Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have made a major donation to a group helping teachers buy homes near Facebook’s headquarters. Bryan and Jeff think Silicon Valley may need to think even bigger and build some company towns. They also dive deep into Tim Cook’s Apple Car plans, including his three vectors of autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and ride sharing services.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook Confirms Project Titan, eero's New WiFi Mesh Network Gear - TMO Daily Observations 2017-06-13
Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Apple CEO Tim Cook confirming the Project Titan car program is a real thing, plus the look at eero and WiFi mesh network performance.
Tim Cook: Apple is Making Self-driving Car Software
Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise move by confirming Project Titan.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Warns MIT Students of Technology's Downside
That might seem counterintuitive from the leader of the world’s most valuable tech company, but the underlying message is that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around.
Michelle Obama’s Fireside Chat with Apple
The conversation will be about empowering people from all walks of life to make the world a better place.
Apple Transforms PR Site to a 'Newsroom' and Redesigns Executive Profiles
Out is a headline-oriented list of press releases and in is a Flipboard-like “Newsroom” with cover photos and clickable tiles.
Stevie Wonder Plays Apple's Beer Bash, Here's Tim Cook's Tweet
Apple brought Stevie Wonder in to play the company’s Beer Bash this week, and Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted an image of him hugging the artist onstage. The concert capped a week of activities highlighting Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Mr. Wonder, who is blind, has long endorsed Apple because of the company’s extensive accessibility features in macOS and iOS. Apple often brings in big names for its Beer Bash, a long tradition for the company. This is likely to be of the Beer Bashes is held at Infinite Loop, as the company begins moving into Apple Park in the next few weeks. 9to5Mac rounded up some additional tweeted imaged from the event.
Thank you to the incomparable Stevie Wonder for lifting hearts and celebrating accessibility with us! #GAAD pic.twitter.com/WvePkgte5R
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 19, 2017
Thoughts On The Apple Mothership: Celebration of the Employee
Steven Levy has written a stellar article at Wired about his tour of the new Apple campus, Apple Park, aka The Mothership. The focus is on the design details inspired by Steve Jobs and the building as “Steve’s gift.” John read the article and has some follow-on thoughts to offer.
Tim Cook Charity Auction Raises Record $688K
Tim Cook’s 2017 charity auction for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights set a record Tuesday when it closed at $688,999. That’s more than the $605,00 a coffee date with Mr. Cook fetched in 2013, and well north of the $515,000 Mr. Cook’s auction raised in 2016. Charitybuzz, which conducted the auction, shows the “lot” of Mr. Cook closed, but MacRumors caught the action at the end, when it hit $688,999 with 30 bids. Mr. Cook has used his fame as Apple CEO to raise money for the RFK Center since 2013, but this is the first year the resulting hour with Mr. Cook will take place in the brand new Apple Park. Congrats to the winner!
Tim Cook Is No Steve Ballmer
A piece at Seeking Alpha argues that Tim Cook needs to be replaced as CEO of Apple because he’s “identical to Steve Ballmer.” Bryan Chaffin was specifically asked what he thought, so here’s the short version: it’s balderdash—Tim Cook is no Steve Ballmer.
A Fantasy Conversation: Bezos and Cook Chat About Amazon Echo
Two very interesting things happened this week. First, we heard that Apple may be making its own Siri-powered Echo-like device, to be announced at WWDC. Later in the week, we heard that Amazon will now bring its video app, Prime Video to the Apple TV. Mere coincidence? John, just for fun, imagines a recent, fictional conversation between Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.
Apple Will Launch $1 Billion Investment Fund for Advanced Manufacturing
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Wednesday that his company was creating a US$1 billion investment fund for advanced manufacturing. Mr. Cook made the announcement during an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money. Bryan Chaffin says: think robots.
Dr. Mac on Procrastinating, Touch-Screen Macs, and Siri at Home - ACM 409
Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus joins Bryan and Jeff to talk about his new book, Working Smarter for Mac Users. It’s all about beating procrastination. They also talk about Apple, toasterfridges, and touch-screen Macs, and whether Apple would compete with Amazon’s Alexa in the home.
Tim Cook Charity Auction with Lunch at Apple Park, Price Quickly Jumps to $65,000
Apple CEO Tim Cook is once again auctioning off a lunch date for charity, but this time that lunch will take place at Apple Park. While the auction closes on May 16th, 2017, it quickly jumped to $65,000 with six bids from four different rich bidders.
Apple Pays Zilch in New Zealand Taxes on $4.2 Billion in Sales
Apple paid roughly zip to New Zealand Inland Revenue—that country’s taxing authority—over ten years, even while selling $4.2 billion in merchandise in the country. The practice is scrupulously legal—and therefore OK in the eyes of many. Bryan Chaffin, however, doesn’t think it’s right.
Thoughts on the Productivity of Apple Employees
Recently, Fast Company published an article on “Why Employees At Apple And Google Are More Productive.” It’s probably true. John Martellaro dug into the article and found things to like as well as things to expand on based on his own experiences.
Apple Rumors and Manufacturing, Tim Cook's Pipeline, and $AAPL - ACM 400
In this 400th episode of Apple Context Machine, John Kheit joins Bryan Chaffin to discuss rumors of iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, Apple manufacturing, Tim Cook’s claim that Apple cares about pro users and creative pros in particular, the company’s supposed pipeline, and $AAPL’s record high valuation. Oh…and Nickleback.
Tim Cook Speaks at University of Glasgow for an Hour (Video)
Tim Cook spoke to the students of the University of Glasgow this week. The hour long event included questions from faculty and students alike. Topics included President Trump’s travel bans on seven muslim-majority countries, the reach of the App Store, the environment, wealth inequality, education, balancing work and life, technology interacting with our bodies, Apple Watch, idealism, Steve Jobs’s influence over Apple today, styluses, and more. The video was posted by a student. The audio quality is poor, but the rules for the event precluded “dedicated recording equipment.” To that end, this video was recorded entirely on an iPhone 7 in the hands of a student 50-70 feet from Mr. Cook, and is stunningly good considering. In addition, note how quiet and respectful this audience of 800-plus students is.
Tim Cook's Newseum Free Expression Award - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-03
Apple CEO Time Cook is receiving a Newseum Free Expression Award for free speech. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on CEOs speaking out on social and political topics.
Apple Cash Hoard Tops $246 Billion, Enough to Buy 4.9 Billion Amazon Echo Dots
Apple’s cash hoard swelled to a staggering $246.09 billion in the December quarter, an increase of $8.49 billion. This, despite returning some $15 billion to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividends. It’s an unprecedented concentration of corporate wealth that would let Apple buy more than 4.9 billion Amazon Echo Dots if it wanted.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Trump's Muslim Ban 'Is Not a Policy We Support'
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees Saturday that President Trump’s Muslim ban, “is not a policy we support.” Echoing his many previous comments on diversity, Mr. Cook said, “Apple would not exist without immigration.”
Former Apple Engineer Claims Tim Cook Made Apple Boring
Former Apple engineer Bob Burrough has been arguing that CEO Tim Cook has made Apple boring. In a combination of tweet storm and an interview with CNBC stemming from said tweetstorm, the engineer said Mr. Cook has eliminated conflict within Apple, sapping its vitality in the process. Mr. Burrough argued that Steve Jobs ruled with ever-shifting chaos, where product triumphed over hierarchy. Under Tim Cook, he said, Apple is siloed, smooth, and essentially complacent. Former Apple wunderkind Tony Fadell coincidentally tweeted just last week that Steve Jobs did not manage through conflict, and others have taken issue with Mr. Burrough, too. The reality is that any one person’s perspective never tells the whole tale, but his opinions make for an interesting read. You can see the whole tweetstorm in this tweet and in the CNBC story.
@JohnKirk @asymco The very first thing Tim did as CEO was convert Apple from a dynamic change-maker into a boring operations company.
— ᴮᵒᵇ ᴮᵘʳʳᵒᵘᵍʰ (@bob_burrough) January 16, 2017
Apple Schedules 2017 Shareholders Meeting, Reveals Executive Pay Cut
Apple has scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for February 28, 2017 and in so doing revealed that the company’s top executives saw a pay cut in 2016 thanks to Apple’s first year-over-year sales decline in 15 years.
Tim Cook Says 'Great Desktops' are Coming
The iMac hasn’t been updated in over a year and the Mac Pro is more than three years old without any changes, leaving many wondering if Apple is stepping back from the desktop computer market. Apple CEO Tim Cook says that’s not so, and that there are “great desktops in our roadmap.”