Steve Jobs had a deep and rich vision in 1981 for how user interfaces could work. If nontechnical users were going to do highly complex tasks on a computer with no training, he felt that Apple would need to make the technology disappear and the operations be utterly intuitive to nontechnical people.
The iPhone was the highest realization of Steve's vision. Unlike PC applications, iPhone apps were not merely software programs; they transformed the phone into familiar physical objects. The notepad looked like a notepad; the calendar was like holding a calendar; the clock looked like a clock.
In iOS 7, all of that is gone. Apps are now controlled with cryptic little florescent symbols that are interspersed across the screen. Everything looks the same. No more notepad; no more dials for making selections. It's all just dull software; black letters on white.
The WS sharks want Cook out. They want a more pliable CEO that is more "WS friendly" (think cash hoard sucked away via dividends). Usually they attack more directly. In this case, they just insinuate (using convenient unnamed sources) that he is not the right man for the job (while giving him his due on issues that are considered chump change). SJ handpicked Cook for the job. I would rather go with that than some WS brown-noser.
Apple will be fine under Cook.
WS is a joke anyway...glorified (and rigged) casino.
TJReilly (WS defender) response in 3,2.1....![]()
When Tim Cook has his own break out, society changing product and pushes out a schlock accessory he'll get a pass too. Until then his tenure-to-date is filled with doubt and question marks.
-Elan Musk of Tesla for one
-Larry Ellison of Oracle for two
-Sir Richard Bronson of Virgin Atlantic for three
Three best candidates for the Apple Board of Directors- May be all three should be added
Silly hypothetical. Cook didn't so it's a moot point. Cook should try releasing some novel products of his own and then we can see how people react for real, not as a hypothetical.
He is not comfortable saying no? Tim, you are the CEO now. It is up to you to settle stalemates and give products that are ultimately a reflection of your company the final sniff test. You are the decider and you are no longer the COO.
Man up already.
I'm still waiting for the promised Exciting things coming this year.
We are over half way thru and nothing yet.
Lower powered iMac?
New mobile (well that's a given, nothing surprising there)
Put a new Intel chip in a few current products?
New screen size for a laptop?
iPad a bit faster with last years iphone touch sensor?
Not seeing this wave of new exciting products yet. Are you?
Every good release since September 2011: 'It's too soon since Steve Jobs was CEO to give Tim Cook credit for it.'
To remind EVERYONE: STEVE JOBS IS DEAD. Things change. Apple is and will be different under new leadership. Its called evolution. Sometimes is good...and sometimes is a small step and not a massive one. I think the jury is still out on Tim Cook.
Let us all pause and address this in 8 months AFTER the new iPhones and pads are out and AFTER the new iWatch and even ATV is out. I bet EVERYONE will be singing a different tune than WHAT WOULD STEVE DO? The new tune will be
ITS ALL BECAUSE OF STEVE AND NOT TIM.
Steve Jobs wasn't perfect either.
Every good release since September 2011: 'It's too soon since Steve Jobs was CEO to give Tim Cook credit for it.'
Fair enough, but look at the new Mac Pro. Announced in 2012, and a huge update, so clearly Steve Jobs had a lot of influence on it. Yet without Steve Jobs to sell it to us, people are still saying "Apple can't innovate!"
Dump Al Gore. Wtf is he doing on the board to begin with?
Yes, but you are making my EXACT point for me. This all demonstrates that Tim Cook is a competent enough manager not to bungle Apple goodwill. He hasn't alienated customers by putting out junk products the way Amelio and Spindler did. But to be sure all of the products released to-date are Jobs-era legacy updates. There is yet a single Tim Cook signature product; one which Jobs had no hand in. That is a fact, and my central point. I don't know why people get so upset with this truth.
The whole "Apple can't innovate" is a bit premature based on the time periods between the iPod and iPod video and iPhone and iPad. People have short memories. Cook certainly deserved and needed time to develop new products as those do not materialize in months or even a year. We now how long it took the iPhone to go from concept to product. But that time lapse is due and Tim Cook needs to show he has the chops with 100% fresh product to take Apple growth higher. And Cook has been so bold as to announce such product this fall. The world waits to see if he is for real or bluffing to keep the wolves at bay. But he will have hell to pay if he is just teasing.
Apple can survive for a very long time with just recycling iPhone sales but it can't grow much longer w/ mostly iPhone sales because soon there will be near complete saturation; i.e., everyone in the world will have taken a side on which smartphone OS they will adopt.
I agree with you: It's far to soon to tell if Tim Cook's Apple is doomed.
However, I'm very hopeful that it's not, as a lot of the same people are there, and given that Cook was acting CEO previously.
As 30+ year Apple fan and decade+ shareholder I'm optimistic too. Apple is certainly not "doomed" because as I said, it can survive on just the iPhone for a long time. But, I'm also realistic, and it can't sustain positive momentum w/o an all-new product. I'm taking Cook at his word regarding this fall, BUT if we just get more of the same w/o even a hint of new product then I think the Board will be considering its options.
SJ handpicked Cook for the job. I would rather go with that than some WS brown-noser.
Apple will be fine under Cook.
Yes, But it was Steve Jobs-not Tim Cook !- I think
For instance, the excerpt explains an incident where someone was unable to answer one of Cook's questions so Cook didn't say a word and let the silence fester, causing everyone in the room to stare at the table. The atmosphere of the room would grow to intense levels as Cook kept his eyes on the person who wasn't able to answer
Poor Tim Cook. The guy has kept Apple rolling along and just as successful as before Steve Jobs' death, and yet everyone seems incredibly eager to invalidate his presence there. People seem to forget that he was one of the integral players in Apple's revival. It's not like he was just hired the day Steve Jobs left the company.
The man has his own style of leadership and it seems to have worked out just fine for the last few years (god forbid he's not a clone of Steve!) And that's not to mention his work at Apple for the decade plus prior to that. I'm not sure why people think he has to keep proving himself.