Amen to that, though he's certainly not clueless when it comes to making money for himself. I left for much the same reason -- if you're not in sales or marketing at Oracle, you're a nobody. The people who actually invent the stuff they sell might as well not exist as far as he's concerned.
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Larry Ellison Hints at Bleak Future For Apple Without Steve Jobs
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Steve left a pretty solid foundation. BUT, it's already starting to erode. And will continue to get weaker and weaker as the years go by. Apple isn't going anywhere, but when u lose someone like Jobs, there are going to be huge repercussions. And we're already starting to feel them. It's really sad, but he's right. Apple will never be the same.. And that really sucks!
Take it from someone that works in an enterprise that has been a "Sun/Oracle" shop for the last 20+ years....Ellison is slowly running Oracle into the ground with his pricing for hardware and software maintenance. Once you commit to an Oracle DB infrastructure it's a big committment (kind of like standardizing on Exchange and Microsoft Office) and it's not something you can swap out easily...but lots of folks are seriously looking at alternatives to Oracle now. Not that Ellison will care....he's got his billions already and would have to enlist Mike Tyson as his financial advisor to lose them.
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What repercussions are we feeling?. Apple is not doing anything different. This is why Steve picked Tim Cook and not someone like this arrogant dude.
I don't trust Ellison's comments. I have to use his software at work. It's a suite of some of the most frustrating and unintuitive programs I've ever seen. So let him get his own house in order first before be criticizes Apple.
And this is why I think( or at least hope) Tim cook is sticking to apples philosophy. The next year is going to show a lot about where apple is going and will basically decide Tim's fate. He can become a hero with a huge new product launch or a dud with a flop. Lets see what happens.
Steve never said Cook is not a person for innovation. Don't put something in quotes when you don't have the exact quote. The rest of what you said is so ridiculous it's not even worth responding to.
Regarding iOS as a platform:
I think that Apple trapped itself with iOS7.
Why?
It's not the icons, it's not flat design. It's lack of innovation.
The API innovation is so slow that Apple will be left behind by even Windows 8.
And it's not about the superficial look at multitasking or background networking.
The sandboxed model is great for security and is the main advantage of iOS.
But here's a short list of what is missing so badly:
* Inter App communication / exchange of data
(no, not stupid URL schemes)
* Signed code bundles (you might also pay for)
(imagine a shared evernote / dropbox API installable from trusted sources)
* Pluggable action sheets from other apps
(not just tweets, imessage and facebook)
* Registration of periodic tasks for apps
(not limited to networking)
* Registration of triggers for networking events
(without local push notifications, which are stupid)
* "Screen Sharing" between Apps
(Allow Apps to come to the foreground and take over parts of the screen)
* Live widgets in springboard
(Which will be killed by the OS, if they misbehave, limited API)
* ....
I could talk for hours about this.
There would have been countless opportunities for Apple to innovate, but they only chose to upset bloggers and the press by simply exchanging artwork.
I think that Apple trapped itself with iOS7.
Why?
It's not the icons, it's not flat design. It's lack of innovation.
The API innovation is so slow that Apple will be left behind by even Windows 8.
And it's not about the superficial look at multitasking or background networking.
The sandboxed model is great for security and is the main advantage of iOS.
But here's a short list of what is missing so badly:
* Inter App communication / exchange of data
(no, not stupid URL schemes)
* Signed code bundles (you might also pay for)
(imagine a shared evernote / dropbox API installable from trusted sources)
* Pluggable action sheets from other apps
(not just tweets, imessage and facebook)
* Registration of periodic tasks for apps
(not limited to networking)
* Registration of triggers for networking events
(without local push notifications, which are stupid)
* "Screen Sharing" between Apps
(Allow Apps to come to the foreground and take over parts of the screen)
* Live widgets in springboard
(Which will be killed by the OS, if they misbehave, limited API)
* ....
I could talk for hours about this.
There would have been countless opportunities for Apple to innovate, but they only chose to upset bloggers and the press by simply exchanging artwork.
I could see that...as a long-time Mac user and Apple follower, I see Steve Jobs as an ******* perfectionist megalomaniac. Not very likable IMO.
"we already know"
ok, but back in the 90's when Apple tried to survive without Jobs, Jobs was still alive
even if the company was struggling, he could have come back anytime
ever since Jobs passed away, i could sense the difference as an employee
never before, apple has ever been focused on metrics and obsessed with making money
i joined the company almost a year before he was gone and the company was worried about how to service people well at the genius bar, how to provide the best training during One-to-One and making sure customers would leave the store with proper training through setup sessions
Apple was obsessed with Net Promoter Score, because it was more worried about people being happy and being promoters for the brand they like rather than making more money, selling more and selling with the highest attachment rate (managers harassing specialists to sell O2O, APP and JV)
i finally left because Apple lost its Apple spirit
ok, but back in the 90's when Apple tried to survive without Jobs, Jobs was still alive
even if the company was struggling, he could have come back anytime
ever since Jobs passed away, i could sense the difference as an employee
never before, apple has ever been focused on metrics and obsessed with making money
i joined the company almost a year before he was gone and the company was worried about how to service people well at the genius bar, how to provide the best training during One-to-One and making sure customers would leave the store with proper training through setup sessions
Apple was obsessed with Net Promoter Score, because it was more worried about people being happy and being promoters for the brand they like rather than making more money, selling more and selling with the highest attachment rate (managers harassing specialists to sell O2O, APP and JV)
i finally left because Apple lost its Apple spirit
Larry's comments here don't make Steve look that great. They make Steve look like someone who didn't know how to attract the right talent and didn't do a good job of succession planning. Or that in some perverse way Steve didn't want the company to continue to succeed after he was gone so he left in place an executive team that is clueless without him around to guide them. Of course I think that's all BS. And Ellison is an egotistical jerk.
O look......another one who is in love with Ive. Better go pray to your life size Ive poster by your bed.
Come back when you have reply with some content at least (romance with Ive is non content).
While I don't completely agree with him, I get the a "home alone" feeling with the current Apple management. Sort of like the parents (Jobs) going away on vacation and leaving the kids (Jobs minions) to run the household. I don't get the feeling this is their company, but a group of people trying to ape the Apple under Jobs. And I certainly don't get the feeling that Cook is in charge. With Jobs, it was Jobs on top and everyone underneath. With Cook, it seems like he is on equal footing with Ive, Cue, Federighi, etc.
Now imagine if Jonathan Ive leaves... And that's the problem with Apple, right now. There doesn't seem to be many people there with creative clout, at least that we know of - and THAT probably doesn't have the investors all too comfortable.
And while it's a cliché, I do feel that many things that have happened since Jobs died wouldn't have happened if he were alive. MUCH of iOS 7, for example.
everyone did universally love the green felt of Game Center and the yellow lined paper of note pad. on the other hand...what the hell are you talking about?!
what icons are you having problems identifying in the ios7 beta? with some changes comes some adjustment and that's it. i think you have a bigger problem than ios 7 does.
Exactly. When Steve Jobs left Apple, that was after a power struggle with John Sculley, who he thought to be incompetent, and he lost. Not only did he think John Sculley to be incompetent, he also thought Sculley was in the wrong position (there is no doubt that he did a very competent job at Pepsi, but a CEO who is good for Pepsi isn't necessarily good for Apple and vice versa).
But before Jobs died, he had told the board of Apple that he fully trusted Tim Cook to handle the job of Apple CEO in a fully competent way. And he had ten years time to hammer into everyone's head what strategy makes Apple successful and Tim Cook is following that strategy - unfortunately some analysts still don't get it.
Excellent post. I fully agree. This will end BAD for Google, Samsung and everyone else trying to attack Jobs' house, as we have seen in the movie. I wonder who will be the old guy who hits the Google CEO with a snow shovel in the face.
I don't think Apple will be able to reach the same peak it did when Steve was around, but I don't believe Apple is going to fall of the face of the earth any time soon. If it does, I think we as consumers lose, whether you loath or love Apple.
This seems to me a blatant attempt to denigrate the company so he can buy it for less than he could if people had confidence in the company.
Heres some questions I have for the Apple is doomed without Steve crowd. If Steve were still around would Apple have
Released a 5 waterproof iPhone with NFC, wireless charging, IR blaster, quad core, 2GB ram?
Released an iPad Pro with Wacom digitizer that ran OS X?
Released an iPad mini with retina display that was super thin and light and got 10-12 hours battery life?
Released iOS with true multitasking, user defined default apps, control center, actionable notifications, widgets and themes?
Released a maps app that completely blew away Google maps?
Released Google now like functionality before Google did?
Released a Spotify competitor before Google did?
Halted the rise of cheap Android phones and tablets in China?
Released an Apple TV with a beautiful and intuitive user interface that allowed people to finally cut the cord?
Released an Apple TV SDK that allowed developers to create games for it and basically put Xbox and Play Station out of business?
Released touchscreen MacBook Airs with retina display and 10 hours battery life?
Released retina MacBook Pros with optical drives, Ethernet, that were upgradeable with user replaceable batteries?
Released an iMac that retained the optical drive and that was easily upgradable for both the 21 and 27 models?
Released an affordable Mac Pro that was internally expandable?
Made a large acquisition (Netflix, Twitter, Tesla, etc.)?
Would any of the above have happened in the past 2 years if Steve were still around. Honest answers please.
Released a 5 waterproof iPhone with NFC, wireless charging, IR blaster, quad core, 2GB ram?
Released an iPad Pro with Wacom digitizer that ran OS X?
Released an iPad mini with retina display that was super thin and light and got 10-12 hours battery life?
Released iOS with true multitasking, user defined default apps, control center, actionable notifications, widgets and themes?
Released a maps app that completely blew away Google maps?
Released Google now like functionality before Google did?
Released a Spotify competitor before Google did?
Halted the rise of cheap Android phones and tablets in China?
Released an Apple TV with a beautiful and intuitive user interface that allowed people to finally cut the cord?
Released an Apple TV SDK that allowed developers to create games for it and basically put Xbox and Play Station out of business?
Released touchscreen MacBook Airs with retina display and 10 hours battery life?
Released retina MacBook Pros with optical drives, Ethernet, that were upgradeable with user replaceable batteries?
Released an iMac that retained the optical drive and that was easily upgradable for both the 21 and 27 models?
Released an affordable Mac Pro that was internally expandable?
Made a large acquisition (Netflix, Twitter, Tesla, etc.)?
Would any of the above have happened in the past 2 years if Steve were still around. Honest answers please.
That was then and this is now.
He could be right, he could be wrong. But the fact is Apple haven't brought anything interesting to the table in a few years, just incremental updates to existing product lines.
Google/Android and the rest of the world are catching up or surpassing in some areas so I wouldn't say the future is as rosy as it appeared 2 or 3 years ago.