The whole foundation of Apple is on shaky ground. The bulk of their products are manufactured in Mainland China, a country that does not respect international law, has slave labor laws, steals IPRs. Worse, Apple's supply chain built a huge infrastructure in China with economies of scale, that can feed competitors. Add to that the vulnerability from sourcing the CPUs to the Samsung.
China has already stopped the sale of iPad in 2 cities and the Proview might be able to stop the exports of iPads. There would be huge disruption and the market cap could get cut in half or less.
Supply chains need to have redundancy and elastic... got to have geographic diversification to protect from natural disasters, wars, political changes, etc. Everything can not along the critical path of the supply chain.
The whole foundation of Apple is on shaky ground. The bulk of their products are manufactured in Mainland China, a country that does not respect international law, has slave labor laws, steals IPRs. Worse, Apple's supply chain built a huge infrastructure in China with economies of scale, that can feed competitors. Add to that the vulnerability from sourcing the CPUs to the Samsung.
China has already stopped the sale of iPad in 2 cities and the Proview might be able to stop the exports of iPads. There would be huge disruption and the market cap could get cut in half or less.
Supply chains need to have redundancy and elastic... got to have geographic diversification to protect from natural disasters, wars, political changes, etc. Everything can not along the critical path of the supply chain.
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. A company nobody has ever heard of is not going to stop the global sales of one of the most popular, fastest selling devices out there. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
Got that right. The whiners sure come out in droves when Apple makes all the right moves.
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
Wow. You must be a consultant to tech (or some such thing)!
anyone who can even entertain the concept of "enough" as a threat to life as they know it.
I think you just described most "bad" capitalists right there. There are good ones o course, but the bad ones cannot comprehend "enough." The world needs more who do.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
You should send an email to Tim Cook or something, sounds like something he should know about. I'm sure he'll get right on it.
It was a Q&A, but from the length, complexity and lucidity of Cook's answers, it certainly sounds as if he had written notes available to him as he covered some major topics that no doubt were anticipated by him and his financial communications people. You have to expect from the git-go that there would be questions about factory workers in China and what to do with Apple's big pile of cash and equivalents. Products, markets, ecosystem ... that's stuff that he has been asked about before and has demonstrated that he knows backwards and forwards in the same way that Steve Jobs did before him.
I've been party to a lot of CEO interactions with financial and general press and investors over the years, and have prepped more than a few of them for these kinds of meetings. Some were pretty handy at it - some were abysmal (which by the way correlated to their capabilities as CEOs!). Tim Cook is among the best I've ever heard. Perhaps more deliberate in his phrasing and less inclined to bombast than Steve Jobs, but every bit as effective with gentle touches of humor sprinkled in here and there. No question that his knowledge of all the facets of Apple's business is encyclopedic, yet he still is able to synthesize what he knows - boil it down if you will - to the essentials that drive the company's success. I wondered if he was going over the top when he mentioned his mom and the iPad, but he succeeded in making a compelling connection to everyday users of Apple products.
At times if you mentally took out the southern accent you could here the cadences of Steve. The way he would introduce a concept with "Turns out" and then tell the story of Apple, their motivations and reasons. Always coming back to the product. And I had to smile when he used Steve's old "high order bit" turn of phrase to mean "most important thing."
But he also brings a folksiness that Steve lacked. I could imagine an Apple with Tim as the public face that was "friendlier"-- more approachable, more human. For instance he wound up an impassioned reply to the potential of the iPad with "well, that's my opinion, others may disagree."
At times if you mentally took out the southern accent you could here the cadences of Steve. The way he would introduce a concept with "Turns out" and then tell the story of Apple, their motivations and reasons. Always coming back to the product. And I had to smile when he used Steve's old "high order bit" turn of phrase to mean "most important thing."
But he also brings a folksiness that Steve lacked. I could imagine an Apple with Tim as the public face that was "friendlier"-- more approachable, more human. For instance he wound up an impassioned reply to the potential of the iPad with "well, that's my opinion, others may disagree."
"folksiness"... What an appropriate word to describe Tim's manner...
Glass half full or half empty? This dude is definitely the half empty type. He prefers to get on his high horse of self-righteousness, appoint himself the arbiter of the moral high ground and try to shame Apple into complying with his agenda. Or maybe he just gets off on pontificating because it makes him feel superior. Does he really care for the Chinese? I doubt it. I mean, not really. All that aside, however, nobody is being forced to do anything. The Chinese are not being forced against their will to work at Foxconn. It beats the rice fields. And surely their economy benefits from Apple's presence there. Consumers, too, are benefitting - they LOVE their Apple stuff. Everybody wins, except Apple's competitors. So, Mr Negative, go preach your gospel somewhere else. It just doesn't fly here. It lacks substance. You'd be better off spending your energies protesting Wall Street, or helping drug addicts. Join the Peace Corp or build somebody a house if they deserve it. Go someplace where you are needed and where you can make a significant difference. DO something good YOURSELF. Don't just excel at the art of telling others how much they fall short, cause that's about the lowest form of moral development I can think of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryanh
When you need to distract from the fact that what you're about to say is transparently the opposite of the truth, always begin by frowning with abject sincerity and saying "very, very?"
Our corporate masters attend the same school of rhetoric as the elected officials they pay to put and keep in office: the Madison Avenue School. Whether it be child labor, war, or wrinkle cream, the truth in America is whatever most people hear most of the time. If their operators follow the model of the American government, no doubt electronics companies will shortly claim to be "liberating" the children being poisoned in order to supply us all with more toys. It's like the power of prayer: one need only repeat something often enough to make it real.
But perhaps I do Mr. Cook an injustice. Famous quotes like "Those jobs won't be coming back" make it clear Apple and all the rest do indeed take externalizing the blood, sweat, and tears of their vast profits "very, very seriously." After all, one certainly doesn't accumulate a $100B slush fund by taking exploitation frivolously. Only true passion can achieve such miracles.
Oh Apple? It isn't that customers are unwilling to pay twice as much for your goods: it's that the hoarders who run our society correctly regard anyone who can even entertain the concept of "enough" as a threat to life as they know it. Never mind that you're arguably the best of a bad bunch. Never mind that it's unfair to scapegoat you for the failings of an entire society. You have the power to improve this situation, and therefore an inescapable obligation to do so. This is an opportunity to do something no quantity of clever electronics can ever achieve: to really make a difference.
Alternatively, I suppose Mr. Cook might try to explain how "think different' works with the rich getting richer by jumping up and down on the backs of the poor. It's difficult to imagine a less original idea. Increasingly, Apple resembles a mealy-mouthed family values politician caught giving a bj to an underage boy in a truck stop bathroom.
Comments
But I am reserving judgment until I see the introduction of the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5.
From the looks of it, Cook has the makings of confident, clear-thinking leader.
But I am reserving judgment until I see the introduction of the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5.
I would add: focused, forthright, thorough, enabling, passionate, comfortable, command of details and dry sense of humor.
China has already stopped the sale of iPad in 2 cities and the Proview might be able to stop the exports of iPads. There would be huge disruption and the market cap could get cut in half or less.
Supply chains need to have redundancy and elastic... got to have geographic diversification to protect from natural disasters, wars, political changes, etc. Everything can not along the critical path of the supply chain.
The whole foundation of Apple is on shaky ground. The bulk of their products are manufactured in Mainland China, a country that does not respect international law, has slave labor laws, steals IPRs. Worse, Apple's supply chain built a huge infrastructure in China with economies of scale, that can feed competitors. Add to that the vulnerability from sourcing the CPUs to the Samsung.
China has already stopped the sale of iPad in 2 cities and the Proview might be able to stop the exports of iPads. There would be huge disruption and the market cap could get cut in half or less.
Supply chains need to have redundancy and elastic... got to have geographic diversification to protect from natural disasters, wars, political changes, etc. Everything can not along the critical path of the supply chain.
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. A company nobody has ever heard of is not going to stop the global sales of one of the most popular, fastest selling devices out there. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
Got that right. The whiners sure come out in droves when Apple makes all the right moves.
I would add: focused, forthright, thorough, enabling, passionate, comfortable, command of details and dry sense of humor.
Hmmmm..... I think I am trending in the direction of believing these as well, but I am holding out for more data.
Hmmmm..... I think I am trending in the direction of believing these as well, but I am holding out for more data.
Yes... Tim must reaffirm his position as an inspirational leader -- in deed as well as in position of title/resposibility as CEO.
Yes... Tim must reaffirm his position as an inspirational leader -- in deed as well as in position of title/resposibility as CEO.
I would add: focused, forthright, thorough, enabling, passionate, comfortable, command of details and dry sense of humor.
<morpheus>Adaptation, Improvisation...</morpheus>
If Apple is on 'shaky ground' because it replies on China for its manufacturing, then so is every single other company in the world of any decent size that makes shit. The Proview thing will be forgotten within days, Apple will deal with it one way or another. There's no chance in hell they will have an effect on iPad exports, and if you think so you're delusional. Your post reeks of sensationalism and concern-trolling.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
Wow. You must be a consultant to tech (or some such thing)!
/s
anyone who can even entertain the concept of "enough" as a threat to life as they know it.
I think you just described most "bad" capitalists right there. There are good ones o course, but the bad ones cannot comprehend "enough." The world needs more who do.
Concern trolling-delusional? You must be in denial. It is that kind of hubris that gets individuals and companies trouble. BTW, I have been long Apple and have done ok. Yes, we all hope that China will not stomp on Apple, but hope is not something supply chains should be dependent on. They needs back ups for critical paths. Then depending on Samsung, a competitor and a litigant, for the critical CPU borders to recklessness.
You should send an email to Tim Cook or something, sounds like something he should know about. I'm sure he'll get right on it.
<morpheus>adaptation, improvisation...</morpheus>
+++qft
Anyone know of a link to the entire Tim Cook talk online? Has it been archived... or perhaps it's available on iTunes?
http://investor.apple.com/
It was a Q&A, but from the length, complexity and lucidity of Cook's answers, it certainly sounds as if he had written notes available to him as he covered some major topics that no doubt were anticipated by him and his financial communications people. You have to expect from the git-go that there would be questions about factory workers in China and what to do with Apple's big pile of cash and equivalents. Products, markets, ecosystem ... that's stuff that he has been asked about before and has demonstrated that he knows backwards and forwards in the same way that Steve Jobs did before him.
I've been party to a lot of CEO interactions with financial and general press and investors over the years, and have prepped more than a few of them for these kinds of meetings. Some were pretty handy at it - some were abysmal (which by the way correlated to their capabilities as CEOs!). Tim Cook is among the best I've ever heard. Perhaps more deliberate in his phrasing and less inclined to bombast than Steve Jobs, but every bit as effective with gentle touches of humor sprinkled in here and there. No question that his knowledge of all the facets of Apple's business is encyclopedic, yet he still is able to synthesize what he knows - boil it down if you will - to the essentials that drive the company's success. I wondered if he was going over the top when he mentioned his mom and the iPad, but he succeeded in making a compelling connection to everyday users of Apple products.
Altogether, quite an impressive performance.
But he also brings a folksiness that Steve lacked. I could imagine an Apple with Tim as the public face that was "friendlier"-- more approachable, more human. For instance he wound up an impassioned reply to the potential of the iPad with "well, that's my opinion, others may disagree."
At times if you mentally took out the southern accent you could here the cadences of Steve. The way he would introduce a concept with "Turns out" and then tell the story of Apple, their motivations and reasons. Always coming back to the product. And I had to smile when he used Steve's old "high order bit" turn of phrase to mean "most important thing."
But he also brings a folksiness that Steve lacked. I could imagine an Apple with Tim as the public face that was "friendlier"-- more approachable, more human. For instance he wound up an impassioned reply to the potential of the iPad with "well, that's my opinion, others may disagree."
"folksiness"... What an appropriate word to describe Tim's manner...
Steve has certainly left us in good hands...
When you need to distract from the fact that what you're about to say is transparently the opposite of the truth, always begin by frowning with abject sincerity and saying "very, very?"
Our corporate masters attend the same school of rhetoric as the elected officials they pay to put and keep in office: the Madison Avenue School. Whether it be child labor, war, or wrinkle cream, the truth in America is whatever most people hear most of the time. If their operators follow the model of the American government, no doubt electronics companies will shortly claim to be "liberating" the children being poisoned in order to supply us all with more toys. It's like the power of prayer: one need only repeat something often enough to make it real.
But perhaps I do Mr. Cook an injustice. Famous quotes like "Those jobs won't be coming back" make it clear Apple and all the rest do indeed take externalizing the blood, sweat, and tears of their vast profits "very, very seriously." After all, one certainly doesn't accumulate a $100B slush fund by taking exploitation frivolously. Only true passion can achieve such miracles.
Oh Apple? It isn't that customers are unwilling to pay twice as much for your goods: it's that the hoarders who run our society correctly regard anyone who can even entertain the concept of "enough" as a threat to life as they know it. Never mind that you're arguably the best of a bad bunch. Never mind that it's unfair to scapegoat you for the failings of an entire society. You have the power to improve this situation, and therefore an inescapable obligation to do so. This is an opportunity to do something no quantity of clever electronics can ever achieve: to really make a difference.
Alternatively, I suppose Mr. Cook might try to explain how "think different' works with the rich getting richer by jumping up and down on the backs of the poor. It's difficult to imagine a less original idea. Increasingly, Apple resembles a mealy-mouthed family values politician caught giving a bj to an underage boy in a truck stop bathroom.