Tim Cook to Apple Employees in New Video: 'At Apple, We Do the Right Thing'

[the read]

Speak up

I'll speak up Tim.

i07 is badly dated and needs a redesign from its core to enable a more flexible and intuitive device that allows:
- The ability to view and interact with multiple running apps and the same time and not having to open and close each time I want to switch.
- Decent hardware on the next iOS phone. Samsung is kicking your arse with awesome screens that put the apple iPhone to shame.
- The new cheap iPhone hardware with horrid colors is a real step back. iPhone used to be cool, it's now looks cheap and tacky. This design is something I would expect from Nokia 5 years ago.
- A redesign of the interface, yes I know you have just done this with your latest update, but it feel's like I'm using a flash device with this horrid flat new GUI interface.
- Allow developers to use and access all areas of the hardware and software without limitations. Stop locking us out or restricting access to the content and data we own.
- A cloud system backup that works and is relighable.

I could keep going but Tim, go get a Andriod device from HTC or Samsung. It will give you and your stagnant development teams some awesome ideas on how to bring iPhone and iOS upto date with your competitors.

And Tim, I hope you take this criticism constructively as it is intended.

 

[Michael Goff]

Depends on your view of what "Apple" is.

Huh? How can there be multiple views of what Apple is? Apple is a company. It isn't defined by what one person says or does. That's all.

 

[158273]

It's gonna be interesting to see what comes out of Apple in the next 10 years.

It's going to be interesting what comes out of you in the next 10 years. Are you still going to be working at the same old job? Still browsing forums online to waste time? Still looking at glowing screens all day long? Still eating food that's not food and being sedentary?

 

[musika]

It's going to be interesting what comes out of you in the next 10 years. Are you still going to be working at the same old job? Still browsing forums online to waste time? Still looking at glowing screens all day long? Still eating food that's not food and being sedentary?

Usually I wouldn't reply to this, but your comment was so ridiculous that I had to reply.

http://dylanseeger.com/readersreporters
http://turtlepie.org

This is what I've done in the past two years, not to mention numerous other projects, work, and school. What I do with my time is none of your business, and excuse me for being interested in the stuff that goes on at these forums.

Learn to treat people like people. Don't call someone that you don't even know out for some bull that you made up to try to be funny. Next time I won't reply.

 

[Alumeenium]

How is a 30-45 min wait time to BUY something Doing the Right Thing ?!?!?

 

[Coarseman]

Time to speak up: someone tell him that the Safari icon is an abomination, please!

Absolutely!

I'd even go a step further: someone please tel Tim that the whole design of iOS 7 is abomination and an insult to those blessed with the gift of sight.
The design made me much more sympathetic to the eskimos now that I realized what do the poor little chaps have to cope all life long living in endless blinding WHITENESS.....
I am sure you know what I mean.

It boggles the mind how Apple all of a sudden turned into the company with the best hardware and worst software of them all makers of mobile devices...

 

[gnasher729]

My friend who had worked at apple stores for 8 years in 3 different states was fired because he informed his manager they were over capacity and it was a breach of fire code.

I don't work for Apple, and not in retail.

That said, sending an email saying "we're over capacity and it is a breach of fire code" would be a problem, because even if the shop wasn't over capacity, and there was no breach of fire code, if a fire broke out this email would cause legal problems.

On the other hand, a company's code of conduct should definitely include a "no retaliation" rule, which forbids any retaliation for genuine complaints. In which case your friend should have contacted people higher up than the person who fired him to complain.

 

[musika]

How is a 30-45 min wait time to BUY something Doing the Right Thing ?!?!?

It's not exactly their fault that people want this stuff, you know?

 

[RebornProphet]

I'll speak up Tim.

i07 is badly dated and needs a redesign from its core to enable a more flexible and intuitive device that allows:
- The ability to view and interact with multiple running apps and the same time and not having to open and close each time I want to switch.
- Decent hardware on the next iOS phone. Samsung is kicking your arse with awesome screens that put the apple iPhone to shame.
- The new cheap iPhone hardware with horrid colors is a real step back. iPhone used to be cool, it's now looks cheap and tacky. This design is something I would expect from Nokia 5 years ago.
- A redesign of the interface, yes I know you have just done this with your latest update, but it feel's like I'm using a flash device with this horrid flat new GUI interface.
- Allow developers to use and access all areas of the hardware and software without limitations. Stop locking us out or restricting access to the content and data we own.
- A cloud system backup that works and is relighable.

I could keep going but Tim, go get a Andriod device from HTC or Samsung. It will give you and your stagnant development teams some awesome ideas on how to bring iPhone and iOS upto date with your competitors.

And Tim, I hope you take this criticism constructively as it is intended.

Constructive?

While Cook will never read this, if you think the CEO of any company would take this on board as legitimate advice you're sorely mistaken. There was very little "constructive" about that post whatsoever and it's seriousness and (good?) intentions are destroyed by the littering of almost tantrum like points of view throughout.

iOS 7, a Flash device? Behave.

iPhone 5c, tacky? Have you held one? Sure some of the colours aren't to everyone's taste but do you see where I'm coming from? You'd expect the design from Nokia? Nokia wishes it could come out with something as well built as the 5c, it's an extremely sturdy feeling piece of kit. And 5 years ago? I won't even dignify that with a response.

Sorry, but there was nothing constructive about those two points.

 

[flat five]

Why is anti-social a disorder? Most of the parties and social downtown life that I've seen that can be considered "social" events end up with drunks, drug users, fights, cheating spouses and partners, drunk driving, filth, public urination etc.

Seem to me anti-social is not the one with the disorder.

"antisocial personality disorder" is the name of a mental health condition.. it's the same thing as sociopathy except too many people these days associate sociopathy with serial killers.

it's nothing to do with whether or not someone is social or anti-social in the way you've outlined.. just sayin

 

[phillipduran]

Usually I wouldn't reply to this, but your comment was so ridiculous that I had to reply.

http://dylanseeger.com/readersreporters
http://turtlepie.org

This is what I've done in the past two years, not to mention numerous other projects, work, and school. What I do with my time is none of your business, and excuse me for being interested in the stuff that goes on at these forums.

Learn to treat people like people. Don't call someone that you don't even know out for some bull that you made up to try to be funny. Next time I won't reply.

Says what he does with his time is none of your business and then makes post about what he does with his time.

 

[flat five]

What's pathetic is your complaint. Tim Cook made a statement that everyone could use as a moral guideline. And he correctly attributed it to the famous person who said it.

Of course if Martin Luther King had said "The time is always right to do what's right, but please don't tell anybody", you would have a point. But he didn't say that. He made a statement that he wanted everybody to hear, and now all the Apple employees have heard it. Exactly what Martin Luther King wanted.

that's the thing.. mlk didn't say that.. but the bosses are implying he did..

they're using a figure-head promotor of civil rights and freedom (they could of used Ghandi instead) to manipulate employees into yielding their civil rights and freedoms towards a corporation..

mlk's message is completely against the driving force behind a corporation.. corporations/globalization take freedom away from people.. not give it to them.

(for example- this memo is fairly clearly saying "you have no freedom of speech here" ...which is definitely not what mlk would be advocating)

 

[avonord]

I don't need to be an Apple employee to say notice your quality issue: Fix the iOS7 bug so that it stops crashing.

 

[henriqueb]

Post deleted by moderator

blame Apple!!!It is stupid to believe that only taxes explain this.Sure they wanna fill their pockets.

----------

1. They don't cost the same in the USA.
2. They don't charge "bucks", they charge "Reals".
3. How much of that price difference is Brazilian taxes?



Typical bully strategy. You can't take the criticism, so you assert that the critic has some weird kind of personal problem.

apple.com -> 5c 32gb and 5s 16gb cost the same.

 

[blakerblaker]

"At Apple, We Do the Right Thing"

"The right thing" can be a pretty dangerous goal. I wonder if Henry Ford thought his company's social engineering projects were the right thing. Or if Walt Disney thought it was right to exclude women from many of the top creative positions at Disney Corp.. The "right thing" is vague and obtuse. Moreover, I think that it's the given responsibly of any human or entity to do the right thing. Doing the right thing goes unsaid. It is expected. Cult leaders and car salesmen have to repeat that they are doing the right thing because we distrust them. Perhaps Apple is falling from the ranks of a generally trusted company into a cooperation that has to sell the idea that they are doing the right thing. Perhaps Tim Cook, a very smart business man, senses distrust and has to sell the image that his company is doing the right thing. I hope not. I still trust that Apple does the right thing, but all these ridiculous assertions of correctness force me to question the integrity of the corporation.

 

[gnasher729]

blame Apple!!!Taxes DO NOT explain the price of iPhones here.I'm sorry, but Apple here is stealing people.This company is stupid as hell.The Galaxy S4 can be bought much cheaper, and arrived at the first day.Tim Cook just can't stop to fill his pockets with his billions worldwide.That's why Apple is considered luxury outside the USA and Android is taking over the world.

apple.com -> 5c 32gb and 5s 16gb cost the same.

When you say "5c and 5s cost the same" everyone would think that you are talking about comparable devices, that is with the same memory.

As far as price is concerned, google found this link:

http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/21/4863954/ps4s-brazil-import-fees-taxes

which states that 63% of the Brazilian price for a PS4 is import fees and taxes. I'd assume that an iPhone isn't that much different. I would also think that the importer and the seller want more profit when a device costs three times more. Or let's say your iPhone breaks and Apple has to replace it - I'd love to know how much it costs Apple to get a replacement into your hands in Brazil. They might have to pay the same ridiculous import taxes again.

 

[henriqueb]

When you say "5c and 5s cost the same" everyone would think that you are talking about comparable devices, that is with the same memory.

As far as price is concerned, google found this link:

http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/21/4863954/ps4s-brazil-import-fees-taxes

which states that 63% of the Brazilian price for a PS4 is import fees and taxes. I'd assume that an iPhone isn't that much different. I would also think that the importer and the seller want more profit when a device costs three times more. Or let's say your iPhone breaks and Apple has to replace it - I'd love to know how much it costs Apple to get a replacement into your hands in Brazil. They might have to pay the same ridiculous import taxes again.

I clearly stated the memory of the devices: 16gb and 32gb.There is no confusion.

Do you actually believe this article?Wanna know why the price is high here?Because people buy it anyway.Thats why.There are stupid people here to pay that price.We do have hefty taxes, but many products are overpriced.Not even a 100% tax explain that.If 63% of PS4 is really taxes there are 1500 reais left.That means that the price should be around 600 dollars, still much more expensive than US.I doubt that they import the console to sell here with the same price in walmart.

Again...the Galaxy S4 is extremely cheap compared to iPhone 5/5s in Brazil and it arrived at the same day it did in the US.Clearly Apple does not give a damn about our country.Their Apple Store in Rio de Janeiro is gonna be located in a LUXURY MALL with Chanel, Gucci, etc.Way to go with the first Latin America store.

 

[Darkrider]

The best advice i can give Tim Cook is WWSJD.

Since Steve has been gone it really shows now as the Magic is gone and I've been a die hard and loyal fan boy for years and have had 4 Gens of the IPhone. But I'm thinking next year I may go with Android only because I feel the Magic left with Steve Jobs. Apple started going down hill shortly after the Iphone 4 came out and I cant tell you the last time that Apple has innovated anything since IOS 5. It seems now that apple sits back and watches what the jailbreakers are doing and whats popular in that community and then the will take the top 5 jailbreak apps and put them into IOS and they do the same with android now. I mean for almost 3 years we heard NFC is coming NFC is coming and we get air drop??? Apple is really losing the grip they once had and now even the Ipad is starting to falling it the Suffle I mean Why would keep the Ipad2 and not just discount the Ipad 4? I mean the ditched the Ipad 3 and kept the Ipad 2 when the IPad 4 came out and now that they Air is out you get rid of the IPad 4 and keep the old hardware that can barely supports ios 7?

 

[gnasher729]

that's the thing.. mlk didn't say that.. but the bosses are implying he did..

they're using a figure-head promotor of civil rights and freedom (they could of used Ghandi instead) to manipulate employees into yielding their civil rights and freedoms towards a corporation..

mlk's message is completely against the driving force behind a corporation.. corporations/globalization take freedom away from people.. not give it to them.

(for example- this memo is fairly clearly saying "you have no freedom of speech here" ...which is definitely not what mlk would be advocating)

"Gandhi", please. Not Ghandi. Many people would be upset.

And by quoting Martin Luther King, Tim Cook clearly tells his employees that his message is _exactly_ what employees at Apple should take as their driving force. Could you perhaps imagine that 45 years after he died, a company could actually think that he was right, and following his advice is something that the company should do? Whether you can imagine it or not, that is exactly what Cook is saying.

And the memo doesn't say people don't have freedom of speech at Apple. It tells them that as Apple employees, being paid money to work for Apple, they have certain obligations. Mostly to behave decently towards co-workers and customers (which they should do anyway), but also the obligation to avoid doing things that cause damage to the company.

 

[tlevier]

They do the right thing?

That's why they are opening up on Thanksgiving? Schiller calling all Apple customers thick?

You must have missed it last week. When Cook got wind of some stores opening on Thanksgiving, he squashed it and reiterated the importance of employees spending time away from work to be with their families.

 

[gnasher729]

Do you actually believe this article?Wanna know why the price is high here?Because people buy it anyway.Thats why.There are stupid people here to pay that price.We do have hefty taxes, but many products are overpriced.Not even a 100% tax explain that.If 63% of PS4 is really taxes there are 1500 reais left.That means that the price should be around 600 dollars, still much more expensive than US.I doubt that they import the console to sell here with the same price in walmart.

So you are saying that there is an international conspiracy to sell electronic devices in Brazil at outrageous prices? If that is the case, why don't they do the same thing in Japan, or Australia, or Germany? Do you want us to believe that people in Brazil are more stupid than people elsewhere? If selling at outrageous prices (and they are outrageous, nobody would say otherwise) is a good idea, why wouldn't they do the same thing in other countries?

And I explained that if you have ridiculously high taxes that drive the price up, the dealer must make more profit on each device. If it costs three times as much, the dealer must invest three times more money to have the device on his shelves. If a dealer in the USA and a dealer in Brazil both buy $10,000 worth of iPhones and sell them, they want to make the same profit. Since the dealer in the USA sold three times as many phones for $10,000 revenue, his profit per phone must be a third. If a phone gets stolen in the store, it costs the Brazilian dealer a lot more. If he has to replace your phone under warranty, that costs a lot more. The tax is not just added to the basic price, it increases all the other cost as well.

 

[flat five]

"Gandhi", please. Not Ghandi. Many people would be upset.

And by quoting Martin Luther King, Tim Cook clearly tells his employees that his message is _exactly_ what employees at Apple should take as their driving force. Could you perhaps imagine that 45 years after he died, a company could actually think that he was right, and following his advice is something that the company should do? Whether you can imagine it or not, that is exactly what Cook is saying.

And the memo doesn't say people don't have freedom of speech at Apple. It tells them that as Apple employees, being paid money to work for Apple, they have certain obligations. Mostly to behave decently towards co-workers and customers (which they should do anyway), but also the obligation to avoid doing things that cause damage to the company.

<sigh>

the irony is that what I'm arguing for benefits you just as much as it does me.. we are on the same team (or whatever)

I'm not trying to fight you. I'd much rather unite.

the OnlY reason corporations have the power they do is because we yield it to them and legitimatize what they are doing.
case in point- you're fairly clearly stating what corporations do (and even how money works in general) is OK.. much of the world feels it's ok too. (and unfortunately, most people don't even consider whether or not it's ok.. they are taught it's ok and/or natural and just blindly consent to the behavior).. you defending a corporation should only make sense if you were a very high up player in a corporation.. otherwise, you're just screwing yourself

apple and the rest if the corporatocracy isn't screwing any of us.. we do it to ourselves by giving up out rights and offering it to them.

 

[henriqueb]

So you are saying that there is an international conspiracy to sell electronic devices in Brazil at outrageous prices? If that is the case, why don't they do the same thing in Japan, or Australia, or Germany? Do you want us to believe that people in Brazil are more stupid than people elsewhere? If selling at outrageous prices (and they are outrageous, nobody would say otherwise) is a good idea, why wouldn't they do the same thing in other countries?

And I explained that if you have ridiculously high taxes that drive the price up, the dealer must make more profit on each device. If it costs three times as much, the dealer must invest three times more money to have the device on his shelves. If a dealer in the USA and a dealer in Brazil both buy $10,000 worth of iPhones and sell them, they want to make the same profit. Since the dealer in the USA sold three times as many phones for $10,000 revenue, his profit per phone must be a third. If a phone gets stolen in the store, it costs the Brazilian dealer a lot more. If he has to replace your phone under warranty, that costs a lot more. The tax is not just added to the basic price, it increases all the other cost as well.

So, explain to me why the hell we are the only country in Earth that the 5s 16gb is not gonna cost the same as the 5c 32gb...is there a tax for gold smartphones?metal phones?


5c 32gb = USD 649 = R$ 2400
5s 16gb = USD 649 = R$ 2800

Why the profit needs to be higher in Brazil?Their profit is in the american price already.649 dollars.

Its cheaper to buy a PS4 in Miami and then travel back to Brazil.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

..."While it is unclear whether there was a particular incident that spurred the email and video to employees, Apple has had ongoing trouble with product and information leaks. Apple has always been a secretive company, and last year, Tim Cook even promised to "double down" on secrecy when it came to products.

Of all the policies enumerated, they have to focus on this one? Does the Apple-focused media believe that this is all about them?

If the memo had focused on secrecy, "As chapter 2 of our policy manual states..." they'd have a smoking gun. But handing everyone a copy of the bible is normally not about a particular verse. One person needs to be reminded to not steal, another to honor his parents. Overall, the idea is to get the community to do more good and less bad, on all fronts.

 

[Giuly]

With so much unemployment going around in the world, I don't think there's much added value of "robotizing" the production line for the world. Sure, defective production would be less than now, maybe less leaks too, but I dont think we need robots producing stuff other than industries where human health is a concern, like mining or textile...

I really prefer an automobile to being carried around on a throne by slaves, though. And so do the slaves.