Apple:
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Google CEO’s heart may be in conflict

Posted on May. 7, ’08, 8:26 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Business

Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, is one of Apple’s most prominent board members, but Arik Hesseldahl of Business Week wonders if the search company head will be able to keep his seat on the board with the increased competition between the two entities, especially when Google’s mobile phone initiative, Android, launches later this year.

While on Apple’s board, [Schmidt] already recuses himself from discussions that pertain to the iPhone, according to published reports. But exactly how effective a director of Apple can he be if he’s not allowed to know proprietary information that pertains to the product that brings in as much as one-third of Apple revenue?

The issue at stake here is conflict of interest: as an Apple director, Schmidt is responsible for making decisions in the best interests of Apple—but as Google CEO, he needs to do the same for them as well. And if Android becomes a serious competitor to the iPhone, then this problem will quickly move to the foreground, and the board may have to consider whether or not Schmidt will be able to remain.

Personally, we love Apple and Google being the bestest of buddies—they seem to get along well and have similar ideologies about designing good products, and Schmidty’s presence on the board is no doubt part of that. We’d be sad to see him go, if that’s what it came to, and for that reason—and that reason alone—we hope Android dies a quick, quiet death. Sorry, GOOG: it’s nothing personal.

17-year-old’s Mac OS X multi-touch table in the works

Posted on May. 6, ’08, 10:44 AM PT by Brian Chen

Category | Apple » People

Remember the Microsoft Surface — the table containing a touch-sensitive computer? For a science fair project, 17-year-old Bridger Maxwell of Utah has taken this idea to another level and somewhat beautified it — by creating a multi-touch table running OS X instead. (Because really, who wants a huge table running Vista?)

According to a blog post on Ars Technica, Maxwell’s multi-touch table utilizes an infrared light emitting diodes to detect fingertip motions on a computer running OS X. In summary, the information from the touch motions is sent to the multi-touch framework Open Touch, then to WSOSC, and finally to an application authored by Bridger.

I’m impressed and depressed by how at the age 17, Maxwell is miles ahead of me in terms of accomplishments. But the world can always benefit from more young, bright inventors! Carry on, Maxwell!

Source: Ars Technica

Apple positions head south by southwest

Posted on May. 2, ’08, 8:16 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » People

Well, there are likely to be about 174 people in Elk Grove, CA who may be a little miffed with Apple. The company has decided to shift jobs from their facility there, about 122 miles northwest of Cupertino, to a location in Austin, Texas. Elk Grove employs over 1,100 workers, primarily in support positions: call center, warehousing, and distribution.

The jobs in question are telesales positions, including 99 online store reps, 19 customer service tech support reps, and 37 of those lovely people who will chat with you online when you’re feeling lonely. On the upside, they’ve been offered the option to apply for a new position at Elk Grove or keep their existing jobs and relocate to lovely Ausin (I hear it’s pretty nice, if you don’t mind the yearly invasion of mild pretension). It is kind of a long trip, though.

Steve Jobs makes TIME 100 list

Posted on May. 2, ’08, 5:25 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

A writer for TIME has finally recognized what makes Steve Jobs just so enthralling for the Apple geek crowd. A shrewd business sense? No. Intuitive understanding of what people want? No. It’s all about the clothes.

But don’t let the black mock turtleneck and denim trousers fool you.

We won’t, Barbara Kiviat, we won’t. Really Kiviat has recognized one of the strongest parts of Apple’s business share. Apple markets to profitable segments and caters to their needs rather than simply going after market share. It makes sense and mirrors what I’ve said before.

Apple doesn’t want to cater to the lower end of the computer market. It’s throwing a bone to that market segment with the Mac mini, but they have no interest in spending resources to capture what is essentially a deadbeat group that will only buy a tiny profit piece of hardware and is unlikely to purchase any software to make up for it. “Losing” them to Windows isn’t really a loss. Apple’s profits say so.

[via MacNN]

Access Cupertino: Ballmer on a Mac, Kathy and Woz split

Posted on Apr. 28, ’08, 2:10 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Apple » People

Tonight, on Access Cupertino:

Microsoft CEO and resident crazyman Steve “Developers Developers Developers Developers” Ballmer was caught red-handed giving a PowerPoint presentation on “business leadership” on…wait for it…a Mac.

What’s next, Steve? iPod instead of a Zune? Wii instead of an XBox 360? Good instead of evil?

Speaking of Steves. Billionaire Apple-cofounder and tech diva Steve “Woz” Wozniak has reportedly split with D-list celeb Kathy “Am I funny yet?” Griffin.

The red-head comedian/actress told Usmagazine.com:

“He is an awesome guy, but I have to say he is in the friends category now,” Griffin, 47, told Usmagazine.com at the GLAAD Awards in L.A. Saturday.

“As a matter of fact,” she added, “I got an email last week from him, and he is going to marry someone else… I think he might be married. I don’t really know that for sure, though.”

Married already? Ouch. Woz sure seems to get around — that Segway probably doesn’t hurt.

Be sure to catch Steve in the upcoming season of Griffin’s Bravo reality show, My Life on the D-List.

***

Why were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates seen holding hands at a local dog park? And the real reason CARS is on hiatus…all the dirty details John Moltz doesn’t want you to know. All this and more, next time on…Access Cupertino.

Confessions of a dangerous mind (Mac Specialist edition)

Posted on Apr. 28, ’08, 9:04 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Stores

We’ve all, at some time or another, wondered about what exactly goes on behind the scenes in an Apple Store. Are there super-secret Apple products just lying about? Do they build towers out of iPhone boxes and then knock them down (hence, the recent supply shortage)? Or is it—as many have whispered—staffed entirely by human-looking robots?

An anonymous informant claiming to be an Apple Store employee sent The Consumerist a tantalizing missive called “7 Confessions of an Apple Mac Specialist”, which they have shared with the world at large. Some of these apocalyptic revelations we were already aware of—for example, that Apple Store employees have no knowledge of future products—while others confirmed things that we’d only conjectured.

If you have a return outside of the return policy we will most likely take care of you. If it’s sealed we’ll take it back, and open, if you speak to a manager and plead your case, they will most likely take care of you no matter what.

Much of it more or less jibes with what I’ve heard from other, reputable sources, but it’s still an interesting look into the life at the Apple Store, not to mention likely a valuable resource if you’re considering working there (#3 particularly).

However, I was disappointed about the prodigious lack of information on robots. Sounds like HBO won’t be picking up Apple Store Confessions for its late-night lineup anytime soon.

Wire creator, 30 Days of Night author go Mac

Posted on Apr. 11, ’08, 12:38 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » People

I wouldn’t necessarily advocate that you follow celebrities in everything they do—note: I mean emulate, not actually follow, because that, I can tell you from personal experience, will get you an interview with a very pleasant officer down at the police department. But after all, celebrities are just people too (those who aren’t beings from another planet, anyway). They have computing needs, just like you and me.

That’s why I was pleased to see a pair of pieces on auteurs who I’m a fan of, who use Macs. The first was David Simon, creator of HBO series The Wire, who was shown in an AP photo using a Mac. While Simon apparently uses a PC at home, he’s on the road a lot, so his MacBook Pro has become basically his only computer (still, I doubt we’ll ever see a Jimmy McNulty iPod ad—but how awesome would that be?).

The other was Steve Niles, author of comic book 30 Days of Night, who gave a short interview with The Guardian about technology. Niles’s favorite gadget is his iPod, but he’s also a Mac user, apparently, after 20 years on the PC—“my blood pressure is much lower, thank you,” he adds. Niles also dishes on one of our favorite topics: whether or not robots will rule the world. Check out the full interview at the link above.

I’m thinking of pitching a crossover story: Cops who use Macs to track down vampires. It’s a win-win-win.

Rocking former HP lawyer joins Apple

Posted on Apr. 11, ’08, 9:52 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » People

Here at MacUser, we’re dedicated to bringing you all of the news about Apple. News, for example, about its lawyers. Sure, you might know that Apple’s general counsel is Daniel Cooperman, who formerly held the same position at Oracle. Now Apple’s added a member to Cooperman’s ragtag team of legal misfits: Charles Charnas will serve as Apple’s head of corporate law, a position that has not been filled since the former head, Michael Wyatt, departed in 2000.

As much as I know you’ll be glad to know that Charnas is well qualified, having served as deputy general counsel at HP and headed up their corporate department for nine years of his 18 year stint at the company, we imagine that you’ll be even more excited about the kind of contribution Charnas will make to Apple’s corporate culture. Charles is apparently quite the accomplished musician: witness this YouTube video of him singing and playing guitar at a goodbye party for HP’s former CFO Bob Wayman.

This just goes to show you, once again, that the Internet is the best thing since bread, sliced or unsliced.

David Beckham’s sweet gift from teammates: a gilded 32 GB iPod Touch

Posted on Apr. 2, ’08, 1:00 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Apple » People

English soccer (or as everybody else calls it, football) star David Beckham has a lot to be happy about lately. He recently earned his 100th cap—meaning, recognition for his 100th international game played for his country—and in honor of this achievement, his teammates pitched in to buy him not just any old personalized gilded iPod Touch, but a top of the line 32 GB model to boot!

As you can see, it’s a shiny, blingy gold with the England football team emblem engraved into it.

So, what have your coworkers bought for you lately?

John C. Dvorak: Forget about laptops and iPhones; it’s all about the desktops, baby

Posted on Mar. 26, ’08, 2:25 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | Apple » People

John C. Dvorak is a contributing editor of PC Magazine, and after reading his latest opinion piece for said magazine, it’s probably safe to assume that he is also clumsy, forgetful, and has poor vision. Why else would he favor the glories of the lumbering, unmovable desktop over the portability of laptops and iPhones for reasons such as “you can leave your iPhone in a taxi”, “small laptop screens make you go blind” and “if you spill your coffee on your laptop keyboard or iPhone you’re screwed”?

“Everyone thinks that the iPhone is going to be the next major computing platform. Some even hope that it will replace the laptop as the primary PC platform. And what if it does? What are folks going to do when they spill coffee on their iPhones? They’ve already done a lot worse—they drop them into toilets over and over. PodShow’s Adam Curry lamented having this happen to him, as did Leo Laporte on a TWiT podcast.”

After reading the first 3/4 of his piece, I seriously thought it was satire. It wasn’t until I reached the last page, where he earnestly outlines and compares the benefits of desktops and laptops, that I realized he (probably) isn’t joking.

John, I know you’re of an older generation, and these smaller, portable-but-powerful newfangled gadgets might be intimidating, and yes, maybe a little easier to drop in a toilet, but ya know what? People like to be able to take their gadgets with them! People don’t like being stuck in one place every time they want to use their computer, and if they can have a device that offers the power of a desktop, but weighs 5 pounds and fits in a backpack, they’ll take it. I’ve relied on my MacBook as my primary computer for the last year and a half, and do I miss having a desktop even the slightest bit? No sir.

You see, John, this newer generation values portability more than you might think. You say these laptops are delicate and unreliable? I lug my MacBook around in my backpack on a daily basis, and it’s never given me a problem. Sure if I spill a cup of coffee on it, it will probably be ruined, but there’s an easy solution to that: keep coffee and other liquids out of spilling distance from your laptop!. Problem solved. And while we’re talking about accidents, how about this sage advice: don’t dangle your iPhone over a toilet, for the love of God!

I know his article is titled “The iPhone is No Desktop”, and this is true at the moment, but don’t spend half your article trashing laptops to get to the obvious point that the iPhone will not replace a full on computer (at least not yet).

I’m not trying to knock desktop users either, but unless you’re a serious gamer, or you need copious amounts of raw power and a graphics card for your profession, I don’t see why a laptop isn’t a perfectly viable desktop replacement. What do you think?