colinng

I hatched a new pet theory after reading your article. 


I felt that Walt was a very different writer after Steve passed away. He seemed less enthusiastic about Apple, and less correct about predicting the future in general. It takes years to deal with the grief of losing a friend. But also Steve had an uncanny ability to predict the future. Well, some would say he had that knack because he and his team were busy inventing it! 


Walt was a friend not just to Steve, but also to Apple. Walt's personality, character, and candour earned him the trust of Steve, and being on the inside scoop definitely helped Walt's career. In turn Walt's publications prevented a lot of unjustified criticism against Apple.


I am grateful for Walt's well-thought out articles, bold directions, justified and well-tempered criticism, and yes, he absolutely shined during the All Things D conferences where he and Kara really asked some questions I didn't think many journalists would be smart and brave enough to think up, or have empathy and character enough to ask in a way that opened up rather than closed off their interviewee.


Through Walt we got a peek into how Steve saw the world, and it was interesting to say the least, if not outright enlightening. I'll always remember Walt as the one who asked questions that made Steve's eyes pop, but also tempered the question such that Steve could reply with something very thoughtful. Just one example of how Walt brought out the best in people.


Tim is different from Steve and has different friends. It is human nature to fear the risk of a different take on a past success, but I think the whole spirit of "Think Different" (as I interpret) means to: reach out to see things from yet a different perspective, gain insight and drop old, even cherished, beliefs that no longer serve us, because we now have a new perspective that has far more predictive power.


I recognize many great things that Tim has done:

• where to be open (AI research, owning up to product gaps) and where to double-down on secrecy
• really pushing for fundamental human rights, working conditions
• grasping the rare occasion it is necessary to stand up against the establishment (FBI San Bernardino case)
• pushing for environmental standards (96% renewable energy is nothing to sneeze at - if every company and household did that - we would achieve the "impossible" task and actually reverse climate change). 

 I also watch where he experimented and corrected course:

• certain "not great fit" hires
• his experiments on different ways to market Apple products, even down to "do we really have to do a keynote each time? Or shouldn't we give private 1-on-1s to certain trustworthy journalists and Phil?"

I think Apple is in great shape (although the stress of being coxswain is certainly adding wrinkles to Tim's face).


Yes, a few cherished people have left Apple, but that doesn't mean the ship is sinking.


Sometimes people leave to another company that is funding R&D that has far higher risk and far longer ROI timeframe than Apple's governance will allow. And sometimes they come back through acquisitions, with key technologies underlie Apple's NeXT renaissance. 

darkvader said:

Pretty much every single non-unibody MacBook battery Apple made swelled.  Sure, a few failed in other ways, but at one point I had a stack of at least a few dozen of them waiting on my recycle guy.

The usual user call was for a trackpad button not working, they noticed that before they even noticed the MB not sitting on the desk evenly. 

It finally got to where I would refuse to sell an Apple replacement if I couldn't get it covered under AppleCare, the Newer Technology ones weren't as bad.

Yeah, those were the dark days. I think Apple ended up just doing a battery recall, an online page where you entered the serial number of the battery pack and they would mail you a new one. They encouraged you to send in your old one for recycling, but since it wasn't a safety issue they did not require you send your old one in. They were classy enough not to blame or skewer their supplier (at least not publicly) though some people collected their own stats and fingered one of the suppliers. Meanwhile other companies were experiencing actual fires, resulting in mass recalls for many brands of PC laptops. 

stourque said:

Several gold editions listed on eBay for around $1200.

The $1200 aren't authentic Edition watches. They are gold PLATED stainless steel. Actual Watch Editions are at least $4,899. 

Herbivore2 said:

My personal feelings are that the Japanese are so far behind in lithium technology, they are hoping that hydrogen becomes the new fuel source. But it's a little disingenuous as Hyundai is actually far ahead of them also in fuel cell technology also with the next fuel cell using much less platinum catalyst than the current hydrogen powered Tucson. 

I think Panasonic provides most of the cells used in vehicles - Nissan, Tesla, and others. Also, the Japanese have developed a dual-carbon battery that beats lithium: it charges 20x as fast, generates almost no heat, and endures 3x the charge cycles. 

"The battery, which is cheap to manufacture, safe, and environmentally friendly, could be ideal to improve the range and charging times of electric cars."

http://newatlas.com/dual-carbon-fast-charging-battery/32121/

blitz1 said:

Apple car:
- no dealers
- no experience
- no track record
- no wide spread servicing

competing against BMW, Audi, Mercedes, ...

Again, interesting!

(But then, of course, their car won't break - a.k.a. our software doesn't have bugs)

You could have said exactly the same for iPhone in 2007. They're bright people - they'll figure it out.