Scott Forstall was asked to leave Apple because he refused to sign a maps appology

mike123abc

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...16304.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Mr. Forstall, a 15-year Apple veteran, ran one of the company's most prominent groups—its mobile software unit—and was one of its most important executives. The name of Mr. Forstall, a protégé of Mr. Jobs, was once bandied about as a possible successor. He rose quickly at the company and earned a reputation for risk taking. But he was also known as difficult to work with, and "never fit into the culture of Apple," said one person familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc. executive Scott Forstall was asked to leave the company after he refused to sign his name to a letter apologizing for shortcomings in Apple's new mapping service, according to people familiar with the matter.
 
vodad:

I'm no expert on any kind of law, but that doesn't stop me from opening my mouth on the topic.

I don't see how a non-compete clause could be legal anywhere; but I also don't think it would be ethical to take trade secrets from Company A to Company B either.
 
Read the whole article, not just the featured quotes. Forstall has been involved in a number of run-ins with other Apple executives over the years. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did without Steve Jobs to cover for him.
 
John, I agree.

And to tell you the truth, I would not want him anywhere near android. I hate the Apple interface.
I honestly would look for him to go to Microsoft before I would see him working for google, or samsung or any of the other android folks.
 
I don't see how a non-compete clause could be legal anywhere...
Doesn't matter, because they are legal and common in many places. Many of them will be for the same time-frame as a severance package a person receives, so at least in that scenario, it doesn't force a person to be unemployed (without taking a job in an industry they may be completely unfamiliar with).
 
Hall:

I probably phrased that poorly. My point was non-compete is in my eyes a form of collusion, and there's already enough of that going on. Witness the collusion that occurred between Apple, Google, Oracle, Intel and some of the other biggies of Silicon Valley with respect to non-poaching. This effectively limited employment opportunities, salaries etc to many tech workers. But that's taking this into a different direction.
 
Read the whole article, not just the featured quotes. Forstall has been involved in a number of run-ins with other Apple executives over the years. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did without Steve Jobs to cover for him.

Perhaps so, but some form of conflict can be productive. Given the track record of success with iOS for Apple, one would think that they would want him around. Long term, I wonder if this is a strategic mistake.
 
The article I read earlier today said that Forstall will be an advisor to Tim Cook for a year, apparently trying to use that as a non-compete.
 
Perhaps so, but some form of conflict can be productive. Given the track record of success with iOS for Apple, one would think that they would want him around. Long term, I wonder if this is a strategic mistake.

Conflict CAN be very productive, however this guy was directly responsible for Siri and the new Maps app - two high profile products that have been heavily bashed in the media. I just can't say I'm surprised to see him go.
 
Yes, he was responsible but I'll bet he was given nearly impossible deadlines for a map replacement app, for example. Others dictated a due date for "launch" reasons.
 
Yes, he was responsible but I'll bet he was given nearly impossible deadlines for a map replacement app, for example. Others dictated a due date for "launch" reasons.
This is true. From the outside, Apple was so insistent on dumping Google Maps a year before their deal with Google ended. I know they compete with eachother, but I think the bad press from a not quite ready maps product is even worse.

I am hoping that they dial back some of Forstall design "quirks". The Podcasts app comes to mind. I mean, it really improved between when they released it and final, but the reel to reel design is really unnecessary especially when it gets in the way of usability.
 
Apple announces major management shakeup

About a month ago Apple reached its all time historical high at $705 per share but after a number of misses on products the stock has taken a huge tumble to a low today of $591 per share. This kind of drop also happened in 2011 this time of the year.

This year the loss of stock price happened in the wake of several misses. The only good news for Apple with these new product announcements was that the demand is exceeding the supply, but unfortunately this also is a problem, meeting the demand.

Keeping within tradition, Tim Cook took advantage of the weather shut down of the market for two days to make his announcement. It is best described in the Action Alerts Plus analysis below:

Apple announced a few management changes last evening, including the departure of Scott Forstall, head of its iOS software division, and John Brownell, head of retail.

After missing consensus earnings expectations for the last two quarters, this will certainly add to the controversy over the stock in the near term, but reinforces the fact that the company has a deep bench of several talented people. The surprise is that Forstall will be leaving the company. He was well regarded by both Wall Street and investors and it's likely he is taking the fall from the maps and Siri problems. Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi and Bob Mansfield will take over Forstall's responsibilities. Maps and Siri will now fall under Cue, who is credited with building the successful iTunes software and media content as well as the Apps store. He will now have all cloud services under him, which makes sense. Federighi will be responsible for both operating systems: OS X and iOS. Ive will oversee the human interface group and will continue to run industrial design. And Mansfield will come out of retirement to lead the wireless and semiconductor team, which includes cellular, WiFi, GPS and internal processors.

It is now clear that Tim Cook is well aware of the impression that investors have regarding of meeting demand with adequate supply. The management shakeup is hoped to resolve these problems. Plus, Tim's apology last month on Apple Maps ( Tom-Tom falure ) that a change needed to be made. Tim recognizes the mistake made, akin to the mistake made by Reed Hastings of Netflix. You don't replace Google Maps that works very well, with an Apple app that falls way short of Apple standards and not suffer the wrath of market cap shrinkage.

Personally, I continue to be very positive on Apple and use this opportunity to buy Apple with each major pull back. For the first time in my history owning Apple, I did not sell the peak at $705. Apple continues to be my largest personal holding.
 
The article I read earlier today said that Forstall will be an advisor to Tim Cook for a year, apparently trying to use that as a non-compete.

Good assumption! And I'll bet he is on the payroll of some sorts too.

I left a company where I had several trade secret products I created and even though I went to a non competing industry, I agreed to a non-compete with a consultant retainer for 2 years. After speaking with my new employer, I signed the deal and collected a monthly retainer for doing basically nothing. I suspect this is a pretty common practice.
 
Maps debacle claims another casualty. A bit less cryptic than Forstall's departure.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/1...-+All+content)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue has fired the product manager behind iOS 6's infamously flawed Maps app.
Richard Williamson oversaw the mapping team at Apple as a Senior Director for iOS Platform Services. He was reportedly handed a pink slip after Cue became responsible for Maps during last month's management restructuring, according to anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg.
 

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