Apple Transitions Hardware Leadership
redletterdave writes "Apple will begin transitioning the leadership role within its hardware engineering department, now that Bob Mansfield, who led the engineering of many of Apple's most successful products since 2005, has decided to retire. Apple was quick to name Dan Riccio — currently the VP of hardware engineering for the iPad — as Mansfield's successor, mentioning that Riccio will learn the new role over several months. During that time, the hardware engineering team will continue to report to Mansfield."
I thought Steve Jobs invented everything, designed everything, fixed everything and sold everything at every apple store in the world.
the year of the linux diskterp!
If the iPad designer is now in charge of hardware design, that fits well with the rumors I've heard before that Apple will stop making hardware and switch to only making and selling i* devices and software.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I wonder if this will continue for Apple.
iOS 6 is a yawner. Yes, what we need -- more facebook integration. Already, there is a backlash against FB. The latest Android announcement had some cool items in it including another method of protecting against piracy that does not depend on if a device is not rooted.
The Retina Display Macbook Pro has a cool screen, but cannot be repaired or upgraded.
Mountain Lion?
Jobs's RDF is gone.
What Apple needs to do is start figuring out how to get themselves enterprise-friendly without losing their consumer market. Enterprises buy stuff in such large chunks that a few good contracts are a lot better than lines around the building of hipsters.
First, redo the Mac Pro. Make a chassis that works like a tower, but can have a rack drawer attached so it can be slammed into a standard enclosure. Offer not just 8Gbs FC cards, but NICs with enough packet offloading power so FCoE is workable.
Second, make something like BES but for managing iPhones. Yes, Exchange can do a lot, but having a dedicated policy management server that can handle data transmissions, perhaps even backups of phone devices would bring a lot of revenue.
Third, the ARM processor supports worlds. In this day of BYOD, offer iPhones and iPads with a "work" partition and a "home" partition. That way, the employee only needs to type in the long password when accessing the "work" side, and the Exchange erase only blows that out. It also allows for apps to only see a subset of data, so the FB app isn't able to access work contacts.
Fourth, make an antipiracy mechanism similar to Google's LVL or new encryption mechanism in Jelly Bean. That way, apps don't have to rely on the fact a device is not jailbroken. As an added bonus, more money can be spent on features, not anti-jailbreak BS.
Fifth, make a business friendly Mac desktop that can push the Dells and Compaqs out of the offices. Take an iMac, toss the camera and mic, and sell that as a business PC with service plans to follow. Lots of cash there to be made, as most companies would switch to Macs if they could, only for the artistic value of the machines.
Is this the Borg Collective Press?
around to witness it, will it still pound the ground?
now apple needs a real desktop or at the very lest least a imac with a EASY TO GET TO HDD SLOTs. NO other AIO makes you take the screen off to change the HDD and most of them have at least 2 hdd slots.
And don't replace the hdd with a SDD on a card.
The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.
But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays.
keep the big mac pro tower at the $2500++ UP range With PCI-E slots and high end / pro video cards. Some pro work needs pci-e cards as well good cpu power.
Need to put my glasses on before I sit down at the computer--Misread the article as "Apple Transitions to Hardware Leadership".
Cheaper, more efficient, open source..
Apple, it's time to stop feeding the Intel/Nvidia beast.
Drop the cost, drop the margins, take over the world.
iPad2 Launch Video: Steve Jobs asks those who worked on iPad2 to stand and take a bow.
I loved Bob Mansfield because he made me laugh.
Currently hooked on AMP
The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.
If it was bigger then it wouldn't be a mini now would it?
But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays.
I think you are confusing what you want with what Apple needs. What you are describing is a PC with OS X. If that is what you want, build it yourself. Fact is that most people never open their PCs ever. The few that do aren't really much concern to Apple. Desktop PCs like what you describe are a market with a limited future. Laptop and tablet sales are where the profit and the demand is. Why would Apple introduce a product in a dying market segment with features that hardly anyone will use? Makes no business sense at all.
But if I had a time machine, I wouldnt think it twice and just take his spot in history.
Hey may not had the skills of a Torvald or an Stallman, but boy HE knew where to put his money.
...Obviously Jobs did not invent, bundle, market or sell a sense of humour. You need more than one button for that.
If he jumped, why did he do it?
Apple isn't the top destination for comp sci grads any more, that would be Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
enterprise needs easy to remove hard disks and other stuff
Now with some enterprises they will take out the HDD before sending the system for repair / warranty work.
enterprise also need to be able to roll back to older OS's (so apple can't get away with saying this system that just came out can only run 10.8 or newer.)
Apple needs to give enterprise some kind of road map for hardware and software.
enterprise also may like more choice of headless systems.
Apple needs a real server with dual PSU, hot swap HDD"s ECT or at very least let os X sever run in a VM on any hardware.
round the corners, add a button or two and file a patent.
Apple needs to focus on having server applications/OS that are useful in an enterprise environment before they worry about the hardware. 10.5 and 10.6 Server weren't terrible, but there's little they could do that AD and a Linux box couldn't do much better. 10.7 Server is absolute rubbish and isn't suitable for, well, anything.
I'm not saying they shouldn't come up with enterprise-ready hardware, just that they have bigger fish to fry.
Insert witty
In a world where a single natural disaster can and unfortunately sometimes does cause devastation over vast areas, as it seems anyone near Washington DC is all too aware tonight, your comment is far too close to the truth to be funny.
A tiny number of big manufacturers are now responsible for actually making the hardware for almost every major computer and mobile device manufacturer in the world. I'm not sure whether we are down to single figures yet, but if not, we're close. There is a reason you could hardly find a new hard disk to buy not so long ago unless it was part of an entire new computer. It's because there literally weren't enough stocks of those devices to satisfy market demand, after major natural disasters brought production to a halt at too many of those few key facilities for an extended period.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
This is one of the reasons Apple has diversified assembly outside of China. They have a long way to go before it is balanced.
I had no problems buying new hard drives when half of Thailand was under water. They just cost a bit more.