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Scott Forstall's Personality, Origins of iOS, and Lost iPhone 4 Prototype
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I feel like I should expand on this.
What do I see as some of the main structural problems with the iOS business -
1) That the iOS development team does not seem to have assigned developers who work on the included apps, and these are treated like an afterthought in staff resourcing. This means for example it's likely nobody has even looked at the code of the YouTube app since iOS3, since no one owns it. A number of the core apps have been neglected. That's because the iOS division structure doesn't seem to be right to be as good as it could be. Forstall is in charge of this, and hasn't fixed it.
2) That iOS development has continued to spread it's limited resource very thinly in order to acquire a bigger power base within the company by porting the OS to ever more devices. Not only do the ports themselves eat masses of time, they also make further development more complex in future. As such, development gets even slower.
These are the reasons why it seems like every iOS update since iOS3 slows the pace of development down, rather than up. It's why big problems with the UI get ignored time after time (accessing wi-fi etc), and why Apple doesn't come up with creative solutions to common problems (the iPad is a household device, so why is there no way for multiple people to use it without constantly logging in and out of every app? I don't want the OSX user account dialogue box, but how about something innovative with face recognition?) anymore.
Meanwhile time is wasted on things that seem ephremal trivia, like splitting up the iPod app, presumably based on Forstall's personal prejudices.
Phazer
I don't know about the Siri part, but I agree, I also think they need a woman in the mix. Anything is better than looking at the current crew all the time.
Slightly tongue in cheek, I vote for the pretty Canadian from T-Mobile's commercials
Would we all be correct in thinking you would have done it all so much better then? You never know, with Apple in so much trouble, maybe they'll give you a call.
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Let's hope he is the next S.J.
Let's hope he is the next S.J.
I don't know about the Siri part, but I agree, I also think they need a woman in the mix. Anything is better than looking at the current crew all the time.
Slightly tongue in cheek, I vote for the pretty Canadian from T-Mobile's commercials
I also agree, I was shocked to see that there was an African American woman as head of the HR for Apple.
Been saying for years that Forstall is a poor choice to put in front of the public. Even in his early days, Jobs didn't come off as smarmy and unlikeable as Forstall. Sure Jobs was cocky, but he had that "cocky but likeable" air about him, a kind of "pretentious charm". Forstall just comes off as a smarmy douche in every single presentation he does. They could not have picked a worse pitchman. Even the emotionless, fat engineer would be better. At least he doesn't come off as condescending and he doesn't have that "I'm going to bury you under the floorboards" look like Forstall does.
Tim Cook has an anemic stage presence, but at least it doesn't completely turn you off to everything he says. It just makes you drowsy. The iPhone 4S keynote was just sad to watch. Not because Steve Jobs wasn't there, but because they did such a piss poor job of it.
Apple: For the love of god, find a better pitchman/men/women.
Tim Cook has an anemic stage presence, but at least it doesn't completely turn you off to everything he says. It just makes you drowsy. The iPhone 4S keynote was just sad to watch. Not because Steve Jobs wasn't there, but because they did such a piss poor job of it.
Apple: For the love of god, find a better pitchman/men/women.
My take is that the media is trying to compensate for the absence of Jobs by spinning a Steve Jr. out of Scott. It makes for a good story, at minimum. And by the comments here, most of us seem to be biting. Not to take anything away from the new leadership, but I don't think either Tim or Scott will ever attain to the iconic status that Steve Jobs did.
Forstall doesn't have to be your friend. You don't have to love him or marry him (local restrictions may apply, check with your state's attorney general). He has to do his job, and sometimes he may make someone unhappy. He didn't kill your puppy; you'll be OK.
Tim because he has the stage presence of a wet sponge and Forstall because he has the personality of King Douchenozzle von Crunk.
I say give their fat engineer guy who's in some of the commercials a chance. Can't be worse than the two they've tried to foist on us so far.
I think I've tried to expand on how I would have done it. People can judge if they seem good ideas for themselves.
Just because Apple have sold devices does not mean they cannot do things better. That would be silly.
Phazer
Don't extrapolate "flawed" from "imperfect"
Having read the article, I'd say that "not always flattering" translates to "not perfect." Big friggin' deal. The good far outweighs the bad, and the "bad" has essentially proven irrelevant. Who was expecting, or demanding, perfection?
Having read the article, I'd say that "not always flattering" translates to "not perfect." Big friggin' deal. The good far outweighs the bad, and the "bad" has essentially proven irrelevant. Who was expecting, or demanding, perfection?
You missed the point. What I am trying to say is you can't judge people based on what you read. He could be a douche, he could be a great person. You don't know the dude, so don't judge.
Yes. I've made the exact same comment before, because clearly this is not happening.
You have to have someone own some code so that it constantly gets looked at and fixed and upgraded. Otherwise you kept getting things like the Daylight Savings and alarm bugs.
Instead, Apple brags about still acting like a startup, so a limited number of developers are shifted from project to project every few months.
Nice to see that old gossip rag gizmodo mentioned again. They are nothing more than a tabloid that spits out other reporters' news stories. Most of the time they can't spell, some of the time I think they can't read.
I wonder what kind of contract or employment arrangement Mr. Ive has with the company? The only thing that concerns me is that he be alienated and cashes out. While software is of outpost importance, his designs are second to none. Jony is the hardware aesthetic of Apple.
I don't get jocky-ness out of him at all. Actually, quite the opposite.
I also doubt he's a douche to everyone. A good manager sets high expectations and drives you to them. With expectations also comes an understanding of what accountability looks likes. Good for him for holding his team accountable, but I'm sure he's an amazing resource too. You cannot get results just by cracking a whip, nor can you get them being Mr. Nice guy. You have to do both. When you see someone that successful, you know he balances the two well or he wouldn't succeed.
I love people, who most likely have never had to lead a team, so crass and negative in their comments.
Think about your favorite boss you've ever had, and the boss you hated the most. Now who was the boss that actually made you be successful? Probably wasn't either of the first two.
By now the remaining engineers should realize that getting one of the prototypes to take out in the field is the equivalent of a written warning, where condition to retain job = "returns prototype to lab every morning by 8:30am."
Forstall always reminds me of steve buscemy. Kind of creepy guy who definitely has talent n passion.