Mac software chief Bertrand Serlet to depart Apple

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Apple announced on Wednesday that Bertrand Serlet, the company's senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering and a man who has worked with Steve Jobs for 22 years, is leaving the company.



Serlet joined Apple in 1997 and has been involved in the definition, development and creation of Mac OS X. Before his time at Apple, Serlet spent four years at Xerox PARC, then joined NeXT with Jobs in 1989. He holds a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Orsay, France.



"I've worked with Steve for 22 years and have had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, I want to focus less on products and more on science," Serlet said.



He will be replaced by Craig Federighi, Apple's vice president of Mac Software Engineering. In his new role, Federighi will assume Serlet's responsibilities and will report directly to Jobs.



Federighi is responsible for the development of Mac OS X, and has been managing the Mac OS software engineering group for the past two years. It was Federighi who gave a live demonstration of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion at a media event last October.



"Craig has done a great job managing the Mac OS team for the past two years," Serlet said. "Lion is a great release and the transition should be seamless."



Federighi worked at NeXT, followed by Apple, and spent a decade at Ariba where he held several roles including vice president of Internet Services and chief technology officer. He returned to Apple in 2009 to lead Mac OS X engineering. Federighi holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 136
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    sad news...why is he leaving?
  • Reply 2 of 136
    ^ Because people don't read the f^#%ing articles anymore. That's why.
  • Reply 3 of 136
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    sad news...why is he leaving?



    I'm guessing it's because he worked with Steve for 22 years and had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, he wants to focus less on products and more on science.
  • Reply 4 of 136
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    LOL, priceless responses!
  • Reply 5 of 136
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Just saying!
  • Reply 6 of 136
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadow415 View Post


    I'm guessing it's because he worked with Steve for 22 years and had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, he wants to focus less on products and more on science.



    Let's just hope this is actually the reason and not some massive inducement from RIM, Samsung or Mattel (I keep wondering why they don't have an Android clone too) or something.



    Seriously though, I wonder if this is because of the demise of OS X in the face of iOS?
  • Reply 7 of 136
    eideardeideard Posts: 428member
    A good example of the people Apple attracts.



    When someone comparable leaves most successful American corporations - you can start with reasons that are essentially economic: more pay, more power.



    Yet, I'm not surprised to read of someone leaving Apple to turn to science and research.
  • Reply 8 of 136
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sacrilegend View Post


    ^ Because people don't read the f^#%ing articles anymore. That's why.



  • Reply 9 of 136
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Seriously though, I wonder if this is because of the demise of OS X in the face of iOS?



    Certainly hope this isn't the case, particularly when Apple would collapse without its computers.



    Also, please no "Frenchman immediately surrendering" jokes. Serlet's not the type to give up or Jobs wouldn't have hired him.
  • Reply 10 of 136
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Certainly hope this isn't the case, particularly when Apple would collapse without its computers.



    Also, please no "Frenchman immediately surrendering" jokes. Serlet's not the type to give up or Jobs wouldn't have hired him.



    I should have worded that slightly differently, I meant ... perhaps the iOS team gaining a degree of control over OS X's destiny. Kind of like the old Mac versus Lisa team thing.
  • Reply 11 of 136
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post




    Seriously though, I wonder if this is because of the demise of OS X in the face of iOS?



    ... or that Steve is leaving and he decided not to stick around so that he could practice his first love, science.



    He's probably not hurting financially.
  • Reply 12 of 136
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sacrilegend View Post


    ^ Because people don't read the f^#%ing articles anymore. That's why.



    It's maybe because people feel compelled to embarrass themselves by posting fucking idiocies on what others have to say.



    FYI because I have an academic career, it's understandable to ask how come someone with an established business career is aiming to make an academic leap, given that it's usually quite difficult to move from one domain to the other (esp. from business to academia). But of course this all flies over your head...
  • Reply 13 of 136
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Certainly hope this isn't the case, particularly when Apple would collapse without its computers.



    Also, please no "Frenchman immediately surrendering" jokes. Serlet's not the type to give up or Jobs wouldn't have hired him.



    Maybe it was just English humor but I always heard that was an Italian joke ... you know, as in, what has 6 reverse gears and one forward .... ?
  • Reply 14 of 136
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    It's maybe because people feel compelled to embarrass themselves by posting fucking idiocies on what others have to say.



    FYI because I have an academic career, it's understandable to ask how come someone with an established business career is aiming to make an academic leap, given that it's usually quite difficult to move from one domain to the other (esp. from business to academia). But of course this all flies over your head...



    I read your question to mean ... "I wonder why he is 'really' leaving" as I read the obvious PR statement put out. Some people take everything written in blogs so literally and just love to pounce on anything. Makes them feel smart I guess.
  • Reply 15 of 136
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Let's just hope this is actually the reason and not some massive inducement from RIM, Samsung or Mattel (I keep wondering why they don't have an Android clone too) or something.



    Seriously though, I wonder if this is because of the demise of OS X in the face of iOS?



    iOS is what's driving Apple and handing them record quarters. It's also an example for the rest of the industry. Essentially, Apple with iOS sets the bar.



    If Serlet is no longer compatible with that vision, then he *should* leave.



    In any case, it appears Serlet has altogether different reasons for leaving. Apple should have no problems moving forward.
  • Reply 16 of 136
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I read your question to mean ... "I wonder why he is 'really' leaving" as I read the obvious PR statement put out. Some people take everything written in blogs so literally and just love to pounce on anything. Makes them feel smart I guess.



    it does get quite boring after a while, this bickering, but I guess it's the nature of the web and we have to make do with this, thanks for the props btw, appreciated.
  • Reply 17 of 136
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    iOS is what's driving Apple and handing them record quarters. It's also an example for the rest of the industry. Essentially, Apple with iOS sets the bar.



    If Serlet is no longer compatible with that vision, then he *should* leave.



    In any case, it appears Serlet has altogether different reasons for leaving. Apple should have no problems moving forward.



    My slightly later post clarified my thoughts a little better ... I'm suspecting the OS X team is being guided more and more by the iOS team and perhaps that is a point at which the OS X grand old master graciously steps aside. I wish him well and much thanks for everything he has done. I also hope there is a subcutaneous chip in him that SJ can explode if he joins Microsoft ... KIDDING....
  • Reply 18 of 136
    rtm135rtm135 Posts: 310member
    He may be talented, but I hated listening to him speak at official Apple functions. His accent is terrible.
  • Reply 19 of 136
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rtm135 View Post


    He may be talented, but I hated listening to him speak at official Apple functions. His accent is terrible.



    So he learned English late, big deal.



    I'm sure that my German has an American accent and my Irish is laughable at best, but they get the job done.
  • Reply 20 of 136
    mariomario Posts: 348member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    My slightly later post clarified my thoughts a little better ... I'm suspecting the OS X team is being guided more and more by the iOS team and perhaps that is a point at which the OS X grand old master graciously steps aside. I wish him well and much thanks for everything he has done. I also hope there is a subcutaneous chip in him that SJ can explode if he joins Microsoft ... KIDDING....



    It must and should be the other way around. Eventually, as hardware gets more and more powerful, people will want more and more from their devices. People will want full blown OS on their tablets and even phones.



    Imagine iPhone sized device with 32 cores, 64 GB of RAM and couple of terabytes of storage (let's say 10 times the power of most powerful Mac Pro today), running multitude of OSes in virtual machines. You put it in your pocket, go to work, and it automatically recognizes your screen and starts sending video signal to it wirelessly. OF course your keyboard sitting on the desk is hooked up automatically too. You fire up your productivity software suite (or XCode 14) and code away . You need to go to a meeting. Just bring your tiny phone. It hooks to the projector automatically and you give a presentation... etc.



    Sounds like science fiction? So did iPhone we now carry in our pockets back in 1990.



    My point is that Apple can't afford to sit comfortably and have iOS drive desktop OS, when soon enough portable pocket devices will need OS as powerful (or more powerful) as OS X. OS X should be advanced and it should be driving the innovation.
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