Obama, Sebelius compare Apple's iOS 7 launch to Healthcare.gov rollout issues
President Barack Obama on Tuesday compared the buggy rollout of the new Healthcare.gov website to Apple's iOS 7 release issues, echoing earlier sentiments from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
In the rose garden of the White House, President Obama referenced Apple's troubles with iOS 7 in relation to Healthcare.gov's early glitches while remarking on the government shutdown.
"Consider that just a couple of weeks ago, Apple rolled out a new mobile operating system, and within days, they found a glitch, so they fixed it," said the president.
"I don't remember anybody suggesting Apple should stop selling iPhones or iPads or threatening to shut down the company if they didn't," Obama continued. "That's not how we do things in America. We don't actively root for failure."
Obama's remarks mirrored those of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius earlier Tuesday, when the former Kansas governor described her own experiences with Apple's new mobile operating system.
"I clearly have an iPad, and I also have an iPhone, and about ten days ago got the prompt that the operating system had changed and did I want to upgrade to the new operating system, and so I did, on both my iPad and my iPhone," she said, then continued "And then about five days after that, I got the second prompt saying, ?Well, there?s a little problem with the iOS 7 system and now we have a ?new? new upgrade and why don?t you re-upgrade your upgrade.'"
"Apple, you know, has a few more resources than we have to roll out technology, and a few more people who?ve been working on the system for a while, and no-one is calling on Apple to not sell devices for a year or to, you know, get out of the business because the whole thing is a failure," noted the secretary.
Tuesday's mention was not the first for Apple in a presidential address. In February's State of the Union, President Obama singled out the iPhone maker's plans to bring some of its manufacturing back to U.S. soil.
In the rose garden of the White House, President Obama referenced Apple's troubles with iOS 7 in relation to Healthcare.gov's early glitches while remarking on the government shutdown.
"Consider that just a couple of weeks ago, Apple rolled out a new mobile operating system, and within days, they found a glitch, so they fixed it," said the president.
"I don't remember anybody suggesting Apple should stop selling iPhones or iPads or threatening to shut down the company if they didn't," Obama continued. "That's not how we do things in America. We don't actively root for failure."
Obama's remarks mirrored those of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius earlier Tuesday, when the former Kansas governor described her own experiences with Apple's new mobile operating system.
"I clearly have an iPad, and I also have an iPhone, and about ten days ago got the prompt that the operating system had changed and did I want to upgrade to the new operating system, and so I did, on both my iPad and my iPhone," she said, then continued "And then about five days after that, I got the second prompt saying, ?Well, there?s a little problem with the iOS 7 system and now we have a ?new? new upgrade and why don?t you re-upgrade your upgrade.'"
"Apple, you know, has a few more resources than we have to roll out technology, and a few more people who?ve been working on the system for a while, and no-one is calling on Apple to not sell devices for a year or to, you know, get out of the business because the whole thing is a failure," noted the secretary.
Tuesday's mention was not the first for Apple in a presidential address. In February's State of the Union, President Obama singled out the iPhone maker's plans to bring some of its manufacturing back to U.S. soil.
Comments
Munster's gonna reassess sales estimates now....
This White House likes Apple and likes to talk about Apple.
I like that.
Haha, please no!
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Don't compare iOS7 to the disaster called Obamacare! Much more pain is to come in the future from Obamacare, and I think that that's awesome!
And just for the record, I'm happy that the govt shut down today. I hope that it's closed for a bit longer.
How dare Obama compare iOS 7 to Obamacare! Is he on crack?
The iOS 7 rollout was super smooth compared to the disastrous mess that is called Obamacare! That is truly a dumb comparison to make.
Steve would have gone ballistic. He was never a fan of this amateur.
He should have compared it to the Zune...
".... Sebelius went on to compare the instances of motion sickness caused by iOS7 to the wrenching stomach upset caused in some citizens by the very idea of government helping citizens get health care."
People also hated the idea of Medicare when it was announced.
Some people hated the idea of iOS7 when they saw those first Kandy Crush icons.
People hate the _idea_ of radically altering what they already know.
Whether they love or hate it once they experience it, is another question.
OMG... There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the government does that the business sector would emulate. The UNaffordable Care Act is the worst of the worst of government programs. I am amazed at the stuff this president can say with a straight face.
Speaking of dumb, so what specifically is it about the Affordable Healthcare Act that you don't like?
Remember, you are calling something, most of which goes into effect today, a failure.
The government has had 3 years to prepare for this. Apple redesigned iOS in about 7 months. No comparison. Besides minor software glitches are not the same thing as going to an exchange website and not being able to do squat because of server overload.
I gather you live in the country and never heard of rush-hour traffic.
My daughter called this morning and said she got thru without any trouble. Not the case for her mother-in-law. Daughter has high speed. In-laws are on dial-up. Go figure.
Had to remind her that the same thing happens every time there is a major software upgrade.
Like the adage goes, "a chain is as strong as it weakest link."
Which ever side of the issue you are on, this is clearly belittling the ACA. First off, it is something that has far more impact to everyone's quality of life than iOS 7 does. Second, someone else having trouble should not be an excuse, or a "Well, Apple had trouble, too" or anything like that. You had 2-3 years to get this ready, don't claim to say you are overwhelmed. It doesn't set a warm/fuzzy feeling that your systems will be able to handle the ongoing support of the ACA if your servers could not handle the initial launch day. I'll stop, because AI isn't the place for a political rant.
Oh, and for the record? Safari and Macs are poorly supported on healthcare.gov - I suppose it could be server issues, but in order to get any real information out of the site, you need to create an account. When you get to the security questions, the drop downs to choose the questions are empty on all browsers.
IE/Windows on my work Win 7 machine bring up the choices, but the system still wouldn't let me finish creating an account, so no idea if once created, everything works ok on a Mac.
At least with my iOS devices, I have the choice of not upgrading if I don't want to.
But for an accurate comparison, Apple TELLS me that their new look is better, but after using the OS for a few weeks, I find it significantly more difficult to navigate the device. At first, I shrugged it off as needing a learning curve to use it, but after a couple weeks of use, I can definitely say that in many cases the device is far more cumbersome for many features to use than the previous OS was.
Now, I'm not one that's against change, but it seems as though some things got changed just for the sake of change. Eg, when you power on the device, it used to be black with a sleek white Apple logo in the middle. Now, just to be different, they inverted that, and you are presented with a white screen, bright as the freaking sun and a black Apple logo. Change, yes. Improvement? Hell no.
".... Sebelius went on to compare the instances of motion sickness caused by iOS7 to the wrenching stomach upset caused in some citizens by the very idea of government helping citizens get health care."
People also hated the idea of Medicare when it was announced.
Some people hated the idea of iOS7 when they saw those first Kandy Crush icons.
People hate the _idea_ of radically altering what they already know.
Whether they love or hate it once they experience it, is another question.
Yeah...but my health insurance premiums didn't increase by 119% with the release of iOS7. That's what the ACA did to me this past Friday. I guess at this point I hate what I'm experiencing. #notgood #leavemyhealthcarealone
Guessing you are on a white iPhone? It is black/white Apple logo on my iPhone and iPad. And, IIRC, my kids white iPod touches. Not sure about my wife's white 4S.
Many people with your mindset opposed Medicare when it was first implemented, yet here it is today, still. The Affordable Healthcare Act will do the same. Ironically, at some point in the future, if not already, you or members of your family will receive the benefits of this law.
History will look back and include you with the group of people who decided people less fortunate should not have healthcare. What is different than in the case of Medicare, is that there is a history of all the negative comments people were making. You will never be able to say, oh, I was for that ,law.
Hope you sleep well at night knowing you have healthcare and others don't. Must make you feel very superior.
Speaking of dumb, so what specifically is it about the Affordable Healthcare Act that you don't like?
Remember, you are calling something, most of which goes into effect today, a failure.
It's a scam. They've been lying about it from the very beginning. Obama promised that people would be able to keep their current coverage!
That was a huge lie! Many people have already reported that they've been dropped by their insurers.
They're also lying about the costs! It's going to be a huge disaster, and many people will find their costs greatly increased! I think that that's awesome, because most of those people deserve it, especially everybody who voted for the current dude in the White House.
Even Obama supporting Unions are trying to run away from Obamacare! Hell no! I want them to get it, just like they wanted. I wish Obamacare upon all of my enemies. I also believe that it will be highly inefficient. People will be getting worse care while paying more. Many doctors will quit. Govt bureaucracy should not be involved in the medical business.
Many people with your mindset opposed Medicare when it was first implemented, yet here it is today, still. The Affordable Healthcare Act will do the same. Ironically, at some point in the future, if not already, you or members of your family will receive the benefits of this law.
History will look back and include you with the group of people who decided people less fortunate should not have healthcare. What is different than in the case of Medicare, is that there is a history of all the negative comments people were making. You will never be able to say, oh, I was for that ,law.
Hope you sleep well at night knowing you have healthcare and others don't. Must make you feel very superior.
I agree with you that the uninsured should be insured. But word to the wise. Be careful assuming because Macboy Pro is against the ACA that he is against insuring those who currently do not have coverage. One does not equal the other.
It's irritating that the GOP, in the midst of death throes, seems intent on bringing the rest of America down with it.
Idiots.
Haha, please no!
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Don't compare iOS7 to the disaster called Obamacare! Much more pain is to come in the future from Obamacare, and I think that that's awesome!
And just for the record, I'm happy that the govt shut down today. I hope that it's closed for a bit longer.
How dare Obama compare iOS 7 to Obamacare! Is he on crack?
The iOS 7 rollout was super smooth compared to the disastrous mess that is called Obamacare! That is truly a dumb comparison to make.
omg,
shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up. you guys in these comment boards are killing me with this bile. I'm starting to think all the crazies jumped ship from the sony bandwagon to here.