Slashdot Mirror


Stephen Elop New Chief Innovator For Australia's Telstra

Freshly Exhumed writes: The former Microsoft executive excoriated by some industry watchers for the collapse of Nokia Mobile Phones, Stephen Elop, has re-emerged down under. Telstra says Elop is being appointed to the new role of Group Executive Technology, Innovation and Strategy, "leading Telstra's strategy to become a world class technology company" (stop giggling, you in the back row). Telstra cites Elop's "deep technology experience" and "innate sense of customer expectations."

110 comments

  1. Sell Sell Sell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Eflop The Destroyer spells DOOM!

    1. Re:Sell Sell Sell by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I don't know how they got "innate sense of customer expectations." from his time at Nokia.

      Maybe he left it off his resume.
      Or maybe I don't understand who the customer was.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:Sell Sell Sell by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      His performance at Nokia was brilliant. He delivered the broken carcass to Microsoft exactly as planned. I wonder what they have in store for Telstra?

    3. Re:Sell Sell Sell by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      And in other unrelated news. Large numbers of people have been observed walking their dogs. Film at 11:00.

    4. Re:Sell Sell Sell by KGIII · · Score: 2

      To be fair, by most accounts, Nokia was already doing their damnedest to ruin their company before Elop was at the helm. If you look at what they had been doing and were doing when Elop moved in and want to think it was some sort of conspiracy than the conspiracy must have started about three years prior to the event.

      That doesn't mean it's not possible, it just means that there were more people involved - thus making it less likely.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    5. Re:Sell Sell Sell by trabby · · Score: 1

      Well at least Telstra is already a broken carcass and was sold up the river long ago.

    6. Re:Sell Sell Sell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hear they've just put up foxtel prices (which will provide a short term income boost, before a mass exodus), and there are rumours they're about to sell foxtel. Elop seems to be a specialist with big corporation sales, so join the dots. Perhaps the AFL is planning on licensing to other people and the foxtel bottom line is starting to look like they cant afford to keep their sports exclusivity locked up now there is so much competition online at which point who would pay their insane prices? Just speculation, of course. Watch this space.

  2. Future Headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    " Microsoft buys Telstra at a steal..."

    1. Re:Future Headline by KGIII · · Score: 2

      I scrolled back up just because I wanted to respond to this.

      It got me thinking... You know, I'm unaware of any AUS legislation that would prevent such a merger/purchase. With MSFT wanting to move into the mobile sector more than they already are... The odds of that are low and the odds of success are probably lower - but it might make some sense.

      However, if it were Elop *again* to do so, I'm thinking somebody, somewhere, somehow is going to start asking a few questions. That's REALLY going to result in some extreme investigations - it absolutely has to. Well, it would in any country that I'm reasonably familiar with laws regarding publicly traded companies. Not even the SEC would be able to pretend that was normal, and that's here in the US.

      It might actually be a sound business choice for Microsoft to do something like that but I'm 100% positive, well - 99.9% positive, that doing it via Elop is an absolutely bad idea. We're talking someone's-probably-going-to-jail - type of bad idea. That's not gonna pass the sniff test, not even remotely. Have they had any other executive-level changes recently? I still, even if they were going to, can't imagine who the hell would think that bringing Elop into it (a second time) would be smart. That doesn't make any sense.

      But, it might make an interesting bit of mental bubble gum. Maybe Microsoft could start something like Straight-Talk (I think that's the name) or TracPhone with their mobile phones? I'd almost say that the idea of that, or buying their way into the carrier market, would be a very, very interesting strategy and might be very profitable if done well.

      Yes, yes I do use Linux as my OS but I do have a Windows phone. Believe it or not, there are plenty of apps available and I've been very happy with the phone. It does everything I need and lots of things I'm not actually wanting from a phone.

      Speaking of phones, I'm still awaiting a return call. At that point, I'll go rent a satellite phone - assuming my request is approved. Missus KGIII and I are gonna go to Cuba for a few days. Well, we're hoping to.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  3. RIP Telstra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    RIP Telstra

    1. Re:RIP Telstra by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      Exactly. This guy is like the so-called 'turnaround artist' Gil Amelio that just about killed both National Semiconductor and Apple.

      I have no idea how these people can continue to fail upwards. Granted, his tenure at Nokia was a "successful failure" as he was an inside man who's sole job was to destroy enough value to make them affordable for Microsoft... but whatever.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    2. Re:RIP Telstra by trabby · · Score: 1

      Don't forget the Macromedia sale to Adobe that Elop also had his hands in.

    3. Re:RIP Telstra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We can hope. The local market can only be improved by the loss of that bloated corrupt monopolist.

  4. Ah good luck with that Telstra. by dsmatthews9379 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I hope they can improve their customer service because at the moment it is so bad, and their procedures so illogical, that it is faster to churn across to another service provider than it is to get Telstra to fix things, so if you are out of contract just jump and don't even bother asking them for help.

    1. Re:Ah good luck with that Telstra. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would *love* to, but Telstra owns the lines, dslam & pipe back to Sydney.

      If I moved to another ISP, I'd have to wait for the ISP terrible support staff to talk to Telstra's terrible support staff to get anything done.

      One the upside, I'm friends with a line repair guy that's very knowledgeable in dsl, whom helps me a lot with my customers when I get nowhere with the script readers.

      They're that bad (business tech support no less) that when I asked them when I had performed speed tests on 4 separate internet connections - all business class - all adsl2+ one 50m and all within 1km from the exchange why where they all getting less than 5mbit. They asked me to reboot my modem, and a few other things before insisting they'd send a tech out to look at my phone line... sigh...

  5. Is Telstra a MS threat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Since when did they want them gone?

  6. typo in the summary by serbanp · · Score: 3, Funny

    Telstra cites Elop's "deep technology experience" and "innate sense of customer expectations."

    That must be a weird typo, it should read "inane sense of customer expectations." instead.

    1. Re:typo in the summary by invictusvoyd · · Score: 1

      May be not. They are talking about Elop's customer Microsoft .

    2. Re:typo in the summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Telstra boasts that "Stephen will immediately add major firepower to our team", meaning that they will all soon be missing their feet.

    3. Re:typo in the summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not a typo, you've just got to remember that modern "customer expectations" are of dealing with barely working products which further lose functionality through updates, stop functioning - temporarily or permanently - without notice, and have little to no worthwhile support services.
      I'm sure he'll fit right in at Telstra.

    4. Re:typo in the summary by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 1

      No, it means he'll have the power to fire half of the staff.

  7. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You do realise the vast majority of Australia is a desert, and most of the wildlife will try to kill you, right?

  8. Expect big swings on ASX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is great news, a real positive factor which I'm sure will be reflected in the stock market. Buy Optus, TPG & Vodafone now!

  9. The good and the bad: by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have good news and bad news. The good news is we got rid of our Elop problem! The bad news is that we had to sacrifice Australia to do it.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:The good and the bad: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The good news is we got rid of our Elop problem!

      Are you Finnish then?

    2. Re:The good and the bad: by Anomalyst · · Score: 1

      The good news is we got rid of our Elop problem!

      Are you Finnish then?

      I am sure he has much more to say on the topic, LOL

      --
      There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
    3. Re:The good and the bad: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Dear Aussies. Accept our deepest condolences and our heartfelt thanks for taking one for the team.

    4. Re:The good and the bad: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you Finnish then?

      No he's only starting......

    5. Re:The good and the bad: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your comment is gold!

  10. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "do something worth wild" - you must be kidding. Troll detector going off - no one is this stupid.

  11. monkey boy by Marquis231 · · Score: 1

    Too big to fail applies to individual careers too it would seem. I doubt he'll run his sector of the business any worse than his predecessors, he would have to try awfully hard in order to achieve that. Telstra is famously incompetent here in Aus, and they're our largest telco - go figure.

  12. Worse than Carly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can't even get speaking engagements.

    But really, somebody explain to me what secret language these people speak? I'm sure I couldn't do worse, but I'm never getting hired for these kinds of things. For this walking disaster did not just fsck over nokia. How did telstra ever agree to this? Is there some secret redmondian handshake going on in the background? Why can't he be shuffled off to some apprenticeship keeping public greens in Greenland?

    1. Re:Worse than Carly by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

      It only makes sense if you consider CEOs to be modern royalty, and that companies need to choose someone of a "noble bloodline" to rule them. I can't find any other logical explanation for putting someone as astronomically incompetent as Stephen Elop in charge of anything more than a mop & bucket (not even a gas pump or coffee machine, gas is flammable and coffee burns).

      I'd say that this guy is the Hitler of business management, but I don't think that carries the weight it once did, we're too cool with Hitlers these days. Should we go back to the Pharaoh standard?

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Worse than Carly by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Why do you dislike Greenland?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  13. Elop was a great executive by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He did exactly what he was supposed to do - ruin Nokia as an independent company so that Microsoft could swoop in.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess Microsoft wants to extend into electric cars now?

    2. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Problem there is that normally CEO should work for the good of the shareholders of the company.

      Of course in retrospect - probably unintentionally - he did so. Nokia got rid of the rapidly decomposing phone manufacturing side that was already dying (due to braindead moves before Elop even arrived), kept the profitable bits and lots of R&D staff (and will get to cherry pick the rest back when MS nukes their phone development). Eventually they'll probably go back to designing phones and letting someone else worry about manufacturing, sales and support.

      In the meanwhile, MS will keep bleeding until they finally figure out that Windows on mobile devices is not going to work.

    3. Re:Elop was a great executive by jareth-0205 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nokia was dead already, their incompetent board had ensured that by not moving when the clear threat of Android and iOS emerged. At the point Elop joined they really had only two options: take a punt on Windows (which had a chance of working) or slip into certain irrelevance with their own operating system that was too late, or become yet another Android manufacturer.

      It's popular to blame the whole thing on Elop, but it was the board of Nokia in the previous years that put the company in the dire situation where it needed something drastic.

      http://mynokiablog.com/2015/06...

    4. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, Elop accelerated the demise by telling everyone that existing Nokia stuff was DOA many many months before they had anything new to ship.

    5. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      You're ignorant - my N808 running Symbian Belle is still unrivalled as a "camera phone" with 41MP and a Zeiss lens, and my brand new Jolla Sailfish phone from the ex-Nokia crowd is the natural descendant of Meego, Maemo etc. and it runs Android apps just fine, thank you very much.
      Nokia was nowhere near dead, you're just reading from someone else's script ...

    6. Re:Elop was a great executive by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      it was still saveable at that point.

      it would have meant axing 75% of their os engineers anyways and to cut 95% of os dev subcontracting.

      they had like 3000+ staff working on symbian while 100 would have sufficed. another 1000+ on the linux stuff(these are on paper abouts numbers. actual code contributing to customer shipping product people were of course something like 5% of that). you try doing developing like that.. making a customer facing app change might involve 5+ department heads and people working in 3 companies, due to some department that was keeping some api as hostage didn't want to add something or another because that would have meant that they would have needed another department to change another api. layers like that and 3rd parties got only scrubs even if they paid nokia thousands for "support" and 700 euro per app release(later only 350!) - and yes, due to the backroom deals that were arranged to provide business to signing houses, it would cost 700 euros to make an update signed to your silly one person developed app. and before that waiting a year to get certificate to develope it in the first place.

      thats like 10x what it costs to be an android developer and update as often as you want - and the sdk isn't a piece of shit either.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    7. Re:Elop was a great executive by BoRegardless · · Score: 1

      Very good points Jareth. I have said repeatedly, that the Board of Directors ultimately sets the course for the company & it includes the CEO (or Co-CEOs in the case of RIM.)

      The BoD was truly the decision maker which refused to react to the January 2007 announcement by Steve Jobs. Had Nokia jumped on board totally at that time, it might have been Nokia rather than Google's Android that was in the top 2 mobile OS's.

    8. Re:Elop was a great executive by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

      Being yet another Android manufacturer is quite a profitable business if you make quality hardware and have the brand recognition to go with it.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    9. Re:Elop was a great executive by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      and it runs Android apps just fine, thank you very much.

      Not generally considered a good sign if you have to be 'compatible' with another ecosystem. N808 was still based off Symbian which is almost completely impenetrable to app developers - by the time Meego etc were coming it out it was too late, they were to far behind.

    10. Re:Elop was a great executive by iris-n · · Score: 2

      Two options:

      1 - Try Windows.
      2 - Insist on Symbian.
      3 - Try Android.

      I think you need to learn how to count. And how about the fourth option, Meego?

      And come on, trying Windows? In which world would it make sense to jump from a failed operating system (Symbian) to another failed operating system (Windows)? If it was an honest attempt, according to your point of you, we must conclude that Elop was not Evil (Tm), just monumentally stupid. And looking at how much money the guy made from the whole debacle, I think he is anything but monumentally stupid.

      --
      entropy happens
    11. Re:Elop was a great executive by CptPicard · · Score: 1

      Nokia had issues a long time before Elop; Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was a bean counter, not a technology visionary. The Windows Phone gambit at least enabled Nokia to offload the phone business to Microsoft...

      --
      I want to play Free Market with a drowning Libertarian.
    12. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it was still saveable at that point.

      That is highly debatable. I know the established Slashdot truth is that Elop killed Nokia, but they were tanking like a stone long before he joined, and this is why the former CEO was fired. If you look at a multi-year stock chart you can't even see where Elop joined, the same trend just continues.

      Obviously the choice of Windows Phone platform was a bet that turned out wrong in retrospect. But it is not given that running with Android would have made much difference. HTC had a similar choice, and went from betting on Windows Phone to betting on Android, still their phone business tanked. Samsung is the only Android phone vendor that is actually earning money.

      And, reducing developer cost on Symbian and Maemo would just reduce some cost, and not avoided that these platforms were dead in the water in the new app-driven market place, where most consumers chose phones based on the ecosystem and app availability, of which Symbian had next to nothing compared to iOS and Android.

    13. Re:Elop was a great executive by jareth-0205 · · Score: 0

      I think you need to learn how to count.

      Oh, you're so fucking clever!

      I'm not saying that these things couldn't have ever been successful, but at the point he was brought on iOS was established and Android well on its way to world domination, and at the point Elop joined it was just too late. In theory MS had more resources to throw - in practice they didn't of course, but at the time there were other Windows Phone manufacturers and it was more likely to succeed than Meego, that didn't even exist yet, atleast. They might have survived as an Android manufacturer, but ask Sony or HTC how much money there is in that business... They should have moved 2 years earlier, but didn't and sealed their fate.

    14. Re:Elop was a great executive by iris-n · · Score: 2

      I do agree that the situation was bleak when Elop joined; but the question is whether his actions were an honest attempt to save the company or a ploy to destroy its share value and make it easier for Microsoft to buy it.

      Ok, honest question then: do you think things could have turned out worse for Nokia than they in fact did? Was there any course of action being realistic advocated that would have made the company even more worthless than it is now?

      --
      entropy happens
    15. Re:Elop was a great executive by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      Difficult to see how it could have been worse... Atleast they got out with the rest of (non-phone) Nokia surviving and the freedom to manufacture phones again after a short delay, but apart from that it's hard to say how it could have gone worse.

      I'm not sure how it could have been much better though, I can't see a good way forward from that position using any of the other options available at the time.

    16. Re:Elop was a great executive by beefoot · · Score: 1

      That's exactly what I think of him. He executed and completed the mission given to him. Having said that, I was glad he did not become the next MSFT CEO. It would have been a big mistake for MSFT. He is not the kind of guy to turn a company around.

    17. Re:Elop was a great executive by nightfire-unique · · Score: 1

      I say this as an Android developer, former ROM maintainer, Android kernel hacker, and general supporter. I've exclusively owned Android-based devices since 1.6.

      Android sucks. It really, really sucks. It's awful.

      Nokia had a real shot with Maemo. The UI needed some reworking, and they needed to move to capacitive touchscreens. They needed beefier hardware with more RAM. But Maemo was so far ahead of Android on the system, package management and update process, and even the UI at that point, .. if they'd stuck 100 serious coders and their best PMs, along with a serious effort to build "cloud" services around it? They could have been a serious third player in today's market. If not more.

      --
      A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
    18. Re:Elop was a great executive by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      No disagreement here on the intention and the possible outcome, only the timing. They needed competent management *and* those coders, and to have started sooner.

    19. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really. Maemo at that point, thanks to the game playing by Nokia management, was a dead product because it had pissed off too many developers.

      They simply couldn't stick with an API, and the buying of Qt and in mid-stream deciding Maemo would switch to Qt was the end. App developers don't want to be told suddenly you need to rewrite a significant portion of the app because we have changed directions, particularly when you are already a struggling product against iOS and Android.

      Google is faced with the same problem with Android, the decision to base it on a virtual machine using the Java language may have looked good at the time but it has become a problem. iOS natively compiles, which makes having a core in C or C++ easy and then you call into Objective-C for the interface. While it can be done on Android, the interface between C/C++ and the virtual machine based interface is clumsier and a deterrent to the casual app developer. But, to at this point move Android to a natively compiled system is far too disruptive.

    20. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seem to be forgetting that nokia had choices back then and the rundown was basically planned before elop took the helm. he wasn't the only fucker behind the disaster. They had models that would have sold well if they would not have basically killed them on release saying "were putting out this new phone, but we will not support it."

      Not to mention nokia never even really tried to go with android. For example how samsung went about it back in the day. Just a few months before the mobile division was sold elop stated, that it's not for sale. The guy is a hack and a scapegoat. nothing more.

    21. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      and it runs Android apps just fine, thank you very much.

      Not generally considered a good sign if you have to be 'compatible' with another ecosystem. N808 was still based off Symbian which is almost completely impenetrable to app developers - by the time Meego etc were coming it out it was too late, they were to far behind.

      Wasn't N900 doing better than Win phones even with minimal advertising?

    22. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Had Nokia jumped on board totally at that time, it might have been Nokia rather than Google's Android that was in the top 2 mobile OS's.

      This wouldn't be possible. Even if all the operating system stuff went perfect, there's still issue how to build millions of phones required for that market share. Once symbian plans were gone, they simply didn't have enough parts for the hardware to keep up with the demand. Or have your heard any rumours that Microsoft would have millions of unsold phones hidden somewhere in a storage space? I don't think so, which means the reason they lost market share was because they can't build that many phones any longer. It actually takes significant effort to build that many phones year after year... If they ramped down their manufacturing operations, they wouldnt have a chance to create the necessary phones.

    23. Re:Elop was a great executive by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      I see two big errors on Nokia's part.
      1. The lack of CDMA phones.
      2. Not developer friendly.
      3. No sense of urgency.

      The first kept Nokia off of Verizon and Sprint in the US. Verizon at the time was the number one carrier and Sprint number 3. Sure you could be on AT&T but Nokia phones in general were not marketed well in the US. Like it or not the US market is a large and influential market.
      The second was simple you had to pay money "and not a little" to develop for Symbian. You just where not going to get a Foursquare or instagram with those prices.
      3. Says it all Nokia reminded me of Palm in that way.

      Could Nokia have gone forward with Linux/QT? Maybe. Could Nokia gone forward with Android and QT? I really think they could have. Windows Phone? If they had ported QT to that platform to keep their developers happy maybe. Honestly Nokia hardware and camera with the Android ecosystem would be joy.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    24. Re:Elop was a great executive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you even read the linked blog article in TFS? Tomi's cred is unassailable, but there is unfortunately not much to go on in your case.

  14. "world class technology company" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "world class technology company" could easily mean "Microsoft subsidiary". It can not, however, mean "run into the ground". And we all know that those two are the only option when this guy is involved.

    Conclusion: "Microsoft subsidiary" is the intended meaning.

  15. Telstra. You will be assimilated. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is Telstra gonna be given the Nokia treatment?

  16. Telstra? Forefront of the rear of the pack? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Telstra? Get real, as if they could literally get any worse.

    Guaranteed speeds of 9600bps they said!
    Massive side-step from their responsibilities while the NBN gets rolled out ($91bn).

  17. Odd choice by Gumbercules!! · · Score: 1

    Seems like odd choices, all round, frankly.

    For Stephen, he's gone from CEO of Nokia (massive global brand) to head of a large division at Microsoft (massive Global brand) to kind of "some guy" at Telstra. A company everyone in Australia has heard of, sure - but probably no one else.

    For Tesltra, it's like picking a guy who keeps failing (and you can certainly argue for issue outside of his control - but you could argue against that, too). I get there's more to it than this but I have to say, this seems a bit weird, all around.

    1. Re:Odd choice by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Seems like odd choices, all round, frankly.

      You're talking about a company who's former CEO was a nuclear physicist. Nothing really surprises me anymore.

  18. Re:Technology and Australia by Tapewolf · · Score: 2

    Among other things, Australia's technological achievements include WiFi, which you quite likely used to write your message.

  19. The lovely game of corporate psychopaths by blind+biker · · Score: 2

    Jumping from one executive position into the other, no matter what the quality of their work.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:The lovely game of corporate psychopaths by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      They should have seen if Mehdi Ali was available.

  20. Dear Telstra. It has been nice knowing you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Prepare to be bought and destroyed by Microsoft.
    {given his track record}

  21. Part of a bigger plan? by Sad+Loser · · Score: 1

    This is interesting as they have also bought a UK health intelligence company (which wasn't really) called Dr Foster, and also imported the ex-head of the NHS IT and informatics - Tim Kelsey who is an ex-journalist rather than a techie.
    I can see why they want to build up non-primary industry services that can be exported.
    However

    I speak as an Australian when I say that Australia is not very smart about who to hire externally and they tend to go for names rather than capabilities, although these people may be hired for their ability to sell. Unfortunately Telstra is like the Australian car and supermarket industries - an effective monopoly with poor products and (historically) poor engineering and so what they should be doing is pulling in top-end engineering talent.

    --
    Humorous signatures are over-rated.
    1. Re:Part of a bigger plan? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whilst I don't like Telstra as a business and a supplier, you think their engineering historically is bad?

      The fact that ADSL2+ can run on such long & very old copper is a testament to their engineering capabilities. Their services for the most part are stable, considering how little money management put into fixing the now patchwork infrastructure. Historically their engineering was top notch - especially as a government owned entity. Lately - not so much.

  22. He cant make it much worse by jonwil · · Score: 1

    Telstra are already one of the crappiest telcos in Australia (and a company I have as little as possible to do with), I cant see how Elop could make things any worse.

    1. Re:He cant make it much worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I cant see how Elop could make things any worse.

      Your lack of vision is why he gets the job and not you.

  23. Fewww... Not Tesla! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At first I quickly read Elop going to Tesla... Now that would have been a shame...

  24. Re:Technology and Australia by jonwil · · Score: 3, Informative

    Australia has a long history of innovation and inventions. Some of the ones you may have heard of include:
    The black box flight recorder
    Spray-on skin for burn victims
    The heart pacemaker
    Plastic bank notes
    The bionic ear
    The electric drill
    WiFi
    The medical ultrasound machine
    The cervical cancer vaccine
    The boomerang
    The hills hoist
    The stubby holder
    Ugg Boots
    The Esky
    The Ute
    The Victa lawn mower
    The wine cask

    And that's just some of the things Aussies have invented over the years.

  25. Stockholm syndrome by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    I know Telstra is about the most expensive internet in the country but I never realised how bad the entry country was until I moved away.

    Well I'm sure he'll be no worse than having a nuclear physicist running the place.

  26. Too much corporate politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is way too much corporate politics at Telstra for this guy to succeed so in effect, he's doomed before he's started. Kind of feel sorry for him.

    1. Re:Too much corporate politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed, this is just adult daycare.

  27. Definitely not "COMMUNICATION errors" by jsse · · Score: 1

    In the first article the blogger defined Elop Effect as "COMMUNICATION errors" - ditching Symbian before Windows phone was ready. HELL, NO, it's not merely a COMMUNICATION errors". He's a former employee of Microsoft, and he has his track-record of destroying Macromedia (plummeted its stock values, and then sold it to Adobe) when he was also the CEO of this company. His mission was very well-known in telecommunication world: molesting Nokia from inside so that it could agreed to sleep with Microsoft as a cheap whore.

    If anybody asked me what Elop Effect is: hostile take-over of a company by sending them an infiltrator CEO.

  28. At least he's experienced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Once again I find myself standing on on a burning platform..."

  29. Pissed Aussie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fucking Australia outsource all the top jobs to non Australians

  30. Confusion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I first skimmed the headline, I thought iti said Elon and Tesla instead of Elop and Telstra. I was a bit confused...

  31. There is a clear pattern in Elop's career by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

    First Nokia, Espoo, Finland
    Then Microsoft, Redmond, USA
    Now Telstra, Melbourne, Australia

    His final destination is for sure Amudsen-Scott base, Antarctica

    1. Re:There is a clear pattern in Elop's career by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, Nokia wasn't first. He was a Microsoft employee before Nokia (and after, and of course during). Before that, he helped Macromedia die and before that, was CIO of Boston Chicken when it choked.

      There is a pattern though and it is that he is skilled at downsizing companies, to a size of zero. This makes me wonder if Telstra needs to cut off a few extra limbs and torsos. With Nokia, Elop was hired to make deep cuts and also to use his existing connections to Microsoft (which turns out to have negative value). As a foreigner with no emotional ties to Nokia, no Finnish pride that would make it hard to fire large portions of the company, Elop had an easier time downsizing than an insider would have. Perhaps Telstra is seeking his ability to cut without hesitation and to smile so genuinely throughout the painful periods through which he drives companies.

      Elop has a future anywhere in the world where there is a company run by people who want it destroyed.

  32. Re:Technology and Australia by fnj · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Trying to pin down THE "inventor" of almost all of those devices is futile. A case in point is who "invented" the airplane - your first hurdle is simply defining "airplane" - and, does it have to be powered? - and piloted? A Greek by the name of Archytas was reputed to have flown a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of steam for some 200 metres, around 400 BC. Manned gliders were experimented with as early as the 9th century AD. Sir George Cayley was flying glider models that were essentially the full embodiment of the modern conception of airplanes (sans power plants) - in 1803 or 1804. He built a manned glider that flew successfully in 1853. Cayley may have performed powered flight in 1901, though definitive documentation is lacking.

    Eyewitness accounts say the New Zealander Richard Pearse took off in his engine-powered monoplane in 1902 or 1903 and flew 300 metres - something (take off under their own power) which the Wrights did NOT accomplish in their first flight at the very end of 1903.

    Contemporary reports exist that Gustave Whitehead flew over 2 km in 1901. His craft was not just an airplane, but a flying car. It had two engines driving two propellers, plus a third engine for terrestrial driving. On March 8, 2013, "Jane's All the World's Aircraft" formally recognized this achievement, after years of discrediting.

    I did look up the Australian "pacemaker". It was a 1926 machine that had to be plugged into a wall socket. It had one skin pad plus one needle which had to be plunged through the chest wall into the heart. But it did work, and was capable of resuscitating patients from cardiac arrest, after which its use could be terminated. A Canadian produced a fully transcutaneous pacemaker in 1950. It was heavy, plugged into a wall socket, and rather uncomfortable, because of the heavy shocking action, like today's external defibrillators. In 1958 a USAian, Bakken, produced the first wearable external pacemaker, using transcutaneous leads embedded in the heart. Proper implantable pacemakers followed.

    I am satisfied to consider that brilliant people of many nations and cultures have all participated in developing and perfecting many useful things.

  33. Pity poor Telstra by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Watch as they get hollowed out and carved up, ripe for a buyout.

    1. Re:Pity poor Telstra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They must have been planning for this already. Why else would they hire Elop? That's what he does.

  34. Fast to learn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems that Elop has learned two new skills since his Nokia days

  35. Re:Technology and Australia by mito · · Score: 1

    and Trumpet Winsock by Peter Tattam from Tasmania, Australia

  36. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...more interesting in soccer and beer.

    Beer I'll give you, but soccer? Have you ever been here? At least you didn't call it football.

  37. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and Samba and rsync by Andrew Tridgell.

  38. When technology becomes self-serving, it Elopes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pun is over. Nothing to be read here.

  39. Goat became gardener :-D by hubbajub · · Score: 1

    I can smell another burning platform...

    1. Re:Goat became gardener :-D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Arsonist hired as Fire Chief

  40. Impressions by dingleberrie · · Score: 1

    I think of Australia as the country with the worlds most deadly animals. This seems to fit with that.

  41. Giggling in the back row by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Me? I must be front rooow

  42. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would like to bring attention to Fairlight CMI - first real sampling synthesizer which came out 1980 and undoubtedly opened whole new world to music makers and very much contributed to what 80's music came about. After a while Fairlight CMI's use in studios became so ubiquitous that some artists underlined that it was not used making of the record, in a style bit like Queen which records stated "No synthesizers" even though Brian Mays guitar may well have qualified one :)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairlight_CMI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOlPCpSmhRM

    It's really hard to think what 80's pop/rock/experimental music would have been without Fairlight CMI.

  43. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The wine cask, really? You are speaking of wooden barrels created from staves and metal hoops, or do you mean some modern polymar jug of some type?

    I'm a big fan of Australia, but come on... This claim is on par with South Africa saying it invented the Didgeridoo/Yidaki and then showing us a plastic Vuvuzela.

  44. Re:Technology and Australia by ausekilis · · Score: 1

    I suppose they have to get creative when 95% of the animals/arachnids/insects are at least 10x the size of the same creature elsewhere in the world... and they're poisonous enough to kill people.

    I don't know how plastic bank notes helps people survive... nor would I go around bragging "we made uggs!" ;-)

  45. Re:Technology and Australia by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 1

    Don't forget the insanely awesome (at the time) Fairlight CMI.

  46. you would think Solomon Dennis Trujillo killed 'em by swschrad · · Score: 2

    he had his best shot at taking Telestra down by the lawyers. Telestra seems to be the dumping ground for losers in suits.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
  47. Now I see the sexism. by mbkennel · · Score: 1

    Carly Fiorina never got an important job again after ruining HP.

    WTF does this turd get something?

  48. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also invented:
    - "knifey spoony" game
    - shrimp on the barbie
    - Fosters beair
    - "cunt" as a friendly noun
    - reverse-spin toilette

  49. Well, they're fucked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If there's anything to learn from this guy, it's DON'T HIRE HIM - It will be the end of your company

  50. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looser land? Looser than what? A poorly tied knot? I did not know that Australian men were into soccer - I mean, their national team sucks to high heaven, anyway. As for their interests, is it not talking about Australia the quip "the land where men are men, and the sheep are afraid"?

  51. Re:Technology and Australia by Lennie · · Score: 1

    Andrew was forced to do it, because nobody else in the world had the same problem. Australia is just that bad.

    Here is an old talk from him:
    "So the core of rsync is this algorithm that I call the rsync algorithm. And it solves this problem, the remote update problem. Now the remote update problem is basically: you have two computers connected by a very high latency, very low bandwidth link... a typical Internet link, at least if you're in Australia. So, a piece of wet string, a really pathetic link... and you've got two files."

    http://olstrans.sourceforge.ne...

    If you prefer to hear him talk about rsync instead of reading, there are recordings of that talk as well. I'm sure you can search for it.

    --
    New things are always on the horizon
  52. Re:Technology and Australia by Namarrgon · · Score: 1

    Also called box wine.

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
  53. Telstra wants Elop to downsize. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some of the comments make it seem like Telstra is ineptly hiring an incompetent idiot. But they know exactly what Elop has been successful at and what he hasn't, and they're interested in hiring him for the former and not the latter. They want someone who can make deep cuts, "innovate" creative excuses for them, and take the fall for them instead of blaming the current management.

  54. Re:Technology and Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, that's....Sorry, what country are you from again?

  55. Oh thank god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Elop will do what the Australian people have been unable to achieve over god knows how many decades. Good on 'em!