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Scott Forstall's Personality, Origins of iOS, and Lost iPhone 4 Prototype
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I knew I was right all along...for liking him! Everyone has got there own good and bad traits..but eventually, he make successful products, love what he does, have a nice family and is wealthy. And ofcos, he's been around Steve for so long that we don't need any other evidence to figure out he's tough.
Yeah and he was the best presenter at the recent keynote. The only one that seem truly excited about the product.
Yeah and he was the best presenter at the recent keynote. The only one that seem truly excited about the product.
Oh look, the "press" is already trying to create another Jobs.
This is what I wanted to say right at the beginning, thanks of being so concise.
Btw that business Week article has been amended with this from Tony Fadell:
I inherited the competitive iPhone OS project from Jon Rubenstein and Steve Sakoman when they left Apple. I quickly shuttered the project after assessing that a modified Mac OS was the right platform to build the iPhone upon. It was clear that to create the best smartphone product possible, we needed to leverage the decades of technology, tools and resources invested in Mac OS while avoiding the unnecessary competition of dueling projects.
http://www.businessweek.com/printer...e-sorcerers-apprentice-at-apple-10122011.html
Right at the bottom of the article.
It's awesome that you say that, Steve's spirit is obviously alive and well at Apple.
THANK GOD!
Scott's time to rock has come!
Forstall is an ******* to work with. Just like Jobs was. And you do things Forstall's way or you don't have a job, if you're in the iOS department. As a person this makes him not the kind you'd want to meet and have a chat about.
But as someone in Apple, it's exactly what they need. He learnt well from Jobs. He knows well the saying "the camel was the horse designed by a committee". Appeasing everyone, the public of other co-workers just ends up with you making a compromised product. And Forstall is totally aware of this.
He is lucky he is at the top. Cause people like him who really are not a team player do not last long as any position that is not the top. Which is a shame cause his brilliance would have otherwise been wasted (Forstall being fired for being an *******).
So Forstall is lucky. He has a job where he can be as arrogant as he wants and still produce the best products in the world. And be paid a lot for doing so.
But as someone in Apple, it's exactly what they need. He learnt well from Jobs. He knows well the saying "the camel was the horse designed by a committee". Appeasing everyone, the public of other co-workers just ends up with you making a compromised product. And Forstall is totally aware of this.
He is lucky he is at the top. Cause people like him who really are not a team player do not last long as any position that is not the top. Which is a shame cause his brilliance would have otherwise been wasted (Forstall being fired for being an *******).
So Forstall is lucky. He has a job where he can be as arrogant as he wants and still produce the best products in the world. And be paid a lot for doing so.
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in terms of presenting Apple's products Forstall brings the same boyish excitement about technology and confidence on stage, but he lacks Steve's charm - he's a little too much of a computer nerd. He's clearly a brilliant engineer and motivator within his own team, but I don't get the same sense of vision about bringing culture and taste into his products as I did with Jobs. Steve straddled the two (arts and technology); he could give us that sense of wide-eyed awe at how cool a new gadget or feature was, but he'd also make us feel that it was an important development culturally (as well as personally). I have my doubts that Forstall can do that.
In addition, they might both be exacting *******s, but Scott doesn't have Steve's credentials and authority - as a father to Apple and, more broadly, the entire personal computer industry. Forstall might inspire complete loyalty in his iOS division, but I don't think that he can gain the authority to marginalise the other executives and make Apple as a whole follow his vision. He also can't get away with as much; if he alienates too many people, they'll simply join forces to get him out (it even happened to Jobs, but somehow I doubt Scott would make the kind of comeback he did). The thing about him falling out with Ive is particularly worrying (if it's true).
As much as I loved the fact that Apple had a single, rigorous vision, I doubt that that's possible anymore. Hopefully Steve has indoctrinated enough people to replace him as a collective. That certainly seems to have been the plan.
in terms of presenting Apple's products Forstall brings the same boyish excitement about technology and confidence on stage, but he lacks Steve's charm - he's a little too much of a computer nerd. He's clearly a brilliant engineer and motivator within his own team, but I don't get the same sense of vision about bringing culture and taste into his products as I did with Jobs. Steve straddled the two (arts and technology); he could give us that sense of wide-eyed awe at how cool a new gadget or feature was, but he'd also make us feel that it was an important development culturally (as well as personally). I have my doubts that Forstall can do that.
In addition, they might both be exacting *******s, but Scott doesn't have Steve's credentials and authority - as a father to Apple and, more broadly, the entire personal computer industry. Forstall might inspire complete loyalty in his iOS division, but I don't think that he can gain the authority to marginalise the other executives and make Apple as a whole follow his vision. He also can't get away with as much; if he alienates too many people, they'll simply join forces to get him out (it even happened to Jobs, but somehow I doubt Scott would make the kind of comeback he did). The thing about him falling out with Ive is particularly worrying (if it's true).
As much as I loved the fact that Apple had a single, rigorous vision, I doubt that that's possible anymore. Hopefully Steve has indoctrinated enough people to replace him as a collective. That certainly seems to have been the plan.
looking forward
I wonder if SJ and the board saw Forstall as too much of a divisive figure and therefore chose Cook as a more unifying (versus polarizing) leader?
I think one of the most interesting aspects of this article is the tension between iOS and Mac teams.
I wonder if this is an indication of the future of Apple. Closed, proprietary tech that doesn't play well with others? I certainly hope not. iOS has chosen no flash compatibility perhaps initially for performance reasons, but now probably more out of preference.
One great thing about iChat is its compatibility with other messenger clients, FaceTime- not so much.
Now iCloud won't even sync documents with your Mac, much less a PC. iOS sync only. That's unfortunate and hopefully temporary, but who knows...
One thing that saved Apple from extinction was its reluctant acceptance of broader compatibility. I hope that will not be forgotten in this new era.
I wonder if SJ and the board saw Forstall as too much of a divisive figure and therefore chose Cook as a more unifying (versus polarizing) leader?
I think one of the most interesting aspects of this article is the tension between iOS and Mac teams.
I wonder if this is an indication of the future of Apple. Closed, proprietary tech that doesn't play well with others? I certainly hope not. iOS has chosen no flash compatibility perhaps initially for performance reasons, but now probably more out of preference.
One great thing about iChat is its compatibility with other messenger clients, FaceTime- not so much.
Now iCloud won't even sync documents with your Mac, much less a PC. iOS sync only. That's unfortunate and hopefully temporary, but who knows...
One thing that saved Apple from extinction was its reluctant acceptance of broader compatibility. I hope that will not be forgotten in this new era.
I know nobody can ever truly replace Steve Jobs, but among the new faces in these keynotes, I like Scott Forstall (iOS) and Hugo Barra (Android). The latter looks like B.J. Novak from The Office. Both guys show enthusiasm with their smile. Scott can look like he didn't have any sleep the night before, drank alot of coffee, and is way too EAGER to tell you something on-stage. But at least the enthusiasm is there. Tim and Phil just don't have that "it" factor. But again, nobody in Apple can ever replace Steve Jobs' leadership and charm.
http://www.dailytech.com/Apples+chi...+Jobs+Executive+Legacy+Alive/article23003.htm
http://www.dailytech.com/Apples+chi...+Jobs+Executive+Legacy+Alive/article23003.htm