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Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#61

Post by k-mcgrady »

kkhire wrote: post #56
k-mcgrady wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "Watches? Tried that." I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off. I think people shrugging off the watc…

inherent problem with the watch is that it's not a standalone device, its an extension of the phone. but you're right, there's alot of revisionist history when it comes to apple product success during Jobs era. iPhone didn't become this massive product til 2010 when the 4 was released. that device changed everything for them

Agreed. I think they will be able to make it more and more standalone as the technology for that becomes available (battery life is probably the main reason they can't now). I see it as similar to the iPod being Mac only at the start.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#62

Post by Spooky23 »

tptacek wrote: post #58
Spooky23 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can't scale their "magic". Working on the watch means that they aren't working on the Mac or the iPad. They are a victim of their own success in that a successful, well thought out, and profitable product like the watch is viewed as a neutral. They've also flopped on the TV. That said, their ability to execute is amazing.

That's an answer to somebody's question, but not to mine.

People (specifically Wall St) want magic.

If Cook can't deliver that, he's running out of time.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#63

Post by digi_owl »

kkhire wrote: post #56
k-mcgrady wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "Watches? Tried that." I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off. I think people shrugging off the watc…

inherent problem with the watch is that it's not a standalone device, its an extension of the phone. but you're right, there's alot of revisionist history when it comes to apple product success during Jobs era. iPhone didn't become this massive product til 2010 when the 4 was released. that device changed everything for them

But MSM was hyping it all the way.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#64

Post by coldtea »

icpmacdo wrote: post #2

PG talked about this in his talk 'before the startup' "Larry Page may seem to have an enviable life, but there are aspects of it that are unenviable. Basically at 25 he started running as fast as he could and it must seem to him that he hasn't stopped to catch his breath since. Every day new shit happens in the Google empire that only the CEO can deal with, and he, as CEO, has to deal with it. If he goes on vacation…

>Basically at 25 he started running as fast as he could and it must seem to him that he hasn't stopped to catch his breath since. Every day new shit happens in the Google empire that only the CEO can deal with, and he, as CEO, has to deal with it. If he goes on vacation for even a week, a whole week's backlog of shit accumulates.

With the difference that unlike a poor single working mother, or some 40-something factory worker, etc., he can quit anytime, and has billions in the bank to show for it...

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#65

Post by digi_owl »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #61
kkhire wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

inherent problem with the watch is that it's not a standalone device, its an extension of the phone. but you're right, there's alot of revisionist history when it comes to apple product success during Jobs era. iPhone didn't become this massive product til 2010 when the 4 was released. that device changed everything for them

Agreed. I think they will be able to make it more and more standalone as the technology for that becomes available (battery life is probably the main reason they can't now). I see it as similar to the iPod being Mac only at the start.

Nah, the iPod thing was managerial, not technical.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#66

Post by coldtea »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #23
Animats wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google is in some ways easier, because there's no real threat to their cash cow, search ads. Apple has to stay ahead of competition in phones. That competition is now quite good, and usually cheaper. As CEO of Apple, Cook is expected to deliver the Next Big Thing. So far, he hasn't, and he's running out of time. (Cars? Tough, low-margin business. VR? Niche market. Watches? Tried that. Robots? Not ready yet. Voice AI?…

>> "Watches? Tried that." I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off. I think people shrugging off the watc…

>I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off.

Besides, this one version of the watch, outsold all competitor smart-watches 10 to 1 or more...

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#67

Post by digi_owl »

Neeek wrote: post #49
technofiend wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has a huge amount of brand loyalty. It's stunning to watch people explain away Apple's failure to refresh their hardware line sooner. They get a lot of latitude from their very loyal customers. Combined with their high margins and practices to protect same (soldered on memory and storage, license restrictions for non-apple hardware, killing their clone market) I'm literally not a buyer. Which is decidedly a min…

To be fair, it's becoming pretty common to have RAM and storage soldered to the board these days on small form factor laptops, so it's not just Apple.

If any other company had done it first on a product range, there would have been a media lynch mob.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#68

Post by coldtea »

Spooky23 wrote: post #51
tptacek wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you flesh out an argument that Cook and/or Apple is "running out of time"?

They can't scale their "magic". Working on the watch means that they aren't working on the Mac or the iPad. They are a victim of their own success in that a successful, well thought out, and profitable product like the watch is viewed as a neutral. They've also flopped on the TV. That said, their ability to execute is amazing.

>Working on the watch means that they aren't working on the Mac or the iPad.

You do know that all 3 share the same basic OS and technologies (kernel, filesystems, basic services, lots of UI and helper code, etc) just in differently tuned versions with a different "facade" on top, right?

Or that that they have different teams on each of these devices for everything that's not shared, teams that don't even communicate with each other...

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#69

Post by rhizome »

valarauca1 wrote: post #47
krisdol wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and partly because billionaires get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives That quote from the essay reminds me of a Silicon Valley scene [1] where the CEO of the pseudo-Google company in the show gets vilified (rightfully so in the show) for complaining about how hard billionaires have it in this country. I bet the creator's read PG's essay and were inspired by it. [1]: https://www.youtu…

Seeing as former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo joined the show as a writer I think this isn't a huge leap.

I don't think he has a writer credit, does he? I thought he was under "script consultant" like Matt Cutts and other industry peeps, who I imagine get calls and say "yeah do that," or "you should include X."

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#70

Post by coldtea »

tomdell wrote: post #29

I like this - "The first all-new device during his tenure, the Apple Watch, is not yet a mega hit." - as if some day it just is going to be a mega hit.

It already outsold all competitor smartwatches many times over, and became a business big enough to be listed on Wall Street on its own -- several billion dollars in revenue.

And as battery life increases, bluetooth tech gets better reach, wifi can last longer on it, and cpu/memory can handle more things right on the device, its usability will only get better.

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