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This crap for years and the automotive self driving stuff (where Apple recently was ranked last) are the worst distractions under Tim Cook's leadership. Meanwhile the Mac has languished and hasn't seen updates in years, the iPhone has lost any kind of leadership it had and doesn't grow any more. I just don't see how competing with the big media companies and Netflix is somehow THE business model for Apple now.
Apple’s ability to control is what has made them so successful...the most successful business of all...

Did you read the follow up on the rankings you mentioned, or did you just ignore it?

The Mac is doing well, btw. It just set revenue records.
 
"Don't be so mean!"... oh god, I can already see how all of Apple's TV shows will end up being lame AF.

Good TV shows just don't go together with Apple's clean image.

Apple would never have made a Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, or Narcos. And that's exactly the problem.
 
It sounds like Apple wants to have big hits that receive critical acclaim, but at the same time imposes too many restrictions to the creators because of its "family friendly" and apolitical approach. You don't get shows like Breaking Bad without allowing creative freedom.
 
I'm reminded of what director and VFX supervisor Phil Tippett once said in a reddit AMA when asked what was broken in the [VFX/film] industry.

“In the olden days, producers knew what visual effects were. Now they’ve gotten into this methodology where they’ll hire a middleman a visual effects supervisor, and this person works for the producing studio. They’re middle managers. And when you go into a review with one of them, there’s this weird sort of competition that happens. It’s a game called ‘Find What’s Wrong With This Shot’. And there’s always going to be something wrong, because everything’s subjective. And you can micromanage it down to a pixel, and that happens all the time. We’re doing it digitally, so there’s no pressure to save on film costs or whatever, so it’s not unusual to go through 500 revisions of the same shot, moving pixels around and scrutinizing this or that. That’s not how you manage artists. You encourage artists, and then you’ll get — you know — art. If your idea of managing artists is just pointing out what’s wrong and making them fix it over and over again, you end up with artists who just stand around asking “OK lady, where do you want this sofa? You want if over there? No? Fine. You want it over there? I don’t give a ****. I’ll put it wherever you want it.” It’s creative mismanagement, it’s part of the whole corporate modality. The fish stinks from the head on down. Back on Star Wars, RoboCop, we never thought about what was wrong with a shot. We just thought about how to make it better.”

Seems like Apple are guilty of this very thing. Not understanding how to manage artists. What a shame. But then, with the small exception of the iPad Pro-Pencil combo, Apple haven't understood or even tried to understand artists for a long time now.
 
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I'm reminded of what director and VFX supervisor Phil Tippett once said in a reddit AMA when asked what was broken in the [VFX/film] industry.

“In the olden days, producers knew what visual effects were. Now they’ve gotten into this methodology where they’ll hire a middleman a visual effects supervisor, and this person works for the producing studio. They’re middle managers. And when you go into a review with one of them, there’s this weird sort of competition that happens. It’s a game called ‘Find What’s Wrong With This Shot’. And there’s always going to be something wrong, because everything’s subjective. And you can micromanage it down to a pixel, and that happens all the time. We’re doing it digitally, so there’s no pressure to save on film costs or whatever, so it’s not unusual to go through 500 revisions of the same shot, moving pixels around and scrutinizing this or that. That’s not how you manage artists. You encourage artists, and then you’ll get — you know — art. If your idea of managing artists is just pointing out what’s wrong and making them fix it over and over again, you end up with artists who just stand around asking “OK lady, where do you want this sofa? You want if over there? No? Fine. You want it over there? I don’t give a ****. I’ll put it wherever you want it.” It’s creative mismanagement, it’s part of the whole corporate modality. The fish stinks from the head on down. Back on Star Wars, RoboCop, we never thought about what was wrong with a shot. We just thought about how to make it better.”

Seems like Apple are guilty of this very thing. Not understanding how to manage artists. What a shame.

Yes, i believe every negative thing i read about apple. Particularly when the same “don’t be mean” story re-emerges every few months. Couldn’t possibly be someone with a grudge or agenda.
 
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No surprise there, Apple has never played nice with others. Usually it is we know best and play by our rules or go home.

I thought they have ordered it and payed for it. If yes, they are clients and clients are vocal and want the things their way. It is very usual, isn’t it?
 
I thought they have ordered it and payed for it. If yes, they are clients and clients are vocal and want the things their way. It is very usual, isn’t it?

Yep, but it's a product they want to re-sell to the public, so they better be careful about their requirements.
 
Revenue != Quality.
I am pretty sure that in 2018 Mozart sold less than Cardi B.
In consumer products, the best product makes the most money. Otherwise, people would buy the competing product.

Musical talent is another story, but Cardi B doesn’t sell music. She sells an image.
 
Apple seems to be intent on making the blandest tv possible.

The best shows on TV, streaming, broadcast, or cable, are all edgy and barrier breaking. Apple should call the thing NerfTV, because this will be the softest, blandest, non-threatening TV ever.
 
"Don't be so mean!"... oh god, I can already see how all of Apple's TV shows will end up being lame AF.

Good TV shows just don't go together with Apple's clean image.

Apple would never have made a Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, or Narcos. And that's exactly the problem.
And Netflix only made 1 of those, which started to suck in season 3.

Content is about money at the end of the day and Apple can buy content a lot more easily than Netlifx and their cash burning model.
 
Apple won't be big in the content space, I'm sure they'll make a profit, but I don't think it will last. Its doomed to fail. This is a waste of effort and resources. Apple could of had 20% market share for macOS by now selling 10's of millions more, increasing its user base. Tim Cook needs to be replaced. Sooner the better.
 
Why doesn't this surprise me? For better or for worse, Apple's culture is all about micromanagement. One can only imagine how obnoxious they're being on Hollywood sets. This is why I don't think their entrance into original programming will fair well. That kind of creativity just isn't in their DNA.

At least I can say Tim is consistent, "Other sources stated there has been a "lack of transparency" and "lack of clarity" on what Apple wants throughout the process.". This quote can probably be assigned to any of their current product lines but especially the ones that deal with other entities.

Let's face it, Tim is in a gilded bubble. He's a numbers guy that is mesmerized by the financials. He's not a tech guy. He's not a visionary. He sees a product or service and thinks, "How can I squeeze out as much profit from this that the market will allow for the quarter?". Creativity and quality are subordinate objectives.

#TimHasToGo
 
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Instead of just buy Netflix advice (dumb) mine would be to drop this idea altogether, recoup whatever you can and move on.

There’s other ways to increase services. This was never a good one. Offer video content in a market that has too much already? And that you have zero experience in? That will never break even. And if it did drive any additional hardware sales, there’s no way to measure it? Good plan Tim.
 
This crap for years and the automotive self driving stuff (where Apple recently was ranked last) are the worst distractions under Tim Cook's leadership. Meanwhile the Mac has languished and hasn't seen updates in years, the iPhone has lost any kind of leadership it had and doesn't grow any more. I just don't see how competing with the big media companies and Netflix is somehow THE business model for Apple now.
But, but, but... the numbers look great, the stocks are up, it's all good.
 
More power to Apple. If they actually get us another "Breaking Bad", then do whatever it takes. If, on the other hand, they deliver us some whitewashed edgeless ********, i will do a 180 on this one.

Bottom line: Let's wait and see.

Well I doubt all the notes from Tim et al. are saying "be more edgy, take more risks"

I guarantee their comments relate to the happiness of Apple shareholders rather than the content viewers

And I have zero interest in Apple shareholder-approved content
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Sounds like unwatchable generic corporate programming. Horrible.

Apple has no idea that they're dealing with actual artists, do they?

Apple thinks "collaborating with artists" means you sell a minor variation on an existing product but get to slap on an extra 100% markup
 
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There always should be a wall of separation between content creators (artists) and content providers (Apple). It's fine for a provider to set clear standards (i.e., we want family programming with minimal violence and here is exactly what is meant by that), but meddling in the creative effort beyond setting those standards is counterproductive and bad for the product.
 
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Mac is dead. The desktop/laptop market has been shrinking for years. If you’re theory is the but for self driving cars and video streaming apple would be focused on improving Mac, you don’t know apple.

Let's just say the "desktop computing is dead" mantra (eg Mac is dead) is true. Do you mean to tell me there aren't other opportunities to be a cutting edge technology company?

Look at Samsung and Huawei producing foldable devices. From my point of view, it appears that there are tech "things" that haven't been invented yet or can be improved upon (eg foldable phones). Pursuing these opportunities would be a better use of Apple's talents, branding, and resources.

Tim's misadventures into self-driving cars and streaming media smells of him trying to appear to be a visionary. His lack of focus on tech, Apple's core strength, might indicate that he's not right for the job as Apple's lead visionary.
 
Let's just say the "desktop computing is dead" mantra (eg Mac is dead) is true. Do you mean to tell me there aren't other opportunities to be a cutting edge technology company?

Look at Samsung and Huawei producing foldable devices. From my point of view, it appears that there are tech "things" that haven't been invented yet or can be improved upon (eg foldable phones). Pursuing these opportunities would be a better use of Apple's talents, branding, and resources.

Tim's misadventures into self-driving cars and streaming media smells of him trying to appear to be a visionary. His lack of focus on tech, Apple's core strength, might indicate that he's not right for the job as Apple's lead visionary.

I only addressed macs. Go take up your straw man argument with someone else.
 
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