Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#111

Post by JustSomeNobody » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:14 PM UTC

Bud wrote: post #79

LaSombra wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it did, but the second iteration happened under Cook. The original one uses AA batteries while the second iteration, pictured above, uses an integrated battery that needs recharge using the Lightning cable. As you can see, there was no redesign to accommodate this new requirement besides slapping the charge port under the mouse, making it impossible to use while charging.

Which doesn't matter, at all, because the device charges in a few minutes. As everyone who actually uses one knows. BTW, there WAS a redesign...it's just that you don't like the redesign, which is different. Some of us like the fact that the Lightning port is hidden and not sticking out the side of the device in some ugly way. This is a vast improvement which saves all the waste and inconvenience of throw-away batter…

You're correct; it doesn't matter. Until it does.

Edit: BTW, you'll eventually have to throw this mouse away because the battery is dead. And there are AA batteries that can be recharged and used many, many times.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#112

Post by wstrange » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:18 PM UTC

aetherson wrote: post #100

the_watcher wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know what Amazon does for AI, I haven't seen anything convincing from them Alexa is easily the best voice assistant, at least in terms of actually understanding what is being asked. When it can't help, it's far more often because it can't find a result or because Amazon/the app builder hasn't built Alexa into the product yet (still drives me crazy that asking Alexa to play an HBO show only works with HBO Go…

I don't know if Alexa is the "best" voice assistant, but up until Google Home ships (has it yet?) it's the "only" voice assistant in the place that voice assistants actually matter. It'll be interesting to see if Google overtakes the Echo. I'm not a fan of Google's "no apps" approach.

It looks like Google will allow app integration with the Google Assistant: https://developers.google.com/actions/

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#113

Post by chocolatebunny » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:20 PM UTC

Certhas wrote: post #64

bad_user wrote: post #12

The article is short on details why he thinks Tim Cook is like Steve Ballmer, except for saying that Apple is slowly missing the boat on AI. I don't know what Amazon does for AI, I haven't seen anything convincing from them, but I'll trust the author that they are working on it. However it's tough to beat Google in this space, because AI and machine learning is what Google has focused on since their beginnings . Goog…

Azure seems to be doing well and some people expect it to overtake AWS sooner rather than later in market share. The talk that Microsoft is irrelevant is a bit hilarious, given that they beat google on revenue and income last year. They have morphed from a company that is front and center to one that provides the infrastructure for the digital side of non-tech business. Microsoft Office is absolutely pervasive, and i…

Who's saying Azure will over take AWS? Last I heard AWS was an order of magnitude larger than its nearest competitors.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#114

Post by baldfat » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:20 PM UTC

Tepix wrote: post #67

jpalomaki wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Apple is making a mistake by taking the privacy first approach. I strongly believe people will be trading privacy for convenience and companies which shamelessly mine the customer data will win. This could also affect recruiting, since I assume it is more interesting to be working with AI projects in company like Facebook or Google where you have access to was amounts of customer information.

As time moves on, customers get more aware of the privacy implications of everything they do online. I think Apple is ahead of the pack. Google cannot follow them because it's against their business interest. I know plenty of people who do not trust Google and stay away from their products (including Android phones) as much as is feasible.

The cost for Privacy is pretty big in terms of loss of convenience.

If people really cared about it duckduckgo would be huge and gmail would have never gotten off the ground. Facebook would be a desert. Most people feel comfortable sharing and being a mostly open book. Only real privacy people care about is who gets to unlock their phone.

Most people are lost in that their privacy is they are one flake in a snowstorm.

I seriously had friends for year say "Don't put my kids on the internet." After a few years that all goes away due to the ease of sharing life with friends and families.

So when people who own iPhone see Amazon's Alexia and their horrible Siri they buy the Echo from Amazon.

Apple just makes things harder for their customers with their attempts on privacy.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#115

Post by boulos » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:20 PM UTC

zekevermillion wrote: post #99

IBM wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent implies that it will eventually drive the margins down. If you're saying that commodification has already taken place then it's even more impressive that Apple's line of computers can still command a premium and indicates that they have some kind of durable competitive advantage.

It's almost like Apple has uncovered a new kind of product microeconomics -- luxury commodity, a commodity product where luxury pricing increases demand. It's a cheap way for consumers to signal upscale fashion. (This is me appreciating the enemy's skill from afar. I do not personally like Apple products. Just as I prefer wearing paint-stained sweatpants and 10-year-old extra-large t-shirts, as well as running linux…

I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic, but that's called a Veblen Good (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good) and many luxury items follow the same pattern.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#116

Post by wastedhours » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:22 PM UTC

lucasmullens wrote: post #97

empath75 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know what Amazon does for AI A lot of people are running their AI stacks on aws.

That doesn't really help them compete in the AI space.

Do they get access to info on how you're using AWS? As in, could they be learning about the perfect stack, hardware/VM optimisations and technologies used in order to jump into the market with a broad knowledge of the current state of the art?

Edit: I guess they don't get any information on success measures, but still, would be interesting if metadata would help them hit the ground running.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#117

Post by moduspwnens14 » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:22 PM UTC

LaSombra wrote: post #53

samastur wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Magic Mouse happened on Jobs' watch.

Well, it did, but the second iteration happened under Cook. The original one uses AA batteries while the second iteration, pictured above, uses an integrated battery that needs recharge using the Lightning cable. As you can see, there was no redesign to accommodate this new requirement besides slapping the charge port under the mouse, making it impossible to use while charging.

Some of the best rated non-Apple mice have charging docks. These also prohibit usage while charging.

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#118

Post by sangnoir » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:24 PM UTC

bischofs wrote: post #35

zekevermillion wrote: post #11

Even if I generally agree with disappointment at the apparent "maintenance mode" of Apple's product line, I am not sure Ballmer is the best analogy. My understanding is that Tim Cook actually is responsible for many of the supply chain innovations behind Apple's dominant product lines. This is an incredibly hard technical feat, not just blustery MBA crap. I suppose it remains to be seen whether Apple can put its enor…

Generally speaking a product company can't thrive off supply chain innovations. The market will move to commodification at some point.

> Generally speaking a product company can't thrive off supply chain innovations. The market will move to commodification at some point

To stave off commodification, the said company can pivot into a fashion company where the value is derived from the brand itself. Instead of differentiating by feature, it can differentiate by 'brand value' and encourage repeat-sales by ecnouraging seasonal fashion cycles. "Rose Go^w^wTeal is the color of the season this year. If you don't have a teal device, you're so last year"

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#119

Post by grzm » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:24 PM UTC

jpalomaki wrote: post #51

bad_user wrote: post #12

The article is short on details why he thinks Tim Cook is like Steve Ballmer, except for saying that Apple is slowly missing the boat on AI. I don't know what Amazon does for AI, I haven't seen anything convincing from them, but I'll trust the author that they are working on it. However it's tough to beat Google in this space, because AI and machine learning is what Google has focused on since their beginnings . Goog…

I think Apple is making a mistake by taking the privacy first approach. I strongly believe people will be trading privacy for convenience and companies which shamelessly mine the customer data will win. This could also affect recruiting, since I assume it is more interesting to be working with AI projects in company like Facebook or Google where you have access to was amounts of customer information.

> I strongly believe people will be trading privacy for convenience and companies which shamelessly mine the customer data will win.

I do agree there should be a way to trade privacy for services. Some things can be a lot better when they're personalized.

I'd like to see more granularity and control over the transaction, so it's more of a personal data exchange rather than privacy. Right now it seems to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Privacy first means we can have control over what data is shared. You can still choose to share what you want. That makes it much more of a trade. Right now I don't feel like I'm trading. Right now I feel more like I need to actively guard against people reaching into my "privacy" wallet while I happen to be using services they're offering.

Don't get me wrong: I'm using the services they're providing, and they should be getting something in return. Using Gmail as an example, people think of it as "free email". They're not necessarily aware of the nature -- or extent-- of the exchange. I'm certainly not. I have no idea the extent to which Google is using my data. It doesn't even need to be nefarious. All I'm saying is that I'd like the exchange to be more explicit.

So far we haven't figured out ways of making these kinds of exchanges easy. And I'd much rather see these exchanges happen in the market rather than solely rely on regulations to protect privacy.

I'm sure others have varying opinions on this. If you have an alternate take, please share a comment or a link. Thanks!

Re: Why Tim Cook Is Steve Ballmer and Why He Still Has His Job at Apple

#120

Post by ufmace » Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 4:24 PM UTC

bnegreve wrote: post #47

Luck is generally involved in success. So maybe this is just regression toward the mean and hasn't that much to do with whoever is the CEO. In other words, every very successful company is bound to be less successful later. Nothing really exciting about this.

That's what I tend to wonder about these visionary types - how much of it is really a skill or talent that they have, and how much is just picking the right thing at the right time. If Bill Gates had stayed in charge, would he have forseen how the industry would change and gotten out ahead of it in time, or be blindsided like everybody else? If Steve Jobs was still alive, would he keep churning out industry-changers, or start to flop? Would either of them do something amazing if they had been born 50 years earlier instead?