Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
thenextweb.com
Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
1–10 of 87 posts
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#2Didn't apple use to have an R&D department and one of the first thing Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple was he scrapped it?
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#3This sounds suspiciously like the pipeline of new ideas is running dry.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#4Didn't apple use to have an R&D department and one of the first thing Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple was he scrapped it?
Whether or not it was scrapped when he first came back, R&D doesn't seem like a new thing for Apple.
For example, I remember coming across someone working on touch R&D for Apple: http://murderandcreate.com/
From the page:
"In 2007 I started working in research and development at Apple on multitouch hardware. There I spent my time inventing and patenting new touch technologies. Now I lead the Human Interface Device Software Prototype group at Apple."
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#5Good for the people who work there but to me this looks like yet another sign where apple is becoming like the "other companies". No longer think different.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#6This sounds suspiciously like the pipeline of new ideas is running dry.
How so? Sounds to me they're just doing something about their "retention of talent" problem, which is surely one of the biggest issues facing Apple today. Giving their developers a little freedom and flexibility is just what they need.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#7I thought that Google didn't really have 20% time anymore.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#8Good for the people who work there but to me this looks like yet another sign where apple is becoming like the "other companies". No longer think different.
I see it more as a sign that "20% time" projects are becoming an employment benefit, particularly important if Apple is competing with Google for some of the same talent.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#9The font on the website is really difficult for me to read - it causes me to overly strain my eyes.
Re: Apple fires up its version of Google’s "20% time"
#10This sounds suspiciously like the pipeline of new ideas is running dry.
I'd write it up this way: Tim Cook is a remarkable individual, but he's not exactly the fountain of creative ideas that Jobs was (how original those ideas were is an ongoing debate, but nevertheless). I think it's a remarkably introspective move, recognizing weakness and moving to rectify it.
Put another way it's much better than the "strategy" of suing everybody who uses fruit or 4 sided shapes in their products as a hedge against the lack of creative direction from the top.