Steven Levy has written a stellar article at Wired about his tour of the new Apple campus, Apple Park, aka The Mothership. The focus is on the design details inspired by Steve Jobs and the building as “Steve’s gift.” John read the article and has some follow-on thoughts to offer.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook Charity Auction Raises Record $688K
Tim Cook’s 2017 charity auction for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights set a record Tuesday when it closed at $688,999. That’s more than the $605,00 a coffee date with Mr. Cook fetched in 2013, and well north of the $515,000 Mr. Cook’s auction raised in 2016. Charitybuzz, which conducted the auction, shows the “lot” of Mr. Cook closed, but MacRumors caught the action at the end, when it hit $688,999 with 30 bids. Mr. Cook has used his fame as Apple CEO to raise money for the RFK Center since 2013, but this is the first year the resulting hour with Mr. Cook will take place in the brand new Apple Park. Congrats to the winner!
Tim Cook Is No Steve Ballmer
A piece at Seeking Alpha argues that Tim Cook needs to be replaced as CEO of Apple because he’s “identical to Steve Ballmer.” Bryan Chaffin was specifically asked what he thought, so here’s the short version: it’s balderdash—Tim Cook is no Steve Ballmer.
A Fantasy Conversation: Bezos and Cook Chat About Amazon Echo
Two very interesting things happened this week. First, we heard that Apple may be making its own Siri-powered Echo-like device, to be announced at WWDC. Later in the week, we heard that Amazon will now bring its video app, Prime Video to the Apple TV. Mere coincidence? John, just for fun, imagines a recent, fictional conversation between Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.
Apple Will Launch $1 Billion Investment Fund for Advanced Manufacturing
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Wednesday that his company was creating a US$1 billion investment fund for advanced manufacturing. Mr. Cook made the announcement during an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money. Bryan Chaffin says: think robots.
Dr. Mac on Procrastinating, Touch-Screen Macs, and Siri at Home - ACM 409
Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus joins Bryan and Jeff to talk about his new book, Working Smarter for Mac Users. It’s all about beating procrastination. They also talk about Apple, toasterfridges, and touch-screen Macs, and whether Apple would compete with Amazon’s Alexa in the home.
Tim Cook Charity Auction with Lunch at Apple Park, Price Quickly Jumps to $65,000
Apple CEO Tim Cook is once again auctioning off a lunch date for charity, but this time that lunch will take place at Apple Park. While the auction closes on May 16th, 2017, it quickly jumped to $65,000 with six bids from four different rich bidders.
Apple Pays Zilch in New Zealand Taxes on $4.2 Billion in Sales
Apple paid roughly zip to New Zealand Inland Revenue—that country’s taxing authority—over ten years, even while selling $4.2 billion in merchandise in the country. The practice is scrupulously legal—and therefore OK in the eyes of many. Bryan Chaffin, however, doesn’t think it’s right.
Thoughts on the Productivity of Apple Employees
Recently, Fast Company published an article on “Why Employees At Apple And Google Are More Productive.” It’s probably true. John Martellaro dug into the article and found things to like as well as things to expand on based on his own experiences.
Apple Rumors and Manufacturing, Tim Cook's Pipeline, and $AAPL - ACM 400
In this 400th episode of Apple Context Machine, John Kheit joins Bryan Chaffin to discuss rumors of iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, Apple manufacturing, Tim Cook’s claim that Apple cares about pro users and creative pros in particular, the company’s supposed pipeline, and $AAPL’s record high valuation. Oh…and Nickleback.
Tim Cook Speaks at University of Glasgow for an Hour (Video)
Tim Cook spoke to the students of the University of Glasgow this week. The hour long event included questions from faculty and students alike. Topics included President Trump’s travel bans on seven muslim-majority countries, the reach of the App Store, the environment, wealth inequality, education, balancing work and life, technology interacting with our bodies, Apple Watch, idealism, Steve Jobs’s influence over Apple today, styluses, and more. The video was posted by a student. The audio quality is poor, but the rules for the event precluded “dedicated recording equipment.” To that end, this video was recorded entirely on an iPhone 7 in the hands of a student 50-70 feet from Mr. Cook, and is stunningly good considering. In addition, note how quiet and respectful this audience of 800-plus students is.
Tim Cook's Newseum Free Expression Award - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-03
Apple CEO Time Cook is receiving a Newseum Free Expression Award for free speech. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on CEOs speaking out on social and political topics.
Apple Cash Hoard Tops $246 Billion, Enough to Buy 4.9 Billion Amazon Echo Dots
Apple’s cash hoard swelled to a staggering $246.09 billion in the December quarter, an increase of $8.49 billion. This, despite returning some $15 billion to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividends. It’s an unprecedented concentration of corporate wealth that would let Apple buy more than 4.9 billion Amazon Echo Dots if it wanted.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Trump's Muslim Ban 'Is Not a Policy We Support'
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees Saturday that President Trump’s Muslim ban, “is not a policy we support.” Echoing his many previous comments on diversity, Mr. Cook said, “Apple would not exist without immigration.”
Former Apple Engineer Claims Tim Cook Made Apple Boring
Former Apple engineer Bob Burrough has been arguing that CEO Tim Cook has made Apple boring. In a combination of tweet storm and an interview with CNBC stemming from said tweetstorm, the engineer said Mr. Cook has eliminated conflict within Apple, sapping its vitality in the process. Mr. Burrough argued that Steve Jobs ruled with ever-shifting chaos, where product triumphed over hierarchy. Under Tim Cook, he said, Apple is siloed, smooth, and essentially complacent. Former Apple wunderkind Tony Fadell coincidentally tweeted just last week that Steve Jobs did not manage through conflict, and others have taken issue with Mr. Burrough, too. The reality is that any one person’s perspective never tells the whole tale, but his opinions make for an interesting read. You can see the whole tweetstorm in this tweet and in the CNBC story.
@JohnKirk @asymco The very first thing Tim did as CEO was convert Apple from a dynamic change-maker into a boring operations company.
— ᴮᵒᵇ ᴮᵘʳʳᵒᵘᵍʰ (@bob_burrough) January 16, 2017
Apple Schedules 2017 Shareholders Meeting, Reveals Executive Pay Cut
Apple has scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for February 28, 2017 and in so doing revealed that the company’s top executives saw a pay cut in 2016 thanks to Apple’s first year-over-year sales decline in 15 years.
Tim Cook Says 'Great Desktops' are Coming
The iMac hasn’t been updated in over a year and the Mac Pro is more than three years old without any changes, leaving many wondering if Apple is stepping back from the desktop computer market. Apple CEO Tim Cook says that’s not so, and that there are “great desktops in our roadmap.”
Tim Cook Says IDC got it Wrong, Apple Watch Sales are Strong
IDC says Apple Watch sales are tanking, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says that’s not so. In fact, he says Apple Watch sales are going strong and the company is on track for a record quarter.
Tim Cook's Message to Employees after Election: 'Move Forward Together'
Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a company-wide email to employees Wednesday evening encouraging them to “move forward.” While he didn’t name President Elect Donald Trump or his defeated rival, Hillary Clinton, by name, the theme of the email was that the election shouldn’t divide employees.
Tim Cook: Giving Up Privacy with Siri and AI is a False Choice
The best analyst questions during Apple’s Q4 2016 Financial Results came from Simona Jankowski with Goldman Sachs. She asked Tim Cook about his perspective on home vs. mobile artificial intelligence agents and then the issue of privacy. Tim Cook took a solid stand on both questions that reveal the future direction of Apple.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Could've Been Hillary Clinton's Vice President
U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s Vice President running mate could’ve been Apple CEO Tim Cook. Mr. Cook is on a list of potential running mates John Podesta, Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, presented before Tim Kaine was selected.
Apple: We're Seriously into Augmented Reality
Apparently it’s big news that Apple is working on augmented reality projects—or more accurately, Apple CEO Tim Cook stripped away enough of his code-speak and made it very clear his company is seriously pursuing AR technology.
Tim Cook Tweets: Record July for App Store; Developers Have Earned $50 Billion
Tim Cook announced on Twitter Wednesday that July was a record month for the App Store, and that Apple has now paid more than $50 billion to developers. Both represent massive accomplishments, and the $50 billion paid out to developers would make the reputation of any other company for decades to come.