Joseph Bland on The tragedy of Tim Cook - 'Sounds good on paper, Don, but two wrongs don’t add up to a right. The latest threat from on high: Trump Threatens Companies That Seek Tariff Refunds They’re Owed – The New Republic “The president is sending a clear message to corporations as tariff refunds become available…Donald Trump is still not happy that his tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court, and he said Tuesday that he would “remember” the companies that don’t seek refunds…” This dude got where he is with threats. And every time folks give in, he gains more power. Apple chose to stand with the timid. And we all are paying the price. I seriously doubt Steve Jobs would have gone this route….'
on 13 myths busted in David Pogue's 'Apple: The First 50 Years' - 'I believe some of these myths are a bit forced (and not really myths?). 2. Myth: Apple was Woz and Jobs’s first startup. -Developing products is not the same as developing a company, as already pointed out. 3. Myth: Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. – Wayne was not involved in founding the company. He was involved in 1 mediation between the 2 founders. He was a ‘founder’ in name only. He did write a manual, but his name was on the paperwork for only 12 days. From what I read, he had zero input into the founding of the company (determining the purpose, goals and functioning of Apple). 6. Myth: Steve Jobs ripped off the graphic interface from Xerox PARC. -Not a myth. Pogue can argue that Jobs didn’t steal much, and that most of what he later sold was mostly his development. But his starting point came from PARC. Well documented. 8. Myth: John Sculley fired Steve Jobs. – So what’s the difference between firing Jobs, and using his influence to have Jobs fired? Also well documented. 10. Myth: Jobs randomly fired people he’d just met in the elevator. – There is a big difference between not being able to prove something is true, and assuming it’s false because you can’t prove it’s true. In 2010, Apple had over 47,000 employees. I’m not saying the event was true; I just saying because one doesn’t know it’s true, doesn’t make it false. Not sure where ‘firing 1 employee in the elevator’ became ‘randomly fired people’. Pogue didn’t say that the firing was a myth, just that it happened in an elevator. 11. Myth: Apple failed completely during the 11 years of Jobs’s absence. An AI search: “At the end of Steve Jobs’ 11-year absence (1985–1996), Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, struggling with a bloated product line, ineffective marketing, and a critically outdated operating system. By 1996, the company had completely lost its focus, with market share evaporating and the brand becoming an historical footnote. ” Doesn’t sound like a myth. 12: Myth: Jobs wrote the “Think Different” ad. – I have never heard anyone say he wrote it by himself, but that he was involved in it’s writing. To be fair, I think it’s pretty common for any writer to take editorial liberties, once in a while. Despite sounding so negative, many of the comments I have read about the book makes me think it’s a definite worthwhile read, and it’s definitely on my list.'
on 13 myths busted in David Pogue's 'Apple: The First 50 Years' - 'The focus on RISC from the early days has been a far sighted decision by Apple And then getting a license in perpetuity for ARM designs made Apple Silicon possible (as was buying a chip design company when it was small that made Apple silicon a reality). Everyone else has to pay hefty fees to get that sort of design. ot so much for Apple. That is one reason they can produce such powerful chips for a reasonable cost. Thus giving us the smartphone and Mac Neo. And Apple always does this early one for tech. They only spend billions whne trying to rectify a mistake (ie Beats). So look at the small companies they buy.'
on 13 myths busted in David Pogue's 'Apple: The First 50 Years' - 'I’m at the part where Jobs is about to return to Apple. I didn’t know they were instrumental in creating ARM, and I believe they still own a percentage of the company, akin to their investment in Globalstar. Some good bets on their end, I must say.'
on The tragedy of Tim Cook - 'Rodney Avilla said: I believe some people’s hate for Trump is so great that it is distorting their perception of other people and events. TC is a perfect example. Whenever they hear the word Trump (or any word that makes them think of Trump) their blood pressure goes up. Whenever they speak about Trump, it’s always in hyperbole- they take anything that Trump has done or said and exaggerate and distort it to the max. They could never even consider anything Trump has done as ever being even OK, much less good. **I’m afraid I’m not following your comment, Rodney. I believe I understand what you were saying in these two bolded sentences, but I can’t think of what *highly criticized*, *important* thing that Trump has said or done as president that HAS to be exaggerated and distorted. Instead, I very much see corruption and mismanagement in his presidential actions. As much as I abhor Donald Trump, I believe I’m willing to consider what you’re saying…so, would you mind giving a few examples of something *significant* that Trump has done, as president, that you consider OK or good?'
on Perplexity endorses Apple's privacy-first AI strategy - '@David It is really interesting how the topic du jour among the analysts changes so quickly. Yet, for a manufacturer like Apple, planning has to be carried out on a multi -year time frame. That is a huge disconnect.'
on 13 myths busted in David Pogue's 'Apple: The First 50 Years' - 'Re: #2. Collaborating on building and selling devices is not establishing a business intended to continue. A “startup” is. So I think Apple WAS Woz and Job’s first actual startup.'
on Premarket: Apple was red, turned green - 'In the lead-up to next week’s earnings release and call, the smartest responses to the announcement about TC’s move to Executive Chairman and Ternus stepping up to CEO is that there is no way that’s announced pre-earnings unless they’ve absolutely nailed the latest quarter’s earnings, and have a really great message to convey in the earnings call. Now I’m really eager to see and hear what they report next week.'
on The tragedy of Tim Cook - 'To get some context on where people fall you can listen this weeks Macbreak weekly podcast, where a few of the hosts start dinging Cook to various degrees it gives a good take on where many people land. In particular some feel that going to the Melania preview was unnecessary and too far. For my take FWIW, Tim is like someone who has found himself in a relationship with a toxic relative. Someone with extreme behaviors. He is forced to do somethings he doesn’t want to do. The focus should be on the toxic behavior of the relative, but instead it’s about Tim. Some might say that is giving Tim a pass I guess but that is how I see it. Also Gruber has been unrelenting in criticism of Cook, enough that I think he has lost some of his golden access. I don’t think we will ever see and exec at his WWDC show ever again.'
on The tragedy of Tim Cook - 'Personally, I distinguish the ‘conforming to Chinese legal requirements’ from ‘participating in Trump’s events.’ Many of the criticisms I’ve seen of Apple/Tim Cook lump these together. Tim has been clear “We obey the law where we operate.” (Although in many cases there have been substantial legal actions to establish exactly what that law is, e.g. for the App Store.) But when Tim himself, and Apple as a company, has contributed to Trump initiatives, or bowed to pressure (as distinct from legal orders) such as the ICE tracking apps, I think Tim and Apple have taken actions that are not defensible, or at least not as defensible as “following the law.” Sure, special case tariff treatment was a big deal (financially) for Apple. But that came at a different kind of cost.'
on Perplexity endorses Apple's privacy-first AI strategy - 'There was a time when I was convinced that Apple needed to make a big AI acquisition, like buying Perplexity back when that particular idea was being bandied about. I am so glad that didn’t happen.'
on Perplexity endorses Apple's privacy-first AI strategy - 'What we here have been saying long-time.'
on 13 myths busted in David Pogue's 'Apple: The First 50 Years' - 'Great question on PED’s part. A fascinating list. Can we take a sec to recognize Pogue’s generosity here? And maybe his marketing prowess? Such a list should feature prominently in his book, and a lesser person might have hoarded it for the second edition. That he would do the considerable work at PED’s request then toss it off for free…that’s it, I’m buying the book.'
on John Ternus' turnaround - 'For me Sonos integration would be the must have. Being able to simply say “Alexa play…” and then hearing the music on our in-wall speakers is something we do many times a day. I’ve seen no indication to-date of any Siri integration with Sonos. AirPlay 2 compatibility doesn’t cut it, Apple needs to just do what Alexa has been doing for years.'
on The tragedy of Tim Cook - 'There is no doubt that Tim Cook made a lot of people very uneasy with his engagements with Trump. Some of it was calculated, for sure, as CEO of a major American and global titan, he doesn’t get to be Tim Cook the person, he has to be Tim Cook the CEO. Some of it was poor optics and unfortunate timing in a fast moving event cycle. But, one of the clear advantages of the approach that Apple is adopting, is that he is being given the latitude to be more himself. And maybe he will be a brave voice of reason and humanity in a cynical world,'
