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Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Maps for iOS 6
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You're right. Jobs would never have wrote (or written) such an Email...he would have blamed it on someone else ("YOU'RE holding it wrong"). Jobs ego would never allow him to admit a mistake. Cook has the balls to take responsibility.
yea yea ...get an android phone..and then bitch about the case is plastic, screen is too big for hands, too heavy, or too flimsy construction or much more open to malicious attacks...
I wonder if anyone remembers that Jobs never actually said "You're holding it wrong."
Correct. What he wrote (to me) was "Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way."
The problem comes when your suppliers/vendors become your competition outright. ( and not Samsung type competition) their terms become unpalatable often and even if you acquiesce to their terms you are still left with an inferior product than the one that carries their flag and gets updated faster etc.
Sounds like they decided to bite the bullet now and go their own way.
Exactly. Wouldn't it be nice if iOS went somewhere else and Apple began to concentrate on making superb, powerful computers again?
Some Advice
If I could offer everyone who is fired up about this, one way or the other, some advice - CHILL. Apple and Google and RIM and Nokia and everyone else makes products and/or software in order to earn a profit. This is the reason they exist. There is no higher goal for them than to maxamize shareholder wealth. Rest assured that every decision any of these companies makes is with the goal of maximizing shareholder wealth in mind. The Maps decision was made because they felt they would receive a financial gain by cutting themselves from Google Maps. Probably for more than one reason that can be isolated because big decisions like this are done for multiple reasons. Furthermore, as is common in business, some decisions do not work out like you thought they would. Luckily, we are part of a free market society where we do not have to use things that we do not like. There are other options and if Apple Maps continue to be unpopular these other programs will be more popular than Apple Maps.
If I could offer everyone who is fired up about this, one way or the other, some advice - CHILL. Apple and Google and RIM and Nokia and everyone else makes products and/or software in order to earn a profit. This is the reason they exist. There is no higher goal for them than to maxamize shareholder wealth. Rest assured that every decision any of these companies makes is with the goal of maximizing shareholder wealth in mind. The Maps decision was made because they felt they would receive a financial gain by cutting themselves from Google Maps. Probably for more than one reason that can be isolated because big decisions like this are done for multiple reasons. Furthermore, as is common in business, some decisions do not work out like you thought they would. Luckily, we are part of a free market society where we do not have to use things that we do not like. There are other options and if Apple Maps continue to be unpopular these other programs will be more popular than Apple Maps.
My life is over
Dear Apple
You have ruined my young life with your new maps app. I can no longer find out where I live or where I want to go. I am now forced to look up from my iPhone clutching palms and see the world in real 3D for the first time in many years. How could you do this to me?
Dear Apple
You have ruined my young life with your new maps app. I can no longer find out where I live or where I want to go. I am now forced to look up from my iPhone clutching palms and see the world in real 3D for the first time in many years. How could you do this to me?
PR mistake
Siri was, and still is, "Beta." So if it doesn't work, no big deal. But frankly, it's worked about 90% of the time for me. Sometimes iCloud seems to be balky, and there's a server that's not getting you. Sometimes you slur your words or ask a question in a blast furnace.
The Maps app should have been given the same status, while not taking away the old version with Google Maps until they could fly on their own.
Apple's not great about networking yet, because I think it was a blind spot for Steve. He didn't know who to beg and bully and seduce into doing it exactly right. So he left it to others. And fired them if they got it wrong.
I think they'll learn though, and I agree with their corporate decision on this one: but they could have eased it in for a year while they get something for Street View.
It is apparently pretty atrocious in places like Boston and London, most of Europe in fact. It's great in China. So the loudest complaints are from the Europeans. In parts of the US, like San Francisco, it's working fine. It's been pretty cool for me in L.A., though maybe it's just my neighborhood near the studios. The mistakes that are surfacing (through crowdsourcing, much better than any internal testing) are more important than ever, because of the very fastest rollout in the most countries that Apple is trying for their single model that works almost everywhere.
So a lot of times, I'll try out Apple Maps a few times, unless I get lost. If I do that, I'll go to the numerous programs in the App Store, or wait for Google while I use their maps on the Web.
Siri was, and still is, "Beta." So if it doesn't work, no big deal. But frankly, it's worked about 90% of the time for me. Sometimes iCloud seems to be balky, and there's a server that's not getting you. Sometimes you slur your words or ask a question in a blast furnace.
The Maps app should have been given the same status, while not taking away the old version with Google Maps until they could fly on their own.
Apple's not great about networking yet, because I think it was a blind spot for Steve. He didn't know who to beg and bully and seduce into doing it exactly right. So he left it to others. And fired them if they got it wrong.
I think they'll learn though, and I agree with their corporate decision on this one: but they could have eased it in for a year while they get something for Street View.
It is apparently pretty atrocious in places like Boston and London, most of Europe in fact. It's great in China. So the loudest complaints are from the Europeans. In parts of the US, like San Francisco, it's working fine. It's been pretty cool for me in L.A., though maybe it's just my neighborhood near the studios. The mistakes that are surfacing (through crowdsourcing, much better than any internal testing) are more important than ever, because of the very fastest rollout in the most countries that Apple is trying for their single model that works almost everywhere.
So a lot of times, I'll try out Apple Maps a few times, unless I get lost. If I do that, I'll go to the numerous programs in the App Store, or wait for Google while I use their maps on the Web.
I found Maps to be a mixed bag... On one hand I was thrilled to see that they bothered with a 3D version of Stockholm (how it got selected over Paris I'll never know -- Paris, oddly, is flat in Maps). On the other hand, Maps confirmed my suspicion that Apple would once again pull a "if you don't live in one of the world's major cities, we don't give a **** about you".
I live in a medium sized Swedish town and I can get local weather in all weather apps/widgets in existence except Apple's; it's been that way ever since they introduced Dashboard aeons ago. In Maps, my town is a black and white image taken in the winter - at first I thought it was inverted. If the non-evolution of the Weather app/widget is any indication, I'll be stuck with that crap sat photo for 10 years.
Apple sucks at going the extra mile to provide stuff like that for everyone who isn't an American hipster in NY ir Cali... it's the same with languages. You can get Windows in your language even if you speak some weird special backwards obscore Inuit dialect, with iOS/OS X and Apple's software (or Siri for that matter), not so much.
The approach was understandable 10-15 years ago with 5% market share and blah blah, but now they're #1 in the world. Every free service that M$ and Google has, Apple should have, and it should be better. It's like they can't be arsed to do goodwill stuff that there's no instant revenue in. Hey look, everyone and his brother offers free mail and cloud storage, let's launch a similar paid service called MobileMe. What, nobody wanted it? How odd. Let's reluctantly relaunch it as a free service called icloud and let's offer just a little less free storage than the others.
I live in a medium sized Swedish town and I can get local weather in all weather apps/widgets in existence except Apple's; it's been that way ever since they introduced Dashboard aeons ago. In Maps, my town is a black and white image taken in the winter - at first I thought it was inverted. If the non-evolution of the Weather app/widget is any indication, I'll be stuck with that crap sat photo for 10 years.
Apple sucks at going the extra mile to provide stuff like that for everyone who isn't an American hipster in NY ir Cali... it's the same with languages. You can get Windows in your language even if you speak some weird special backwards obscore Inuit dialect, with iOS/OS X and Apple's software (or Siri for that matter), not so much.
The approach was understandable 10-15 years ago with 5% market share and blah blah, but now they're #1 in the world. Every free service that M$ and Google has, Apple should have, and it should be better. It's like they can't be arsed to do goodwill stuff that there's no instant revenue in. Hey look, everyone and his brother offers free mail and cloud storage, let's launch a similar paid service called MobileMe. What, nobody wanted it? How odd. Let's reluctantly relaunch it as a free service called icloud and let's offer just a little less free storage than the others.
My take on it Apple was showing it as beta software even with a beta symbol next to Siri.
Not a fan of this. He sounds like a typical CEO. I'd rather them not say anything (Jobs style) than use some CEO speak in a formal letter.
Their response should be working their ass off to fix things and then releasing fixes quickly.
Their response should be working their ass off to fix things and then releasing fixes quickly.
If Apple is sincere, they have options.
1) Restart signing 5.1.1 for 4s and older. This should address users who upgraded to iOS 6 and want to downgrade.
2) Release iOS 5.1.2 with IP5 support. This should address customers who upgraded they device and not happy with iOS 6 and are ready to give up 200 additional features.
3) Suck it up and sign an upgraded agreement with Google, or sign an agreement with Microsoft Bing or Yahoo Maps.
Tim, Check with academicians at MIT, Stanford & Berkley. Talk to industry experts in search, cartography and navigation. Unless you want customers to wait for iOS 13 you have no choice. Apple Fan boys cannot pull you out of this mess. Go to a church on Sunday and confess. Have a beer with Larry Ellison. I don't know of any body else who will be willing to have a beer with you.
1) Restart signing 5.1.1 for 4s and older. This should address users who upgraded to iOS 6 and want to downgrade.
2) Release iOS 5.1.2 with IP5 support. This should address customers who upgraded they device and not happy with iOS 6 and are ready to give up 200 additional features.
3) Suck it up and sign an upgraded agreement with Google, or sign an agreement with Microsoft Bing or Yahoo Maps.
Tim, Check with academicians at MIT, Stanford & Berkley. Talk to industry experts in search, cartography and navigation. Unless you want customers to wait for iOS 13 you have no choice. Apple Fan boys cannot pull you out of this mess. Go to a church on Sunday and confess. Have a beer with Larry Ellison. I don't know of any body else who will be willing to have a beer with you.
OK - Now lets get the mail problem solved?
It's a game of roulette to know whether your mail was sent or not.
Tim?
.
It's a game of roulette to know whether your mail was sent or not.
Tim?
.
Calm down and navigate on
Maps is a mixed bag, part-upgrade, part-downgrade. I'm sure by this time next year, it will be a lot better. It's just the next few months that will be painful for some users (not all).
If you're not happy, use an alternative and a few months/a year from now, try it again. I think that's reasonable.
Maps is a mixed bag, part-upgrade, part-downgrade. I'm sure by this time next year, it will be a lot better. It's just the next few months that will be painful for some users (not all).
If you're not happy, use an alternative and a few months/a year from now, try it again. I think that's reasonable.
We all know of course apple will from now ignore all comments, pretend the matter is closed and hope that everyone uses their app . After all, what are people going to do, sell the iphone for a map app?