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Google CEO Joins Apple's Board
Phooey42 writes "AppleInsider is reporting that Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, has been approved to join Apple's board of directors, bringing the board's total head-count up to eight. From the article, 'Schmidt also sits on Google's board of directors and Princeton University's board of trustees. He joins other Apple board members that include: former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore Jr.; President and CEO of Harwinton Capital, Jerry York; Chairman and CEO of Genentech, Arthur Levinson; Chairman and CEO J. Crew, Millard Drexler; Chairman and former CEO of Intuit, Bill Campbell, former CFO of Apple, Fred Anderson; and Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.'"
I like GigaOM's take:
I also hope this translates into more Mac-friendliness from Google: "it did take Google a little while to let Safari users log into Gmail, for instance, and it did take Google Earth a little while to come out for the Mac".
If Schmidt were still at Sun, they might have some hope of long-term survival. Kudos to Apple for getting him on the board.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I knew Google was taking over the world, but I never suspected that Steve Jobs would let them into the Board Room. Of course, this is the same guy who had a larger-than-life video image of Bill Gates gloating over him. What's next, GoggleDisney?
This post gets my vote for the "Most fitting poster name" of the year award.
The laws of probability forbid it!
... just threw a chair.
The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
...with all of the chairs being tossed around by Steve Ballmer (according to Slashdot), you'd think that Microsoft ran out of chairs by now.
Good news I guess, but what does it really mean? I wish the article would go into further details and speculated on the implications of this..
Well if anyone who knows what they are talking about wants to explain what it means for Google, for Apple, for the market/industy and also if someone can explain what Al Gore is in that thing for and what he does, well feel free to explain..
You just got troll'd!
I think this practice should be illegal. Currently it seems quite common for various CEO's and other execs to be involved in many many companies. I think that's insane.
This allows for an insane power concentration and it also solidifies and protects the "old boys club". That's not something we should stand for as people and citizens. If someone is involved in one company, it should be illegal to be involved in another. Any time power concentrates it's bad for the people.
Power should be well distributed and diffused.
I once worked for an online retailer in their IT dept., and can tell you the board was full of executives from all over the retail industry. Lots of back room dealing, scratching each others backs. When one company cuts a deal for another company in the same business, it's usually not with good intentions.
Hmmm, google is losing money? Amazing the shear amount of fud here. Yahoo is slowly losing revenue and profits while Google increases. BTW, MS is selling fewer units, but has an increase in total sales $ and profits. It is good to be a monopoly.
http://www.digibarn.com/collections/screenshots/Sc reenshots%20Funstuff/apple_weed.jpg
I wonder if there could be a merger looming in the next 5 - 10 years.... doubt that it could happen any time soon but it's an interesting idea.
Maybe Microsoft has a secret factory to produce more chairs. [grin]
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Al Gore is on the board at Apple? Wasn't there an article recently about how Apple was one of the least environmentally-friendly tech companies?
Property is theft.
Ahhhh! So THAT'S why the PowerBook was featured in An Inconvenient Truth so much! I wondered if there was some sorta Apple endorsement being made by Al Gore. It seems that it may not be quite as much the normal product placement, as Al really is a part of Apple. Interesting... Way to go Al!
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
It's an implication that the two comapanies share similar values which in itself offers us some kind of glimpse into the future direction of both.
I can understand that you don't read TFA (this is Slashdot after all), but not reading the post... come on, it's not about technology exchanges what they talk here, is the *board of directors*!.
Schmidt's no Mac user, that's obvious at a glance. I mean, where are his tattoos? His piercings? I doubt he's ever been in a threesome, and he's probably never done a speedball in his life. What a dweeb!
Mark my words: this guy's appointment to the board marks the beginning of the end. He will destroy Apple from the inside out. Just you wait and see.
Yes, "Get Microsoft" is their shared similar values
29 mpg. YMMV.
After seeing Google showing ambitions on being the the new M$, are the new Apple Cube going to be a Borg Cube then?
/Per
Bikers.....The only people that understand why a dog hangs his head out a car window.
A board is about meeting the corporations objectives, and members are voted in based on their ability to help meet those objectives. If the shareholders vote someone into the board based on ability alone, that's no more discrimination than an olympic coach choosing 100m runners based on ability and ending up with Kenyans.
Are you saying the shareholders should try and vote a woman onto the board just because there aren't any women in there at the moment? That's real discrimination (positive or negative, it's all bad).
If there was a 50:50 ratio of men to women, then what? Should there be representatives of all religions, skin colours, programming language preferences, etc?
Nevermind if they can meet corporate objectives, are their genetalia representative of the population?!
// MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
"than an olympic coach choosing 100m runners based on ability and ending up with Kenyans"
/. readers 100m probably is long distance.) ;)
Kenyans are long distance runners...
(Granted for
dnuof eruc rof aixelsid
I don't think anyone can say for sure why this matters.
One thing is certain: Schmidt, acting as CEO of Google, cannot do anything which benefits Apple to the detriment of Google. Nor can he do anything as a board member of Apple that benefits Google at Apple's expense. He may have to recuse himself from certain decisions at Apple; for example if Google decides to launch a music service, he exposes himself legally if he
Clearly, Schmidt was hired because his experience Internet technologies brings a certain viewpoint and expertise to the Apple board. It may even tend to align Apple strategy with Google strategy, by virtue of elements of a shared world view. But this shouldn't be seen as a business deal between Google and Apple. It's a highly inefficient way of doing a business deal for the companies, and a risky one for Schmidt.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Mod Parent Redundant, it's a cut and paste comment from another apple column.
Does not appear to be any minorities on the board at Apple.
Not saying that there should be, just using google for images on the names resulted in none being obvious.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Mod "Silicon Jedi" down -1, Square. Obviously a PC user at heart.
Awesome! An off-topic Mac fanboy troll.
Keep it real, cuz I can tell you're not a poseur, yo!
lol.
You just got troll'd!
In a stunning move sure to send ripples across the tech industry, Apple today announced another member to it's Board of Directors. That person? You guessed it: Frank Stallone.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
> Are you saying the shareholders should try and vote a woman onto the board just because there aren't
> any women in there at the moment? That's real discrimination (positive or negative, it's all bad).
You would be correct in an idealized world with an equal playing field. But the fact is that it is called the old "boys" network for a reason.
jfs
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
Google X is back! Yes!
I guess HP should never have booted Carly Fiorina.
If you look around, there are actually quite a few female board members. Anyway, the way to combat discrimination isn't more discrimination.
How much is that in parsecs?
"Clearly, Schmidt was hired because his experience Internet technologies brings a certain viewpoint and expertise to the Apple board:"
well Al Gore invented the Internet, so I don't know what they need this guy for.
well Al Gore invented the Internet, so I don't know what they need this guy for.
Yeah, and Jews poison wells and use the blood of Christian infants in their religious observances.
Some lies, like the blood libel or the one about Al Gore supposedly claiming he "invented" the Internet, never seem to lose their ability to charm people of a certain mentality.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
yes, and the importance of the board of directors is not very important really in the decissions of the companies, specially in the technological ones.
You want speculation? John Dvorak wasted no time: http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?g uid=%7B3C8F8E30-3A0A-4991-9A9C-17B89E611038%7D&sou rce=blq%2Fyhoo&dist=yhoo&siteid=yhoo
Dvorak is always good for fun 'n' games at /.
Thanks for this link, here have a virtual Informative point ;-). Eric Schmidt to be the CEO of a merged Apple-Sun? heheh, Dvorak will never cease from making me laugh. However, that one article wasn't quite as laughable as the one about Elvis having predicted the dot-com crash.
You just got troll'd!
NeXT and SUN do not have fond ties. Steve in his own words, "SUN is no Apple." If you think Steve is going to let someone else fuck up the momentum he has created you need to check yourself into an asylum.
You would be correct in an idealized world with an equal playing field. But the fact is that it is called the old "boys" network for a reason.
Yes, because the "old boys" were ambitious workaholics who proved themselves, and the women...weren't. The "glass ceiling", much like the "wage gap" and "1 in 4 women will be raped" is a feminist urban legend with no basis in reality. If women want to be VPs and CEOs, they need to bust their butts and prove themselves. Take Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox - did not take a weekend off for two years.