Scott Forstall Profiled as Apple's 'CEO-in-Waiting'

[Winni]

Scott is always smiling. It looks fake.

Not that that wouldn't make him a good CEO for Apple. But it seems to me he tries to hard to look enthusiastic.

I always have a bad feeling when I see him. Yes, he looks FAKE in every aspect. Creepy, with a sinister aura. Probably butt-kissing his superiors and kicking down on his underlings. So far, he is the only Apple manager that I disliked right from the moment when I first saw him in a public appearance.

But more importantly, he's responsible for iOS and the entire Walled Garden concept around and behind it. I wouldn't trust this guy even if I found him as likeable and cool as Captain Jack Sparrow.

It might be hard to swallow for most of you, but I think that even Steve Ballmer - as a person! - has more going for himself than Scott Forstall. At least Ballmer knows how to make a fool out of himself and he's always good for a laugh.

 

[tmofee]

This is going to be the problem for Apple...

The board has issues a load of stock options to keep everybody in place for the next couple of years - but without Steve calling the shots I think we're going to see some of the main players exit once their options expire.

really??

i think the company is doing pretty well. with or without steve they've got a plan. and i think we forget about all those wonderful people behind the scenes who help with the products that get released. steve would of put the right people in the right places before his passing away. do you honestly think these people are going to abandon ship just because the main guy is gone?? sounds silly to me..

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It might be hard to swallow for most of you, but I think that even Steve Ballmer - as a person! - has more going for himself than Scott Forstall. At least Ballmer knows how to make a fool out of himself and he's always good for a laugh.

say what you want about balmer (i honestly think he's in the wrong position), but he is hilarious to watch. noone else in the tech industry at the moment makes me laugh as the other steve

 

[AppleFan1984]

keeps a jeweler's loupe in his office to check every pixel on every icon

Why doesn't he use the built-in magnify feature?

 

[Yvan256]

I always have a bad feeling when I see him. Yes, he looks FAKE in every aspect. Creepy, with a sinister aura. Probably butt-kissing his superiors and kicking down on his underlings. So far, he is the only Apple manager that I disliked right from the moment when I first saw him in a public appearance.

But more importantly, he's responsible for iOS and the entire Walled Garden concept around and behind it. I wouldn't trust this guy even if I found him as likeable and cool as Captain Jack Sparrow.

That's the opposite feel that I got from watching him in keynotes. Maybe it's my nerd side, but watching him on stage made me feel like this guy totally knows the stuff he's talking about.

And that's the kind of guy I want to lead a development team.

As for his "creepy fake smile he always has", keep in mind it's the same photo used all over the place. Maybe he doesn't like showing his teeth while smiling, that's not how some people smile. But he was asked to do that for the company photo.

 

[bbeagle]

Tim Cook has had the Permanent job full-time for only a few short months & his successor is already being identified?!

Yes. I would fully expect EVERY company to have succession plans for any key members.

What do you expect should happen if Tim Cook's plane crashes? Should Apple run around like a chicken with their head cut off? There should be someone who can step right in and understand what Tim Cook was doing.

So many short-sighted people here who want to bash Apple for anything.

 

[Night Spring]

yeah maybe. apologies, we didn't know that at the time. but even so, looking at him now, he still feels to me like a tech, a behind the scenes kind of guy. we'll see how he goes next time round...

Cook is probably more comfortable behind the scenes, but I like him. I remember he did a segment in a Steve Jobs presentation once where he recapped the state of Apple's finances, and he almost made numbers exciting. If he can get as into products as he gets into numbers, he'll be okay. We'll have to wait and see how he does with the next big product intro -- which I guess will be the iPad 3. Can't wait!

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

ok sounds ok - the cook/forstall lineup

but

wish steve was still around

 

[416049]

As long as he has good ideas and does the job well and enthusiastically, i don't care about his smile or whatever seems to be the issue that quite a few people are having right now.

 

[mijail]

This all sounds very amazing and romantic, except that's completely stupid. If he actually wanted to check every pixel, he would zoom in photoshop or another digital graphics editing software package that allows enlargement and observation of discrete pixels.

Unless he wanted to, say, actually see a running, live application. But that would be strange, wouldn't it?

If you're using a loupe with a real screen you're magnifying in the real analog world and that's ridiculous for a number of reasons.

It's also the way users look at their screens. So stupid to try to get close to the actual user experience, huh?

Do you know any graphic designer who would possibly do this? Of course not, and not because they aren't clever..

Sounds like yet another book full of hype and spin and nonsense

This silly book aside, this guy does seem sharp

Unlike others.

Man, one can't throw a stick here without hitting a dozen specialists.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Better than Cook.

 

[3282868]

And the division he heads -- mobile software -- drives nearly 70% of Apple's (AAPL) income.

This is the issue I dread. AAPL is currently a consumer driven mobile electronics company. For those using "Mac Pro's" and Apple displays, I sincerely hope AAPL does not continue to increase iOS funding while detracting R&D business funding (such as "Mac Pro's", "FCP", OS X development aside from iOS implementation). Jobs' approach to simplifying the AAPL product line upon his return was fantastic, however simplification can lead to oversimplification. With AAPL working between iOS and OS X "markets," many of us fear the iOS platform will replace the OS X platform in the long term.

Some in Cupertino are nervous regarding iDevice/iOS focus and have been for some time. While the consumer sect makes a good portion of AAPL profits, it is not simply because consumers want these great devices, it is also in part because AAPL has been pushing more focus on these devices (create the need first, then sell the product). Before the iPhone "test market" in 2007, businesses would spend a great deal for in-house upgrades. This was especially true when the PowerMac G5's were replaced with Intel Mac Pro's in 2006, many studios and businesses dropped coin on new Mac Pro workstations and CCFL LCD ACD's. However, when the full line of CCFL LCD's were replaced (many calendar cycles later) with one iMac LED LCD and no BTO anti-glare option (although many designers use hoods with glass front displays as anti-glare displays simply "blur" pixels which creates an issue for sharp editing), it seemed clearer that AAPL's focus was not on the business market. It brought us in cash, enough to fund the iOS market. It may be a small market, but the amount of money businesses set aside for updates makes up for the difference in figures with regards to the consumer driven marketplace.

In short, AAPL can make a good profit in the business sect should they/we decide to fund it further (great example was the severe lack in funding for the FCPX update, but that is OT). However, it does seem Jobs' simplification of AAPL products is the dominant theory and thus an "all-or-nothing" approach is used to explain the disparity between the consumer and business markets in Cupertino (when Jobs reclaimed AAPL he cut products and focused on four area's for product/market development). Sometimes simplification may lead to oversimplification and that is what has some of us worried. If Forstall is "runner-up" for CEO, his iOS prowess solidifies this even further.

 

[AppleInLVX]

yeah, have to agree with you there, sir. god knows what happens behind the scenes - he might be one of the best businessmen in the world, but he's onstage performance last keynote left me cold.

For god's sake, give the man some time. Don't forget, his friend lay dying in bed when he gave that keynote. One cycle. Let's see how we feel next year at this time, and then it'll be better to make that kind of assessment.

As for Forestall, I think they've got it right as it is right now. While he could be great to succeed Cook in eight years, for now I really can see this working, if Tim melts into the background a little. I don't mind if Forestall becomes more the 'face' of Apple as he waits to take the helm, with Cook there as the solid foundation they need right now.

I think Steve seriously thought this one out well.

 

[Mac_Max]

This all sounds very amazing and romantic, except that's completely stupid. If he actually wanted to check every pixel, he would zoom in photoshop or another digital graphics editing software package that allows enlargement and observation of discrete pixels. If you're using a loupe with a real screen you're magnifying in the real analog world and that's ridiculous for a number of reasons. Do you know any graphic designer who would possibly do this? Of course not, and not because they aren't clever..

Sounds like yet another book full of hype and spin and nonsense

This silly book aside, this guy does seem sharp

It's not stupid at all. Why would you waste time doing a screen shot and sending it to Photoshop when you can just enlarge it with a magnifying glass or loupe? It works very well.

It's all about Option-Scroll Wheel Up/Down yo's.

 

[Shrink]

Scott is always smiling. It looks fake.

Not that that wouldn't make him a good CEO for Apple. But it seems to me he tries to hard to look enthusiastic.

I always have a bad feeling when I see him. Yes, he looks FAKE in every aspect. Creepy, with a sinister aura. Probably butt-kissing his superiors and kicking down on his underlings. So far, he is the only Apple manager that I disliked right from the moment when I first saw him in a public appearance.

It's remarkable to me how folks assume that they know anything about someone from their public persona.

If he looks enthusiasts - it's fake and insincere. If he is less than smiling and bubbly, he's a dud. How do you know whether he is genuinely enthusiastic..

Then it gets better. He's "fake", "creepy", and best of all - a "butt-kisser...kicking down his underlings". Remarkable knowing that, never having met him or seen his behavior at work.

It is hard enough to really know anything about an individual you have lived with for years - these posts indicate knowledge based on seeing him onstage for what, 1/2 an hour, an hour?

I know nothing about the man, except that he works at Apple and has made significant contributions to numerous products. I don't know if he is a great guy, a jerk, a butt-kisser or anything else about him. I suggest judging him based upon his actions, not some specious assumptions about him.

 

[Fuchal]

It's not stupid at all. Why would you waste time doing a screen shot and sending it to Photoshop when you can just enlarge it with a magnifying glass or loupe? It works very well.

Because he's supposed to be checking the pixels of the graphic, not how well-aligned the sub-pixels on his Cinema Display are.

 

[flynndean]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

You're talking about this crappy source as though it were an official internal Apple Memo identifying Forstall as the de facto heir to the throne.

I'm not bashing Apple in the slightest. I'm just getting a little tired of the media trying to build Apple up to be some sort of modern-day medieval dynasty.

This isn't "Game of Thrones"

 

[kurosov]

It's not stupid at all. Why would you waste time doing a screen shot and sending it to Photoshop when you can just enlarge it with a magnifying glass or loupe? It works very well.

Because as a designer all these icons etc started off in an application such as photoshop. It's a bloody stupid idea. Not to mention there is a built in pixel loupe with every mac in the form of the digital colour metre.

 

[Rogifan]

Good grief. Tim Cook has officially been CEO for less than a year and we’re already talking about his successor? Obviously there is a reason Steve and the board chose Cook for his replacement. Cook’s young and knows what he’s doing. I don’t see him going anywhere anytime soon. He might not be as flashy, might not give great presentations but that doesn’t mean he has no vision and won’t be a great CEO. I’m curious why Lashinky thinks Forstall is CEO material more than any of the other execs. Eddy Cue and Jony Ive are 20+ year veterans and Phil Schiller has been the ‘face’ of Apple in terms of presentation as much if not more so than Forstall has. I’m not suggesting Forstall wouldn’t make a good CEO, just not sure why he’d be better than any of the other SVPs. Unless he’s openly/actively angling for the top spot and the others aren’t?

 

[rdowns]

I’m curious why Lashinky thinks Forstall is CEO material more than any of the other execs.

Because he has a book to sell and knew the Mac blogs would eat this crap up.

 

[iRCL]

Unless he wanted to, say, actually see a running, live application. But that would be strange, wouldn't it?

It's also the way users look at their screens. So stupid to try to get close to the actual user experience, huh?

You're right, I forgot about the use case where I'm using my iPhone but then pull out my jeweler's loupe to get a better view of all the icons on my springboard.

And no, it would be completely normal for him to evaluate things on the devices, that makes a lot of sense. But that has nothing to do with pixels at that point

 

[Rogifan]

Told yas.

Or rather, Forbes did, quite correctly.

Scott, as they said, is in a few key ways a "mini-Steve." And exactly what Apple needs going forward.

After reading that Business Week profile on him he seems a bit creepy, trying too hard to be a mini-Steve. Dressing like him, driving the exact same car, etc. In Walter Isaacson’s book Steve said Jony Ive was his ‘spiritual partner’ and understood Apple at its core better than anyone else. But everything I’ve read about him suggests he has no desire to be CEO, he love his job and wants to keep making the best products he can. Somehow though I can’t see him ever reporting to Forstall.

 

[Gomff]

I've been impressed with Tim Cook thus far. He seems to have a different, softer style which I don't think will do Apple any harm. I don't doubt that beneath that, there's still a fair bit of hard nosed business acumen....The Steve Jobs autobiography speaks in glowing terms about Tim's prowess in tightening up the supply chain and you don't do that just by being nice.

As for Scott Forstall....Meh. I don't know him personally, obviously but I don't get good vibes. Too enthusiastic, too keen to oversimplify and make everything a commodity. A toymaker rather than a toolmaker.

 

[charlituna]

Tim Cook has had the Permanent job full-time for only a few short months & his successor is already being identified?!

yeah and. the iPhone releases and the rumors about the next one had been going on for months already. Same with the iPad, same with every computer.

Starting rumors about Apple stuff way way in advance is just part of the game.

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Hmm...not sure i fully see it. He doesn't scream Jobs' charisma to me...then again maybe nobody every will. Time will tell i guess.

Of course nobody will. they are being themselves not actors pretending to be Steve.

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Scott is always smiling. It looks fake.

When have you seen him that wasn't on stage during an Apple event or in a photo.

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Told yas.

A RUMOR isn't a 'told yas' its just a rumor

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Wasn't his last onstage performance when they knew Jobs was in really bad shape, right before he passed away? I'd attribute his demeanor to that. Of course we won't really know for sure until the next time he is on stage.

While this is correct (about it being the day they expected Steve to pass on any second), Tim Cook is a calm demeanor person. He will never pull a Ballmer on stage so get any thoughts of 'high energy' out of your mind.

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so I wouldn't be surprised if they had a similar plan in place in case something happens to Tim.

As a publicly traded company they are legally required to have that plan. They just aren't required to tell it to anyone and just as they didn't with the Tim Cook replacing Steve Jobs plan, they won't tell who they are planning to have replace Cook

 

[juanm]

I always have a bad feeling when I see him. Yes, he looks FAKE in every aspect. Creepy, with a sinister aura. Probably butt-kissing his superiors and kicking down on his underlings. So far, he is the only Apple manager that I disliked right from the moment when I first saw him in a public appearance.

But more importantly, he's responsible for iOS and the entire Walled Garden concept around and behind it. I wouldn't trust this guy even if I found him as likeable and cool as Captain Jack Sparrow.

EXACTLY my thoughts... When I first heard him speak (even before, when I saw him get on stage!) I felt uncomfortable...

 

[mrxak]

I think this makes sense, but at the same time, it's probably just as likely that the new COO would get the position. Hopefully Tim Cook does well and is around as CEO for a very long time. A lot can change in ten or more years and who knows what executives will be around when Tim Cook can no longer do the job.

Scott Forstall presents well, though, and does well in big media events in general. Back when Jobs was sick and Cook was taking over as acting CEO, I remember thinking that Forstall would be great for the keynotes and stuff if Jobs couldn't do them.