Tim Cook's Freshman Year

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-06/tim-cooks-freshman-year-the-apple-ceo-speaks?a

by JoeCortopassi • 14 years ago

74 70 14 years ago

Tyrant505• 14 years ago

regardless of statements, if he is true he will always ask himself what would jobs do.. and with a bit of filtering that is not a bad thought.

jaysonelliot• 14 years ago

Note to designers: stop overlaying divs on top of your main body content. Users press the Page Down key, and it obscures the first text lines of the next page under the navigation, or top banner, or whatever you've placed so cleverly up there.

It's frustrating, impedes the reader's experience, and makes people not want to bother with your content.

Okay, done with my UX rant. Sorry. Thanks.

karolisd• 14 years ago

Off the top of my head, Facebook and Mashable do this, it's becoming the standard.

jblock• 14 years ago

It doesn't help that most laptops have lost the Page Up/Down key. Just a thought.

xxbondsxx• 14 years ago

It breaks scrolling too -- if you scroll more than a few pixels down the page, the div jumps position and all the text moves vertically. Really horrible UX

jfb• 14 years ago

When I see that garbage, I just close the window. Treating one's readers with open contempt doesn't seem like a good strategy to me.

shardling• 14 years ago

I actually came across this Firefox bug pretty recently:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=780345

It shows how browser makers can help alleviate the problem.

alexpenny3• 14 years ago

Why are you using page down? No scroll wheel, old habits, on a laptop?

Its something I've never used and have never thought about while designing, seems like a lot of websites are ignoring it as well; fb, techcrunch etc.

wukkuan• 14 years ago

I use space for page down and shift+space for page up. Scrolling means tracking where I am as I go, when I hit page down I know where to start reading, the top. It feels more like reading a book.

brigade• 14 years ago

It's hard to get more optimal than "read a page of text" "press button for next page". Scroll wheels require some combination of

* Have to move it more to travel the same distance

* Have to fiddle with it to get exactly one page

* Have to track your position during the scroll

* Have to scroll more often than once per page

This (among numerous other near-universal UX transgressions) has gotten to the point that my first action on almost any internet article is to hit ⇧⌘R.

jsankey2• 14 years ago

Maybe because he wants to go exactly one page down as easily as possible, and this is something that has generally worked for decades. It's pretty simple, really.

pooriaazimi2• 14 years ago

That's why I don't understand why people are so opposed to good ol' <frame>s. You could resize them AND they wouldn't torture you if you used page down/space key...

apaprocki2• 14 years ago

Single page article: http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/85278-tim-cooks...

prawks2• 14 years ago

Thanks, couldn't figure out how to work their site to get that. You really have to go to a printer-friendly version, rather than there being a "View all" link?

sami364• 14 years ago

Tim Cook's biggest problems so far: Maps,iCloud & iOS. We know he's aware of Maps & fixing it, albeit slowly. iCloud's idiosyncrasies are mostly a developer problem. iOS, though, is getting tired fast & it's highly visible to the consumer.

Siri is still a gimmick. That's bordering on the unacceptable now, esp when compared to Google's voice offerings & how fast they've reached par & exceeded it. Stil no APIs, no offline capability, slow response times when it's working.

georgespencer3• 14 years ago

I think you're broadly right, but:

> aware of Maps & fixing it, albeit slowly

Slow is relative here: this isn't an overnight fix. It's very, very complicated.

> iOS […] is getting tired fast & it's highly visible to the consumer.

Really? What consumers? They're on track to sell 46m iPhone 5 units in this quarter.

When people bellyache about iOS it serves to remind me that the people who debate phone operating systems on the internet are categorically not the target market. If you happen to like it then great. If not, Apple doesn't give a shit: this is a mass market consumer device.

> Siri is still a gimmick

Siri is really, really useful when it works. It needs to work faster, and it needs to work more often (i.e. not garble my input), but I'm highly impressed by it.

> esp when compared to Google's voice offerings

Which are far less sophisticated

> & how fast they've reached par & exceeded it

Unless I'm missing a Google Siri beater, you're talking about Google's voice search in its iOS app. It's much faster than Siri, but it's also much less sophisticated. I asked this very question on Quora recently[1].

> Stil no APIs, no offline capability, slow response times when it's working

Apple is feeling this out. Don't expect APIs until they work out a way to do it really simply.

Offline capacity is a joke, right? We live in a world where we're online on airplanes and even on the subway (in London). Is it in Apple's interests to spend precious engineering resource on a solution to a problems which won't exist in a few years? And I bet a lot of Siri's usage is for online activities anyway. Or put it this way: what's the point in building offline mode for Siri when it's just for setting reminders (can't do geofencing: no signal), launching apps (which can't connect to the net) and writing emails and text messages which won't get sent.

You're totally right on slow response times. It's painfully slow. My guess is that performance is now Apple's top priority with Siri.

[1] https://www.quora.com/Siri-software/Why-is-Siri-so-much-slow...

brianchu• 14 years ago

That Quora thread you cite is just speculation and really isn't any sort of evidence. That's no basis for making a conclusion about the technical merits of Google's voice search.

rieter• 14 years ago

> Unless I'm missing a Google Siri beater, you're talking about Google's voice search in its iOS app. It's much faster than Siri, but it's also much less sophisticated. I asked this very question on Quora recently[1].

I believe he's talking about Google Now on Android, which has already surpassed Siri.

Steko3• 14 years ago

"iOS, though, is getting tired fast & it's highly visible to the consumer."

This idea is often expressed on HN but I've never seen a convincing argument that radically changing the UI every year is something consumers want.

jarcoal2• 14 years ago

Completely agree! The OS is just an app launcher, and for some reason everyone here forgets that. Keeping it the same is to the consumer's benefit.

sami364• 14 years ago

>..every year is something consumers want...

Consumers were pretty happy with PalmOS & Motorola Q until the iPhone came out. We, however, the populace of geeks who inhabit HN, should know better. There are many ways in which Android is pulling away from iOS. From automatic app updates, to account registration & syncing..to widgets & lockscreens. None of these are a fatal blow but all taken together start adding up to a significant advantage.

On the other hand, iOS smoothness & polish are still second to none. I'm not saying it's a bad mobile os at all. It's an amazing piece of software. I'm saying I wish it were evolving.. faster. Just look at the amazing update iTunes just received. Compared to the previous version, It's an order of magnitude faster on my laptop. I was hoping for a similar leap from iOS5 to 6. It didn't materialize.

Recently, I saw an Article on The Verge taking on the static weather app icon that hasn't changed since 2007 & how it's a metaphor for Apple's being overly careful & protective (or lazy, take your pick) of the UI it introduced with the first iPhone. I think that's valid criticism.

Full Disclosure : I carry two devices with me all the time. an iPhone 5 (iOS 6.1, beta 3) & a Galaxy Nexus (4.2.1) I've had every single iPhone since day 1, Every single iPad except for the 4 & the mini. i'm typing this comment on Macbook air.

stevewillows• 14 years ago

One thing I've noticed since switching to Android from IOS is that I spend a lot of time 'customizing' the look of the interface instead of just using it like I did with IOS.

bane• 14 years ago

Which is exactly why cars still look exactly like they did in 1932.

enraged_camel2• 14 years ago

>>Siri is still a gimmick. That's bordering on the unacceptable now, esp when compared to Google's voice offerings & how fast they've reached par & exceeded it. Stil no APIs, no offline capability, slow response times when it's working.

I'll be frank: you do not understand what makes Siri important or useful. It's not simple voice recognition and dictation (which Google does better), but the fact that it's tightly integrated with many apps and services. Being able to look up facts on Wolfram Alpha, set reminders and alarms, find restaurants, and countless other things from any screen is invaluable. I'd even go so far as to call it revolutionary.

Google is not even close to matching this level of tight integration (party because they don't have the same level of control over their own ecosystem as Apple does over iOS).

Apocryphon• 14 years ago

I haven't tried it yet, but how does Google Now compare?

jsankey2• 14 years ago

The problem for me, when I tried Siri, is it just didn't understand me often enough. You can have all the integration you want, but it doesn't help if the recognition isn't up to scratch.

I think your broad point is true: Google's reco is better, Siri's integration is deeper, but you really need both to make it useful.

MiguelHudnandez3• 14 years ago

One of my pet peeves is misleading charts and graphs. While not intentionally misleading, this chart is pretty sloppy [1].

Apple's 64% looks closer to 75%, because nine percent of the market is just plain excluded from the chart. Another issue is that Google's five percent is smaller than Zune's three percent.

I don't understand how an editor can let something like this get through, even if it's only incidentally related to the story. If it takes some random jerk on the internet a few seconds to se something is wrong with the chart, surely they are cutting corners? It undermines my confidence in the other information they are providing.

[1] http://i.imgur.com/ImN07.png

prawks2• 14 years ago

I really like that Zune's 3% is bigger than eMusic's 3%. Great find, I honestly skipped it when I was reading through. Maybe the editor did the same.

alanctgardner2• 14 years ago

I think it's a simple mis-labelling. Zune's and Google's slices are reversed. Note that there are two '3%' segments, they just don't match the labels.

That said, it is quite sloppy.

55x11• 14 years ago

Do you actually think this is an intentionally "misleading" chart? One of MY pet peeves are people NOT in the reporting business unable to accept that minor errors DO occur on the way to press when on deadline. Cutting corners? Please. It happens to the best of reporters/editors/graphics people.

jarek2• 14 years ago

Or, rewritten without the tone:

"> While not intentionally misleading, this chart is pretty sloppy

I agree, I don't think this chart is intentionally misleading. From my experience, minor errors do happen, even to the best of reporters/editors/graphics people. Sometimes a chart with known problems will be pushed out for the sake of a deadline, just as it would in software."

apaprocki2• 14 years ago

I pointed out the error to the BW team and they said they'll fix it for the web/mobile apps. Thanks for pointing it out :)

edit: It's fixed now: http://images.businessweek.com/cms/2012-12-06/feature_chart_...

MiguelHudnandez3• 14 years ago

Thank you for pointing out the issue to the right people. :)

It was a trivial mistake in an otherwise great article.

k_kelly• 14 years ago

It seems that Tim Cook excels at designing immensely complex supply chains and manufacturing processes. It's clear this is his absolute passion.

The only thing is that it's begun to shape Apple. I'm much more excited about his moves to bring manufacturing to America than any product apple has launched under his stewardship.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but there seems no question that Apple is now a completely different type of company and it's amazing how much a single person can put their stamp on a global and multibillion dollar company.

jdechko• 14 years ago

I don't think it's fair to attribute all of the recent Apple products to Cook. Most of those products, if not all, were probably well into the design and/or testing phase by the time Cook took over. In another 12-18 months, I think we can then start analyzing products to find Cook's DNA in them. At minimum, I'd say that the 2014 iPhone, iPad and Mac lines will be a much more accurate representation of Cook's product leadership.

lostlogin3• 14 years ago

I'm picking that people will call something a Cook product when its faulty/broken/rubbish. Maybe I'm too cynical.

fuzzythinker• 14 years ago

The "Profit share of the smartphone market" graph really sums up the current state of Apple/iOS vs. Samsung/Android in recent months. Samsung is eating away a big chunk of Apple's _profits_. If they don't address the 2 main issues (imho, people are voting with their money for bigger screens and different/more exciting OS UX), iphone's market share is going to go under 20% soon. Both are tough issues to crack. Are they going to come out with a 4.5 - 5" screen to address that market? How? Double retina? For different OS UX, it always carries risk of alienating current user base. Really curious if and how they address these issues.

roc• 14 years ago

I think 'eating' into may be mischaracterizing things. A decrease in Apple's profit share when total profits are increasing doesn't necessarily mean Samsung is taking anything away from Apple.

It's entirely likely that Samsung is simply dominating the formerly-fractured not-Apple side of the market, consolidating sales under its masthead and, unlike RIM, HTC, et al is doing so profitably.

Given that Android device sales were growing incredibly rapidly during a time when no manufacturer was making much profit on them, I think Apple's profit share has been overstated for some time. It was only a matter of time until someone figured out how to make money selling to the slice of the market that Apple ignores.

Steko3• 14 years ago

"imho, people are voting with their money for bigger screens"

Bigger screens were partially a response to Apple's ability to lock up global "retina" LCD production. Unable to compete at ppi, they could compete on absolute resolution. They're certainly popular on their own merits though.

"and different/more exciting OS UX"

This seems a bit fanciful. Here's a better story: guy walks into a store, salesman steers guy towards model that gets him the bigger commission.

nthitz• 14 years ago

Apple is now matching employee charitable donations? That's kind of surprising given their previous stance on donations. That change definitely seems a result of Jobs leaving.

pooriaazimi2• 14 years ago

I think that was Cook's first (or one of first) big changes (apparent to us outsiders, at least) when he became CEO - a month before Jobs's death: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/08/apple-institutes-new-cha...

epaga• 14 years ago

“To whom much is given, much is expected.” is an exciting quote to see Tim Cook get passionate about. Having an 11-digit cash hoard at your disposal could be an unbelievable force for good.

Though he does misattribute the quote to JFK - it originated about 2000 years earlier... Luke 12:48 "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required". ;)

JoeCortopassi• 14 years ago

Anyone else bugged by the fact that the top two comment threads, for this article, are about pedantic details of the article format rather than it's actual content? You have to go halfway down the page before you get a comment that's even on-topic

MiguelHudnandez3• 14 years ago

It's a long article. People get annoyed and internet-ranty about details before they get a chance to read the whole thing. I'm guilty.

snogglethorpe• 14 years ago

That's a clue as to the site-awfulness-to-article-value ratio...

dakrisht• 14 years ago

100% - I fell asleep reading that interview. What a repetitious, mundane piece. Tim sounds like a nice guy, but I got nothing from that entire interview. You love Apple. Great.

joejohnson• 14 years ago

Now I have to scroll past comments complaining about pedantic details of the article format and comments complaining about comments complaining about pedantic details of the article format.

You're not helping.

glhaynes• 14 years ago

The only way to win is for everyone else not to play. Hmmmm.

ANTSANTS• 14 years ago

I'd usually agree (grey text on a light background, anyone?), but honestly I'm much more interested in combating the trend of obscuring content with floating navigation bars than I am in yet another story about Tim Cook and Apple.

josephagoss• 14 years ago

This happens a lot on Hacker News. I guess people just don't have any decent input and just want to be heard, so they talk about the html or something else they know a lot about. Everyone likes to be heard :)

It would be nice to click on a discussion like this and see a discussion about the content of the link taking place. One can hope.

jot• 14 years ago

"Eighty percent of our revenues are from products that didn’t exist 60 days ago."

I'm sure last time I heard a fact like that about Apple it was more like "products that didn't exist 3 years ago." Impressive that they seem to be speeding up on that measure of innovation.

Kylekramer• 14 years ago

That is more of a weird bit of rhetoric framing than Apple speeding up. Even though there are new versions of the iPhone and big iPad, very few people would consider them products that didn't exist 60 days ago.

lostlogin3• 14 years ago

First comment I have seen saying this, and I know that there is more to some of the product changes than just a new plug, but it sure seems bold to call it a new product. Hell, my body is probably 50% new product compared to 2 months ago using that kind of measure.

flyinglizard• 14 years ago

He doesn't come across as a product visionary. He sounds like a brilliant, dependable operator and a team player, but I never got the vibe that here is an unpredictable, disruptive loon like Jobs.

Tim Cook's Freshman Year

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