Tim Cook 'Extremely Proud' of Ongoing Collaboration At Apple, Will Host Employee Meeting Tomorrow

[Glenny2lappies]

I just opened Contacts, edited somebody's email address, then went into Mail, opened a new email, typed their name and got both their previous email address (which makes sense, as it's still in Mail's recent contacts, which is the same behavior as in Lion and Mountain Lion) as well as the new one I added.

What's the problem?

It's just not very integrated. One has to manually find the person then paste in the new email address. One can't change the order of the addresses; just change the label. To change the order, you have to delete an address; then add a new one.

It's just too simple, so it's harder work when you want to do something a bit more advanced.

 

[kalsta]

Pay your Store employees more, Tim. And hire more of 'em.

More of 'em—really? Every time I go to the Apple Store in my city, there seems to be almost as many blue shirts as customers… many of them just wiping down iPad screens and generally wandering around. Apple can afford it of course, and maybe I'm just not there at the very busiest times, but hey, that's been my experience. I've never seen a store with such a high ratio of staff to customers (not including all the stores I walk past with one staff member and no customers!)

 

[9000]

Doesn't mean much to be "extremely proud" of your company. The BlackBerry CEO was "extremely proud" of his company for a while.

----------

Pay your Store employees more, Tim. And hire more of 'em.

They're already past the point of diminishing returns on salespeople in Apple stores, I think.

 

[thekev]

For anyone who supports flat design and opposes skeuomorphism, I challenge you to answer this: If you could only chose one of those (flat design or skeuomorphic design) taken to its extreme, which would you choose? Keep in mind that skeuomorphic design taken to its extreme would result in something similar to iOS 6, whereas flat design taken to its extreme would be a command prompt interface with no GUI.

Ehh... this isn't a very good analogy, because you have to distort the design concept just to make a point. It's even worse that you assume these are equivalent in scale. Even if it's an issue of style, your point should be able to stand up without exaggeration.

 

[jnc]

More of 'em—really? Every time I go to the Apple Store in my city, there seems to be almost as many blue shirts as customers… many of them just wiping down iPad screens and generally wandering around. Apple can afford it of course, and maybe I'm just not there at the very busiest times, but hey, that's been my experience. I've never seen a store with such a high ratio of staff to customers (not including all the stores I walk past with one staff member and no customers!)

They're already past the point of diminishing returns on salespeople in Apple stores, I think.

Might be location dependent...recent examples on my travels: Palo Alto CA, New York's Upper West Side and London's Regent Street packed to the gills with not a blue shirt even to be found. Not that they're all busy, they're just... not there in significant amounts.

I feel for the individual staff members that have a queue of customers holding things in their hands waiting to be served while they're doing their level best to satisfactorily serve the person they're with. Especially on evenings... this is common across all stores that haven't expanded with Apple. Certain locations such as Stanmore have either had larger stores opened or secondary stores added to assist with demand. If Apple are doing so well this needs to happen in more locations... fast.

Go to an pre iPhone-era Apple Store that hasn't scaled to new demand -- hell on earth. Those poor souls should be earning a packet or be part of a bigger team. Ideally both. Take it from someone who's been there...

 

[MrX8503]

Cook is a great CEO, and at the same time is setting Apple on the same course to obscurity as Sony & HP before it.

He's maximizes profits by continuing to sell outdated models and re-packaging others (iPhone 5C.) He won over people by apologizing for Maps and donating to charities. He's aggressively expanding into new markets. You really couldn't ask for a better bean counter.

But all that isn't what made Apple the company I used to admire. I appreciated a simplified product lineup rather than selling anything it could still churn out (like every other corporation.) I was won over by hardware and software that not only looked good with attention to detail, but "just worked." And above all, I respected a company that wasn't out to be the biggest, but the best. They didn't listen to shareholders because they didn't have to: What they did was great and didn't need advice.

Instead, software and hardware are being rushed into mass production without proper testing. Attention to detail is gone. And Cook's obsession with China shows he hasn't gotten a clue from the last three decades of Corporate America failure in the worlds most populous nation.

My favorite lie out of the entire post-Jobs era: "Steve left us five years of product roadmap before he passed on." What a load of nonsense, perfectly crafted to calm stock prices. There is no roadmap. They don't have a clue what the "next big thing" is. And to be perfectly honest, not a soul in Apple's boardroom cares.

And why should they? The billions keep pouring in and they'll all be long gone by the time the revenues dry up.

I think through this reflection, I understand now why Apple, Sony & HP were most successful under their founders. If corporations were people, we'd classify most of their actions as psychotic. But if there's a "human" touch, from a leader that truly cares about their company, people see it in their products and recognize that quality. It resonates with them. And that's what made Steve so special.

What about the antenna gate issue under Steve's reign? Or how about the 6 years of no innovation between the iPod (2001) and iPhone (2007)? The iPad took 3yrs after the iPhone to release and it's essentially a derivative of the iPhone. We're expecting a whole new market from Tim Cook/Apple but it's only been 3 years. Not even Steve can pull this off in that amount of time.

The fact of the matter is that you're not a prophet and you don't know Steve Jobs. You don't know what he would've done nor where Apple would be today if he were still alive.

 

[ChicoTobi]

The iPad took 3yrs after the iPhone to release and it's essentially a derivative of the iPhone.

That's just plain wrong. Plz read the bio or any other source. But, your point is still valid. So 2010+6=2016

 

[iChrist]

Collaboration is a good thing if it leads to innovation. However, when collaboration leads to a disaster like iOS 7's hopping on the flat design bandwagon, it is not a good thing. I thought Apple was above acting like teenaged girls by mindlessly following fashionable trends, but I was wrong. Windows 8 with it's flat design proved itself to be a dud. Then Google and Yahoo follow Microsoft's failed lead by implementing flat design. Then Apple jumps on the flat design bandwagon.

From the very first iPhone up until iOS 6, Apple's use of skeuomorphism was innovation. It made the most of Apple's industry-leading high-resolution Retina display. Skeuomorphism made the unfamiliar familiar, and made products more user friendly, even for non-tech savvy people.

For anyone who supports flat design and opposes skeuomorphism, I challenge you to answer this: If you could only chose one of those (flat design or skeuomorphic design) taken to its extreme, which would you choose? Keep in mind that skeuomorphic design taken to its extreme would result in something similar to iOS 6, whereas flat design taken to its extreme would be a command prompt interface with no GUI.

Looks like Scott Forstall made a secret account here at Mac Rumors.

Hey Scotty boy, no one misses you or the years you let iOS stagnate while MS and Google caught up.

Bye bye.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Rah, Rah...Blah, blah...

 

[alphaod]

Collaboration is a good thing if it leads to innovation. However, when collaboration leads to a disaster like iOS 7's hopping on the flat design bandwagon, it is not a good thing. I thought Apple was above acting like teenaged girls by mindlessly following fashionable trends, but I was wrong. Windows 8 with it's flat design proved itself to be a dud. Then Google and Yahoo follow Microsoft's failed lead by implementing flat design. Then Apple jumps on the flat design bandwagon.

From the very first iPhone up until iOS 6, Apple's use of skeuomorphism was innovation. It made the most of Apple's industry-leading high-resolution Retina display. Skeuomorphism made the unfamiliar familiar, and made products more user friendly, even for non-tech savvy people.

For anyone who supports flat design and opposes skeuomorphism, I challenge you to answer this: If you could only chose one of those (flat design or skeuomorphic design) taken to its extreme, which would you choose? Keep in mind that skeuomorphic design taken to its extreme would result in something similar to iOS 6, whereas flat design taken to its extreme would be a command prompt interface with no GUI.

Windows 8 adoption is slow not because of the flat interface, but because it's not really much of an improvement over Windows 7 for us desktop users while it forces the Metro interface for us non-touch users.

If anything for touch devices, the flat tile interface with Windows Phone and Windows 8.x is well received.

 

[9000]

What about the antenna gate issue under Steve's reign? Or how about the 6 years of no innovation between the iPod (2001) and iPhone (2007)? The iPad took 3yrs after the iPhone to release and it's essentially a derivative of the iPhone. We're expecting a whole new market from Tim Cook/Apple but it's only been 3 years. Not even Steve can pull this off in that amount of time.

The fact of the matter is that you're not a prophet and you don't know Steve Jobs. You don't know what he would've done nor where Apple would be today if he were still alive.

The iPad was the invention of a new market, not that I think tablets are as great as people here seem to think.

----------

Looks like Scott Forstall made a secret account here at Mac Rumors.

Hey Scotty boy, no one misses you or the years you let iOS stagnate while MS and Google caught up.

Bye bye.

iOS 7 isn't stagnation? Why, because they made the icons and interface look stunningly different/special? The retarded kind of "different", not the good kind.

 

[monkor]

"Tim, why aren't there black emoji yet?"

 

[Glideslope]

Gah, I wish Cook was a better speaker. He says the same things over and over again.

It's stunning, simply love them, not even close, incredible.

And holy typo.

I know. I feel the same. It's like I hear those same 6 words over and over.
Let's see what happens with Carl Icanbeadick. This will be the test.

 

[9000]

"reporting that business at Apple "has never been stronger."

C'mon Mr. Cook, saying the same "good news" over and over again makes you lose credibility.

----------

"Tim, why aren't there black emoji yet?"

Apple doesn't make them. Also, what would the abbreviation be for a black guy smiling?

 

[djtech42]

Gah, I wish Cook was a better speaker. He says the same things over and over again.

It's stunning, simply love them, not even close, incredible.

And holy typo.

I wish Craig Federighi was the official spokesperson of the company. He is the closest thing to Jobs in terms of ability to speak and present.

 

[Fondaparinux]

Cook is a great CEO, and at the same time is setting Apple on the same course to obscurity as Sony & HP before it.

He's maximizes profits by continuing to sell outdated models and re-packaging others (iPhone 5C.) He won over people by apologizing for Maps and donating to charities. He's aggressively expanding into new markets. You really couldn't ask for a better bean counter.

But all that isn't what made Apple the company I used to admire. I appreciated a simplified product lineup rather than selling anything it could still churn out (like every other corporation.) I was won over by hardware and software that not only looked good with attention to detail, but "just worked." And above all, I respected a company that wasn't out to be the biggest, but the best. They didn't listen to shareholders because they didn't have to: What they did was great and didn't need advice.

Instead, software and hardware are being rushed into mass production without proper testing. Attention to detail is gone. And Cook's obsession with China shows he hasn't gotten a clue from the last three decades of Corporate America failure in the worlds most populous nation.

My favorite lie out of the entire post-Jobs era: "Steve left us five years of product roadmap before he passed on." What a load of nonsense, perfectly crafted to calm stock prices. There is no roadmap. They don't have a clue what the "next big thing" is. And to be perfectly honest, not a soul in Apple's boardroom cares.

And why should they? The billions keep pouring in and they'll all be long gone by the time the revenues dry up.

I think through this reflection, I understand now why Apple, Sony & HP were most successful under their founders. If corporations were people, we'd classify most of their actions as psychotic. But if there's a "human" touch, from a leader that truly cares about their company, people see it in their products and recognize that quality. It resonates with them. And that's what made Steve so special.

And this is why Apple is doomed. Not financially, but innovatively.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Tim Cook should mix it up and use the word "excelsior" more often to describe how good things are.

 

[Bibbler]

Gah, I wish Cook was a better speaker. He says the same things over and over again.

It's stunning, simply love them, not even close, incredible.

And holy typo.

Public Speaking is a rather poor indication of a man or woman's intelligence, skills, or other abilities. Some of the world's most talented people are very poor public speakers - think Elon Musk....

On the other hand, Hitler was a great public speaker.

 

[SusanK]

Looks like Scott Forstall made a secret account here at Mac Rumors.

Hey Scotty boy, no one misses you or the years you let iOS stagnate while MS and Google caught up.

Bye bye.

I miss him

----------

I wish Craig Federighi was the official spokesperson of the company. He is the closest thing to Jobs in terms of ability to speak and present.

Every time I read this comparison it hurts my feelings

 

[Todd B.]

Cook is a great CEO, and at the same time is setting Apple on the same course to obscurity as Sony & HP before it.

He's maximizes profits by continuing to sell outdated models and re-packaging others (iPhone 5C.) He won over people by apologizing for Maps and donating to charities. He's aggressively expanding into new markets. You really couldn't ask for a better bean counter.

Oh look, another astro-turfed Android-bot who thinks he knows more than the people actually running a Fortune 500 company saying how much Apple is doomed.... yawn.

And this is why Apple is doomed. Not financially, but innovatively.

How come everyone is always quick to jump on Apple to criticise them for not "innovating" every second of the day yet Google can put out products that are either catch-up to Apple or basic, minor updates (like every version of Android) and nobody says a word....

Every day I'm more and more convinced that people on tech blogs are nothing but trolls looking for anything and everything to criticise Apple with...

 

[praterkeith]

Oh, and one more thing...

We're buying Microsoft.

Lol, and turning their HQ into the worlds largest Chuck E Cheese!

 

[SusanK]

Public Speaking is a rather poor indication of a man or woman's intelligence, skills, or other abilities. Some of the world's most talented people are very poor public speakers - think Elon Musk....

On the other hand, Hitler was a great public speaker.

Agree. Cook seems out of his comfort zone during presentations. He was very comfortable and animated when he testified before the Senate Homeland Security committee on the Hill.

Cook was very much in his wheel house at that time. He had the officials eating out of his hands. By the end they were praising Apple devices and asking tech support questions.

Operations is his bag. CEO, I have doubts.

 

[praterkeith]

"reporting that business at Apple "has never been stronger."

C'mon Mr. Cook, saying the same "good news" over and over again makes you lose credibility.

----------



Apple doesn't make them. Also, what would the abbreviation be for a black guy smiling?

I don't know why there would be a smiling black guy emoji, but if there ever was one it'd definitely have to be Eddie Murphy... or Michael Strahan!

 

[zbarvian]

Public Speaking is a rather poor indication of a man or woman's intelligence, skills, or other abilities. Some of the world's most talented people are very poor public speakers - think Elon Musk....

On the other hand, Hitler was a great public speaker.

I suppose I meant communicator and sympathizer. Whenever he addresses the press or his staff his enthusiasm feels contrived, and it makes me doubt his sincerity. Plus, he's almost robotic and repetitive. He seems way more business-minded than anything.

 

[Bibbler]

Looks like Scott Forstall made a secret account here at Mac Rumors.

Hey Scotty boy, no one misses you or the years you let iOS stagnate while MS and Google caught up.

Bye bye.

Ridiculous. Why are you bashing Forstall??? The man probably did more than anyone developing OS X, ditto the design of the iPhone (remember, Fadell's idea was to base the iPhone of off the iPod.).. Not only was the basic concept his, he probably did more to develop and port OS X into iOS and develop the original SDK.

So he couldn't get along with Ive - so what, I probably wouldn't get along with someone who constantly pushes for form over function (and I would guess there are a lot of technical types who would agree)....

Above all, he is probably the closest thing to a "Steve Clone" than anyone else in the company and it was reported on several financial sites back in the early 2000's that Forstall was actually Jobs' choice as his successor (Although he knew the board would never agree)...

Scott Forstall is a genius and has done more in the last 10 years to make Apple's Operating systems what they are today - - no one, with the exception of early work by Tevanian has done more.... And trust me, as the years go by, Apple will feel Forstall's absence. We're already beginning to feel it in the Playschool os known as iOS 7.

Your insults are beyond childish, they are downright silly. Try having a little respect for a person who does more than smile, throw around a bunch of "feel good speak", and designs "magical and sexy" Cases......