T-Mobile CEO John Legere kicked off the company’s press event in New York City today with an aggressive yet entertaining onslaught against rival carriers. He called for the likes of AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint to “stop the bullshit” with traditional subsidy models, which T-Mobile has now abandoned in favor of its new “Uncarrier” plans.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has replaced Tim Cook as the highest-rated CEO in tech, according to employee approval ratings on Glassdoor. Cook’s 97% approval rating from 2012 has dropped down to 93%, which takes him from first position all the way down to 18th. Zuckerberg now has an impressive 99% approval rating.
Ex-Apple CEO John Sculley’s tenure at Apple was marked for a lack in innovation that eventually almost sunk the company, before Steve Jobs came back to rescue it in the late 90s. So he’s an expert in what makes a company go wrong.
According to Sculley, that’s just what is happening in the Tim Cook years. He says the company is experiencing another “lull in innovation” and needs to find its next creative leap.
According to a newly-posted shareholder document, Apple now requires executive officers to own three times their annual salary. The CEO is still required to hold ten times his own annual salary in stock, as well.
This current move, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes a month after Apple’s board actually opposed a similar measure proposed by a shareholder.
At today’s Apple Shareholders Meeting, CEO Tim Cook admitted that Apple was “looking at new product categories” but that the company had no interest in just “pressing a button or two” to have Apple make the most products.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is the anti-Steve-Jobs: a sweaty, tongue-lashing ogre of a corporate figurehead who exudes a sort of Ben-Grimm-like lovability through his orange, scaled outer shell. He often says foolish things, and that’s okay, because we love him anyway.
This morning, Ballmer’s talking to Bloomberg Businessweek about the just-released Office 2013 (not to be confused with Office 365, Microsoft’s online productivity suite). In the interview, he talks a little bit about Office for iPad, and then bizarrely decides to slag off Dropbox for a spell.
Tim Cook is on his second visit to China as Apple CEO this week, and during an interview with local reporters on Thursday, he confirmed that the cellular version of the iPad mini will be arriving in the nation in late January. The Wi-Fi only model arriving in China on December 7, just over a month after it launched in the United States.
Tim Cook has kicked off 2013 with a second visit to China. The Apple CEO met with Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to discuss the development of China’s information technology industry, mobile communications, and Apple’s expansion in China.
The Cupertino company has doubled its number of retail outlets in the nation, and its iOS devices are becoming increasingly popular there. Cook’s last visit to China came in March 2010 before he pledged “greater investment” in the world’s largest market for consumer technology.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was rarely seen with anything other than sneakers on his feet — except in the early 1970s when he went everywhere barefoot — and so it’s hardly surprising that at some point the Cupertino company was producing sneakers of its own. They weren’t on sale, though I’m sure they’d have been a hit, but they were issued to employees in the early 1990s.
There are more pictures below.
It’s December, a traditionally slow news month, and it seems this December is even slower than most, because even organizations as solidly grounded in reality as All Things D are now posting elaborate wishful thinking exercises about what the much rumored Apple HDTV will actually be. This one, however, is more interesting and plausible than some… at least in a few key regards.
Late last week, Instagram — now owned by Facebook — confirmed it had disabled Twitter integration, and the ability for users to see Instagram “cards” or previews in their timelines. While it’s not a massive issue for Twitter users, who will still gets links to Instagram photos, it marks the first major breakdown between the two social services since the Facebook acquisition.
But things could have been very different. Weeks before Facebook bought Instagram, Twitter was close to acquiring the photo sharing service for just $525 million.
Tim Cook sat down with Bloomberg Businessweek for a massive 11-page interview. It’s incredible reading, well worth going through in total, but here are the best bits and quotes, ranging everywhere from Apple’s patriotism, to why Scott Forstall was fired, the future of the Mac, how Apple plans on fixing iOS 6 Maps, and much, much, much more.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the company will invest over $100 million to bring some of its Mac production back to the United States in 2013. At least one model will be made exclusively in the U.S., Cook revealed during an interview on NBC’s Rock Center, though he wouldn’t reveal which model that would be.
Despite taking control of Apple just 18 months ago, Tim Cook has been named by CNBC as the highest paid CEO in America. With an average annual compensation of around $95 million, Cook beats Oracle’s Larry Ellison and JC Penney’s Ron Johnson to the top spot.
Apple’s App Store review policy has received a lot of criticism in the past. Often times it rejects apps for a good reason, like if they contain nudity or they’re offensive. But on the odd occasion, its decision to reject a certain app leaves us puzzled. Here’s a good example of that.
Nuskha Labs recently submitted its new app to the App Store. Called Steve Jobs Timeline, it documents the life story of Apple’s co-founder, and includes famous quotes and images. It sports a nice, creative user interface; it’s not offensive, and it doesn’t break Apple’s App Store terms. But the Cupertino company rejected it anyway.
Today is Steve Jobs day in the state of California. October 16th was declared Steve Jobs day by Governor Jerry Brown on Twitter shortly after Apple’s co-founder and former CEO passed away last year following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Although it may have been a one-off holiday,
Apple CEO Tim Cook has today issued a letter to customers regarding the issues they have been experiencing with Maps in iOS 6. Cook says Apple is “extremely sorry for the frustration” the new service has caused to its customers, and he insists the company will continue to work incredibly hard until Maps is fixed. Cook even suggests a number of alternative services users can try in the meantime.
The full letter is below.
After Apple was awarded two prestigious D&AD (British Design & Art Direction) awards, Jony Ive and the rest of the Cupertino company’s design team flew to London this week to pick them up. There were 16 Apple employees in attendance, and Ive, who is responsible for Apple’s most iconic designs, received a standing ovation when he took to the stage.
If you think it’s just Apple’s stolen intellectual property that Samsung is in the habit of using, you might want to think again. Kun Hee Lee, Samsung’s billionaire CEO, drives himself around in one of the world’s rarest Ferraris, the 330 LMB… a $15 million automobile that is, in all likelihood, stolen goods.
Tim Cook has been very busy running Apple the past 12 months. There have been a lot of changes and new products that have helped make Apple the most valuable company ever. There have also been a lot of controversies, and headaches along the way. The road hasn’t been all smooth sailing, but we think Tim has done a great job in his first year as CEO of Apple.
Here are eight things that have kept Tim busy in his first year as CEO:
It’s been a rocking year for Tim Cook, his first as Apple’s CEO. Not only did he not fuck up; Apple shipped a bunch of hit products and became the biggest company ever.
He also defused a big crisis in Apple’s Chinese supply chain and has made Apple a little more open and relaxed (just a teeny bit).
Hit the jump for a great timeline of what Apple’s been up to under Tim Cook’s tenure. (Really, it’s a fascinating timeline and was a ton of work.)
The lengthy Apple vs. Samsung trial is now reaching a close, and this week the jury will make a verdict on who’s guilty of what. But before that happens, Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to make a last-ditch attempt to reach an agreement with Samsung CEO Kwon Oh Hyun over the telephone.
On The CultCast, our listeners ask us all the time whether they should go for the Macbook Pro or the Macbook Air. I say be a real Apple fan — get both. But if that’s not an option, we’ll tell you when which model makes more sense than the other, and which Macbook will be right for you on our latest episode.
And then, Faves and Raves! The fun but poorly-named segment where we pitch our favorite apps and gear then vote on which is best.
Don’t miss this stupendous new episode of The CultCast. Subscribe now on iTunes, or stream new episodes right on your iPhone or iPad with Apple’s new Podcasts App.
Show notes below!
Earlier this week during its WWDC keynote, Apple announced that nine automakers have committed to introducing a special Siri button into their upcoming vehicles, allowing you to activate your voice-controlled assistant without removing your hands from the steering wheel. However, it seems the Cupertino company forgot to tell some of those manufacturers about its plan.
The flaws and future of Siri, his thoughts on Steve Jobs, the long rumored Apple television – Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the 10th annual All Things D conference, and boy, did he have a lot to say.
Join us in our brand new CultCast episode as we pick apart Tim’s D10 interview and tell you why he possibly confirmed the existence of Apple’s long-rumored, top-secret television.
And is the Mac Pro about to get the axe? We’ll tell you what we think.
All that and our answers to your questions on our brand new CultCast. Subscribe now in iTunes and read on through for our show notes.