cgWerks
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Tim Cook: Mass layoffs a 'last resort' and off the table for the moment
Good points! Yes, we went through a phase of 'easy money' and 'free money' driven by market excitement (which often isn't very grounded in reality, cf. dot-com bubble), a lot of which was fueled by gov't money printing (a form of redistributing wealth to the elite) and even artificial popularity of certain services forced by un-normal circumstances (pandemic, for example). This is all coming to a screeching halt now that reality is setting back in, and money is more costly.vvswarup said:Tech companies like Meta and Google did massive layoffs because in the years leading up to the pandemic, they spent money left and right, and spent even more during the pandemic thinking that the money would flow forever-except it didn't. In the tech world, it was all about "growth", and "user base." Let's take Snap (formerly Snapchat) as an example. It was worth over a billion dollars-without a penny in revenue. When the tech media questioned this strange valuation, key investors, that too Harvard MBAs, replied that people didn't know how to value a company without revenue, as if being Harvard MBAs they had some secret method. People who used terms like "cash flow" and "profits" were derided as bean counters who couldn't innovate.
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I think there are two reasons behind the mass layoffs. First of all, the economic climate has gotten more uncertain with rising rates and the possibility of a recession. During such times, companies do have to focus on pursuits that are yielding cash flow. But I think there's another factor here. Tech companies' can't afford to have long periods of depressed or stagnating stock prices, not when employee compensation is tied to stock. Mass layoffs were tech companies' way of telling the market that they were serious about getting their costs under control and generating cash flow.
I think Apple is in a good spot with the cash reserves, but they've also bought into some of this with their services division. They also benefitted from the pandemic-effect in terms of phones/computers, which will now likely take a hit/correction. I guess it depends on how deep the recession gets, but they are about as well setup to survive as anyone.
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Tim Cook: Mass layoffs a 'last resort' and off the table for the moment
Apple is as well setup as most any company to weather some tough time. Their biggest liability, IMO, is their appeal to higher-end, and/or luxury markets. If times get really tough, they'll get really tough quite a way up the economic chain. I suppose people will still need phones and computers, but a lot of other areas could take a huge hit, and people will slow the upgrade cycle. Maybe we'll get lucky, and it will take out Services, heh!
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iOS 17 could introduce updated Control Center, says leaker
Or, even just basic feature addition to round out certain products. Like, you still can't easily duplicate a calendar entry. There are basic features in several of their core apps that would make them so much more usable.tipoo said:I just want that Snow Leopard release year with deep optimization, refinement, and bug fixes.If they were just able to fit in a few key features after doing that, cool. I hope they didn't give up that idea so they could market more new features.
But, absolutely. Focus on bug fixes. Start studying UI/UX again and do some work there.
I don't know... I wonder if most people don't just run them, and might not even realize 90% of the new features are even there.melgross said:
Most people won’t accept an upgrade with just minor features.
I don't think the typical Apple user even pays attention to what is going on, like we do. And, especially on iOS, a lot of the features are hidden enough, that if you don't run across some news story, or Apple advertise them in-OS/app, it might be a long time until they are discovered.
Yes, one of the worst UI/UX moves was when interfaces went black and white. Color is a crucial component. Many apps are starting to add more color back in, thankfully!braytonak said:
It would be helpful if the icons could use color to aid differentiation.
Yep, that's what I did for years. But, finally made some Shortcuts automations. I get how it served their purposes, but really sucked for me.fred1 said:
I agree. I can never turn on the Wi-Fi connection from Control Center. Even doing it from Settings takes 10 to 15 seconds every time. -
iOS 17 could introduce updated Control Center, says leaker
Sounds like some good changes/additions, but I wish they'd bring back the simple ability to actually turn WiFi & Bluetooth on/off.
That said, I kind of worked around Apple's 'madness' by creating a couple Shortcuts I put on my Widgets screen.
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Bitcoin whitepaper found hidden in macOS with unknown 'Virtual Scanner II' app
Heh, that's kind of cool.
Remember that one for Mac trivia night.
