Tim Cook to Apple Employees: "Apple is Not Going to Change"

[Carouser]

Silly me, I thought the thread was called Tim Cook to Apple Employees: "Apple is Not Going to Change" and was about a message Tim Cook was sending Apple employees about the future of the company.

My mistake, I should have realised all along that this is about the man's sexual orientation.

It matters to people because they want it to matter. It is quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. If he was straight or liked getting together with goats on the weekend, it would not change anything to his message to Apple employees.

Yo did you hear about the widespread persecution and violence that some people have inflicted and continue to inflict on people who are gay? Kids and adults in North American are bullied and commit suicide because of being marginalized on the grounds of their sexual orientation; in some countries it's illegal to live in accordance with one's orientation.

The fact that someone who, in recent memory, would likely have been ostracized and excluded from participation in most avenues of life for his sexual orientation is now CEO of a billion-dollar company is notable. This has already been pointed out to you in the thread, so I wonder why you missed it? If you say 'it doesn't matter' you are simply incorrect.

What's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things is this letter.

If what he is into becomes an issue then Apple is in trouble.

Would you say this for a straight CEO? How is 'what he is into' going to be any kind of problem?

 

[divinox]

He's not likely going to die tomorrow, but depending on how far it has progressed, things can happen very quickly.

That he's going to be the CoB and that he's still on the Disney board only tells me that they don't want all changes happing at once.

I have yet to see anything showing that he's currently an active participant at Apple or at Disney.

sad stuff, cancer.

http://xkcd.com/931/

 

[rdowns]

If what he is into becomes an issue then Apple is in trouble. Remember what happened at HP? CEO's are expected to keep their private life private and separate from their work life. They are held to a higher standard than the average employee.

I just can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading here today.

 

[toddybody]

Wow. This "Tim Cook Gay" thread is getting old.
Last time I checked, no one discussed his orientation in a negative light...people are only arguing if its topical. Who cares, lets move on to more relevant conversation.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Why do I have a feeling from here on out every time we have a discussion that involves Apple's new CEO his sexual orientation will now be an issue?

How many discussions about Steve Jobs have been on here and how many have had to refer to the fact that Steve is straight and discuss that fact?

I hope this whole thing about his personal life will soon become a non issue and we can discuss his leadership and decisions without discussing his sexual preferences.

 

[KnightWRX]

Yo did you hear about the widespread persecution and violence that some people have inflicted and continue to inflict on people who are gay? Kids and adults in North American are bullied and commit suicide because of being marginalized on the grounds of their sexual orientation; in some countries it's illegal to live in accordance with one's orientation.

I've also heard of the persecution and violence that some people inflict on people because they are any of the following :

- fat
- white/black/asian/hispanic/brown/green
- not males
- males
- hairy
- bald
- blind
- amputated
- perfectly normal
- completely different

How it relates to Tim's message to Apple employees ? I don't have the slightest clue, but apparently it does.

What's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things is this letter.

Really ? Because there I thought the letter and the message it attempts to spread was the topic of the thread.

You see, I've just changed my mind : Tim's orientation does matter. Because now, everytime he does something or says something, it will be like you put it : irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. At the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is that he is Gay.

-------------------

Apple sets record profits again during Q4 '11 says Tim Cook

It's awesome because he's gay!

Can we discuss the products and strategies that led to this increase in profits ?

nyuh, that's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, what is important is that Tim is gay and it's awesome because gays are persecuted yet he rose to be CEO!

*sigh*. Let's hope this "Tim is gay" meme disappears quickly so we can go back to discussing his message rather than his sexual life.

------------------------

Why do I have a feeling from here on out every time we have a discussion that involves Apple's new CEO his sexual orientation will now be an issue?

I get this very feeling too. Somehow, now every thread about Apple and its CEOs will be a major gay pride event.

 

[notabadname]

Silly me, I thought the thread was called Tim Cook to Apple Employees: "Apple is Not Going to Change" and was about a message Tim Cook was sending Apple employees about the future of the company.

My mistake, I should have realised all along that this is about the man's sexual orientation.

It matters to people because they want it to matter. It is quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. If he was straight or liked getting together with goats on the weekend, it would not change anything to his message to Apple employees.

It is only one of many discussion points in this thread about the man. It certainly is a part of him, and for some members, relevant. I, nor any member, has said that is the sole topic of the thread. The thread is about the future of Apple with Tim Cook at the helm. Relax. So what if some find relevance to his sexual orientation, and what it may or not say about his character, mettle, or perseverance in that position. Some, right or wrong, may read into that an influence as to how he may lead the company. So for some, it has meaning. The fact that it has been posted and commented about by numerous members in this thread means it has relevance. I get that you don't care. I just don't understand your intolerance of people and comments that find different reasons than you to be excited about (or not) Tim Cook taking the helm and wondering what, if any, influence that aspect of him may have on the directions he takes with Apple. Personally, I agree with you (I think), that it will have no bearing on how he runs Apple. But it being mentioned and bantered about, respectfully, in that context, is on topic.

 

[verbalhijacker]

Tim Cook Gay?

WOW, I didn't know that.

You know what they say in America, Gods hates Gays and God loves America(according to Americans) and America loves God and Money.

With Tim Cook at the helm, will God love Apple?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I would figure this was a no **** kind of thing.

Cook has more or less been running the company since I am willing to bet before Jobs took his medical leave. If anything I see this is a good thing in the long term.

 

[shaolindave]

anyone else think that tim cook looks like a cross between mr. rogers and john kerry?

 

[DakotaGuy]

I've also heard of the persecution and violence that some people inflict on people because they are any of the following :

- fat
- white/black/asian/hispanic/brown/green
- not males
- males
- hairy
- bald
- blind
- amputated
- perfectly normal
- completely different



Really ? Because there I thought the letter and the message it attempts to spread was the topic of the thread.

You see, I've just changed my mind : Tim's orientation does matter. Because now, everytime he does something or says something, it will be like you put it : irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. At the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is that he is Gay.

-------------------

Apple sets record profits again during Q4 '11 says Tim Cook







*sigh*. Let's hope this "Tim is gay" meme disappears quickly so we can go back to discussing his message rather than his sexual life.

------------------------



I get this very feeling too. Somehow, now every thread about Apple and its CEOs will be a major gay pride event.

Your right people are discriminated against for many different reasons and all discrimination is wrong. As long as we keep feeling a need to be pointing out why he or she is different it means we haven't gotten away from discrimination. I dislike the water cooler crowd at work who always feels the need to whisper behind people's backs and worry about other people's lives. If Tim is happy with his life and is a good CEO then who cares?

Try being a single person in his mid 30's who doesn't want to be involved in a relationship and prefers to be single. Let me tell you it isn't easy even in this day and age. "OMG why isn't he married... I know he must be gay" blah... blah... blah... That is just one reason why I hate things like this.

 

[citi]

people say he is less visionary and more the pragmatic operations guy. I hope that translates in Apple making more enterprise friendly solutions and in Apple making more productivity focussed software and hardware and less toys

e.g Please Tim: I want a real stylus on my iPad! Not that wide soft tip stuff that you can already buy!

you lost me at stylus

----------

If what he is into becomes an issue then Apple is in trouble. Remember what happened at HP? CEO's are expected to keep their private life private and separate from their work life. They are held to a higher standard than the average employee.

What's he's into? Suddenly he's running around in leather chaps, molesting children? Come on, if you know anything about Apple, they have always been stron advocates on Gay rights. This IS their culture.

Also, he is keeping his private life private. It's people like you who are trying to digout dirt.

To be honest, I didn't know he was gay and now that I know it doesn't affect me. I didn't know Anderson Cooper was gay but now that I know it doesn't affect me. It shouldn't affect you either.

 

[Mikebike125]

All of you who are talking about Cook and if he is gay or not are just STUPID. What you should all be concerned about is the future of the company and how this change affects the products we are able to buy from Apple.

How about this statement from Tim Cook

I just deleted what was here out of embarrassment

 

[KnightWRX]

Try being a single person in his mid 30's who doesn't want to be involved in a relationship and prefers to be single. Let me tell you it isn't easy even in this day and age. "OMG why isn't he married... I know he must be gay" blah... blah... blah... That is just one reason why I hate things like this.

Try ? I live it every day. While I'm not single, I'm over 30, unmarried and don't have children in my near or future plans. The amount of grief I get over that (not even from my GF but from coworkers, friends, strangers, anyone basically) is ludicrous.

 

[SandynJosh]

Good luck to him, I think he'll do very well. As a lot of people said, Jobs created a culture at Apple that should survive intact for a long time.

Agreed, however Tim lacks the charisma to introduce new products and tell the corporate story like Steve. Apple needs to hire someone that can be the public face and spokesperson of Apple. I believe that Steve's ability in that area is greatly responsible for the cult-like following for Apple products that has endured for all these years and was missing for the spell that Steve was gone.

Now the most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley.

EDIT: Certainly, Mr. Cook’s private life is his own, but it seems that many would believe that a gay man becoming the head of the second most valuable company in the world a major milestone in human history.

I don't think there will be a major milestone until no one thinks to mention that the person is gay, or female, or black, or whatever. At least, at this time, there is no accompanying joke about the person's sexual orientation, gender, or being "a credit to his race."

 

[rdowns]

All of you who are talking about Cook and if he is gay or not are just STUPID. What you should all be concerned about is the future of the company and how this change affects the products we are able to buy from Apple.

How about this statement from Tim Cook

Following the resignation of Apple founder Steve Jobs, incoming CEO Tim Cook called a meeting of shareholders and members of the press Thursday morning to announce that he envisioned printers as the company’s future. “Laser, ink-jet, double-sided, color, black-and-white—the future of technology is in printers. I am absolutely convinced of that,” Cook explained to a packed auditorium as a montage of printers and people using printers played on a screen behind him. “What is the one thing people will always need? It’s obvious: printers. Printers with fax machines attached, printers that collate and staple, perhaps a printer that makes photocopies. Anything’s possible. It’s called innovation.” Cook concluded his remarks by assuring investors the release of upcoming Apple products such as the iPhone 5 would be postponed for at least four years so the company could throw all its time and resources into the creation of high-quality printers for the home and office

Printers??

Does that last little bit about the iPhone5 concern anyone? Postpone for FOUR years???

Really dude? You seem serious here. :facepalm:

 

[OllyW]

All of you who are talking about Cook and if he is gay or not are just STUPID. What you should all be concerned about is the future of the company and how this change affects the products we are able to buy from Apple.

How about this statement from Tim Cook

Following the resignation of Apple founder Steve Jobs, incoming CEO Tim Cook called a meeting of shareholders and members of the press Thursday morning to announce that he envisioned printers as the company’s future. “Laser, ink-jet, double-sided, color, black-and-white—the future of technology is in printers. I am absolutely convinced of that,” Cook explained to a packed auditorium as a montage of printers and people using printers played on a screen behind him. “What is the one thing people will always need? It’s obvious: printers. Printers with fax machines attached, printers that collate and staple, perhaps a printer that makes photocopies. Anything’s possible. It’s called innovation.” Cook concluded his remarks by assuring investors the release of upcoming Apple products such as the iPhone 5 would be postponed for at least four years so the company could throw all its time and resources into the creation of high-quality printers for the home and office

Printers??

Does that last little bit about the iPhone5 concern anyone? Postpone for FOUR years???

It's an article from The Onion.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Try ? I live it every day. While I'm not single, I'm over 30, unmarried and don't have children in my near or future plans. The amount of grief I get over that (not even from my GF but from coworkers, friends, strangers, anyone basically) is ludicrous.

Thanks for the comment. It is nice to hear from others that have to deal with the same crap. Of course the fact that I don't have a girlfriend makes it even worse, but you know where I am coming from then. Believe me most people HATE having their personal lives discussed and I bet Tim Cook is just like us.

 

[scottsjack]

Who cares who Tim Cook sleeps with. The big questions are will he keep the Mac Pro and can he clean the junk out of Lion.

 

[pablo7]

Is Steve going to make Tim wear that ****** black turtle neck all the time like a hobo now that he's CEO??

 

[SandynJosh]

Try ? I live it every day. While I'm not single, I'm over 30, unmarried and don't have children in my near or future plans. The amount of grief I get over that (not even from my GF but from coworkers, friends, strangers, anyone basically) is ludicrous.

I don't understand why people feel everyone they know needs to be spawning more children into this world, unless they can't stand to see other people being happy and unstressed due to being kid-free.

I chose to not have children because I couldn't envision how to take care of them when the doomsday clock was set a couple minutes short of a nuclear holocaust during the time I could have been building a family. Besides, I ended up raising other people's kids that desperately needed fathering. My cup is full.

 

[*LTD*]

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change.

Good. Apple simply needs to keep doing whatever they've been doing up until now.

 

[KnightWRX]

The big questions are will he keep the Mac Pro and can he clean the junk out of Lion.

Seeing how his e-mail is "Apple is Not Going to Change" it seems the answer to those questions are like that Microsoft product : "Outlook not so good".

 

[borisvian]

ok, Tim is the new CEO.

Now, what's his e-mail address?

 

[tmroper]

His being gay helps illustrate the theory Richard Florida has about the new creative class, and the benefits of being a company or community that says "non-standard people welcome here."