this "confrontational management style" that everyone hated so? Surely that phrase describes Steve Jobs' every day at the office.

Was Forstall trying to be a mini-Steve?

I suspect most would characterize Steve as challenging and not confrontational. They are different.

----------

They may have disliked him for different purposes. How about creating 2/3 of all of Apple's revenue singlehandedly by his iOS division (iphones, ipads, ipods) and making it a most valuable company in the world? How about creating a whole mobile craze, two new revolutionary markets, touch smartphones and touch tablets? Forstall might be a difficult person but he sure he is a true visionary, not less than Steve himself. Having 2/3 of Apple revenue coming form his division, Forstall had a right to be proud of his vision.

However, having said that, at some point he probably made an enemy bigger than Ive and Mansfield: Tim Cook, the CEO.

The reason is that Tim Cook is not a visionary but a brilliant and ruthless executioner. Tim needs a vision to guide and a plan for follow so he can muscle his great execution. He needs visions for both sides of his company: hardware and software. Steve would be able to provide that vision both for Cook and Ive and Forstall and he would be the one to integrate things into a single plan for Cook to go ahead.

With death of Steve Jobs, there was no more integration in a single vision, but two different visions, one is led by Ive, of minimalist and functional design and one of Forstall, built on current iOS, which itself was revolutionary but increasingly autonomous, because probably Forstall operated under principle if it aint broken, don't fix it so he was began producing iterations of earlier iOS without much visible changes. It is visible from the different iOS versions and different iPhone models. There were 3-4 largely distinct, large changes in iOS hardware (iPhones) but only small changes in a iOS design, which means Ive was progressing much faster than Forstall. At some stage the breakup was inevitable and one who is for change, won.

Having one visionary is quite an nightmare; having two is a catastrophe for a company. Tim Cook made his bet and chose Ive's style, because Ive's style is wider; it not only includes iOS hardware but also OS X hardware and also Ive's progress was more competitive while on software both MS and Google quickly caught up with Apple, if only not so fully.

What to expect next?

Shared time of Ive with software design means that probably Apple hardware design changes may somewhat slow down (specs will change of course), but there will be huge changes in software and the way it interacts with user. For example, the clock app icon may become live, mail icon more informative, weather icon live updating, stock app icon go live and so on, because Ive will require every icon to have some function, such as displaying information at glance and will never allow stale icons (=nonfunctional) in iOS.

iOS is free and forstall was not in charge of devices but software. Apple made money selling the devices. Just want to clarify because you handed forstall too much credit

 

[joelvega125]

Steve would have never fired Scott.

Image

Screw Jobs. He was an ******. Successful or not he was a giant D. I'm glad TC is getting rid or Forstall. Apple will be better without him. I guarantee it.

 

[Snowshiro]

Bob Mansfield is as important to Apple as anyone else in that company and probably more than most.

Apple can dream up all the beautiful designs in the world for their hardware, but they don't mean anything unless there is someone with the expertise to lead the process of actually creating them in silicon and aluminum. He's truly Apple's new Woz.

 

[randyj]

Apple maps has more to do with the data.
Tomtom powers the maps as does a lot of other suppliers.
You can see all that copyright info right in the app.
If I was Apple I would be pissed that they have licensed data from argueably the best name in GPS, Tomtom, only to be ridiculed on the inaccuracies by the public.

Forstall and team would probably not have been in a position to adequately test the whole world's data.
It probably comes at a good time so Apple now has a reasonable excuse to push him out.
For me I didnt dislike him, but I always wondered how/why he came to be head of ios.

Ive now overseeing software too, now that is exciting.
I really hope iOS7 has a new look and feel to match the amazing hardware!

 

[theanimaster]

Foreskin should have been removed long ago... starting with the blunder that was Leopard (the effing thing wouldn't install properly!!). I can only imagine how much better iOS would have been without him.

----------

I get the sense that Mansfield has a Wozniak-like personality.

Takes a gentleman to walk away from a fight.

 

[The Wedge]

I really don't think Forstall's deperature has something to do with executives being disappointed by the lack of renewel in iOS. I think it's just Siri, Maps and other disagreements, just like previous articles stated.

To be honoust, I think iOS is great. It does a great job being powerful yet keeping this simple for the user. That's what people love so much about iOS and that's what they'll continue to love. Maye on the iPad, a more 'challenging' GUI can be useful, but on the iPhone, iOS is great as it is, really.

The looks of iOS, by some said to be out-dated, are beautiful. It's just that maybe we've gotten used to it, but really isn't. The homescreen still looks better than any other phone. This is due to the icons, the font rendering, the dock. The apps bring a lot of color, the dock is simple yet elegant. The menu's are perfect: elegant, nice switches, very well structured, very intuitive. Windows Phone and Android are A LOT worse on this part. Also the notifications are superb, very simple, neat, and not to forget: useful! Far better than notifications on any other devices (though I haven't checked out JB that thorougly, I admit).

iOS could be improved, but a complete overhaul? No! I love it the way it is, it is almost perfect. Just improve, don't re-do it.

Siri and maps need user interaction to get better. Scott should have apologized or at least made a statement. He could have said turn by turn is more important to them and felt the need to add this now in order to get better and to start playing catchup. He should have like Tim did recommend other services especially for the search functionalities of maps. Something it can't compare to with other apps.

And I disagree with iOS being great. I think it's a great phone OS but it is not a great iPad OS. There are so many things wrong with it that are not optimized for the iPad. And I think this might have been the real problem. Obviously apple is betting on the iPad line to grow. Maybe even sell more iPhones. But look at it, it is not optimized for tablet. Tiny buttons, ****** apps

Simple things can be added that as a user and not a apple "genius" I can recommend. The tablets larger space is grossly underutilized. The one thing that annoys the hell out of me is having to reach all the way up to the top of the browser to enter an URL. Might sound trivial but microsofts implementation makes more sense. Why can't I see what I'm typing between a split keyboard. Did forestall and his team not try anymore. Did they run out of ideas. If they did then I should work for apple

 

[Truffy]

SJ and Forstall created what Apple is today. No one can dispute this success.

Wow, you mean that Ive, Mansfield et al were simply riding their coat-tails all this time? Well, they're sure gonna get found out now, aren't they?

[No, SJ was visionary, but the success of Apple is down to team work, the stronger the team, the better! ]

 

[tekno]

It worries me that there's no 'new blood' coming up through Apple. The remaining execs have been given even more responsibilities, and to replace a sacked exec, Apple have had to bring an ex-exec out of retirement.

This all confirms to me that Apple are a bit stuck-in-time and won't be moving forward anytime soon. Where are the fresh, new ideas? Where are the enthusiastic young people?

It also worries me that Ive - Mr Form-Over-Function - has been made head of human interface. Apple products look lovely, but have so many operational flaws. I fear this may soon happen to the software, too.

 

[StoneJack]

It worries me that there's no 'new blood' coming up through Apple. The remaining execs have been given even more responsibilities, and to replace a sacked exec, Apple have had to bring an ex-exec out of retirement.

This all confirms to me that Apple are a bit stuck-in-time and won't be moving forward anytime soon. Where are the fresh, new ideas? Where are the enthusiastic young people?

It also worries me that Ive - Mr Form-Over-Function - has been made head of human interface. Apple products look lovely, but have so many operational flaws. I fear this may soon happen to the software, too.

Ive is Function-over-Form man

 

[tekno]

Ive is Function-over-Form man

Do you really think so? The choice of material on the back of the iPhone 5, the way my MacBook Air cuts into my wrists as I type, the 'death grip' on the iPhone 4 in pursuit of symmetry etc. etc. all suggest to me that very often design decisions are taken whilst ignoring their real-world consequences.

 

[gto55]

When Apple Fired Scott Forstall, It Fired Its Most Prolific Inventor

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-forstall-apples-inventor-2012-11#ixzz2B3v0bkre
​

When Apple forced its mobile software leader Scott Forstall out of the company, it pushed out the most prolific inventor at the company, as measured by recent patent filings. Forstall's name is on 166 pending patent applications. That's more than anyone at the company, according to data from investment bank MDB Capital.
"He's one of, if not the most prolific inventors at Apple," says Erin-Michael Gill, Managing Director and Chief Intellectual Property Office at MDB. "If this guy is who the data seems to imply he is, letting him leave is a huge deal."
MDB specializes in analyzing patent filings. It has its own database of patent information. Gill sent us a table of Apple patents filings by employees. Gill warns that it's difficult to be completely accurate about pending patents, but MDB's data is the "best data available publicly."
The two people that are filling his role combined have less than half as many patents pending. Craig Federighi, who will lead OSX and iOS, has 16 patents pending. Jony Ive, who will lead interface design, has 51 pending.
It's important to note there's a key difference between patents from Ive, and Forstall. Ive's patents are design patents, which cover the look and feel of Apple's products. Forstall's are product patents that are at the core of how iOS works, according to Gill.
For instance, Forstall's name is second on the patent that lays out exactly how the iPhone and iPad work. The first name on that patent is Steve Jobs, Apple's late cofounder, who died last year. Now, Apple will have to carry on without either of them.
Forstall was a divisive character inside Apple. When he left, there was a spin that it was good for Apple because it was getting rid of a jerky manager. However, Forstall also had a lot of people who were loyal to him at Apple. And if some of the people he collaborated with decide to leave with him, Gill warns Apple could easily lose 5-6 of its most important inventors.

MDB
The table of Apple's inventors

Now, one could argue that just because Forstall's name is on a patent, doesn't necessarily mean he invented something. He had a reputation of managing up, and stealing credit for other people's work. Even if that's true, and somehow he managed to unfairly attach his name to half of these patents, he's still one of the most important people in Apple. Reading over the patents with Forstall's name attached to them makes it clear he has his fingers in everything Apple is doing in mobile, says Gill.

MDB
Forstall's top collaborators

There was also a report that Forstall was out of ideas, and that's part of the reason he's out. Gill thinks that's laughable. He says Forstall was a "font of innovation at Apple."

​

 

[mobiledating]

Jardin Smith International

The reps at Jardin Smith convinced me that with cities getting crowded and houses getting cramped in UK cities, people were looking to move to the outskirts. They showed me statistics related to affordable housing leaving me with no doubt that the government is not doing enough to create more affordable homes and that sooner or later, the government will start marking greenbelt land as fit for residential use. Jardin Smith International was of the opinion that the 2012 Olympics will give a boost to the UK real estate market.