Resigned

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 09:03:29 PM. © Daring Fireball

Reading around the web an hour ago, looking for confirmation of the then-minutes-old news that Steve Jobs had resigned as CEO, I repeatedly encountered and bridled each time at use of the adjective “shocking” to describe the announcement. But my initial resentment was unwarranted. This is not out of nowhere, it’s not even unexpected. We could all see this was coming — but it is a shock.

I saw that headline and my nervous system took a jolt.

The thing to keep in mind is this: Apple tomorrow, a week from now, and next month is the exact same Apple from yesterday, a week ago, and last month. Tim Cook wasn’t named “CEO” until today, but he’s been the chief executive at the company since Jobs started this — his third — medical leave back in January, and probably even before that. Whatever Steve’s role is going forward, it’s only different in title than what it has been, in effect, for some time. Whatever it is that ails him, he’s been diminished.

It’s no coincidence that I wrote about succeeding Jobs just last month. All you need to read in that piece is the second footnote:

Perhaps this entire article could be replaced with, ?Look,it?s going to be Tim Cook, and that?s that.?

How do you replace the irreplaceable man? Like we’re seeing. An open-ended medical leave, where he retains the CEO title. A continuation of strong new products, including a major improvement to the iPad, the device that is upending the entire computer industry. The ceding of day-to-day operations and leadership to Tim Cook, his right-hand man and chosen successor. Ever-higher profiles during public product announcements of top product-focused lieutenants like Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, and Eddy Cue. It wasn’t something you could see or hear, but from the audience during this year’s WWDC keynote, it was something you could feel. Midway through, I wrote:

He’s here, but this is the first post-Steve keynote.

Apple’s products are replete with Apple-like features and details, embedded in Apple-like apps, running on Apple-like devices, which come packaged in Apple-like boxes, are promoted in Apple-like ads, and sold in Apple-like stores. The company is a fractal design. Simplicity, elegance, beauty, cleverness, humility. Directness. Truth. Zoom out enough and you can see that the same things that define Apple’s products apply to Apple as a whole. The company itself is Apple-like. The same thought, care, and painstaking attention to detail that Steve Jobs brought to questions like “How should a computer work?”, “How should a phone work?”, “How should we buy music and apps in the digital age?” he also brought to the most important question: “How should a company that creates such things function?”

Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.

Today’s announcement is just one more step, albeit a big and sad one, in a long-planned orderly transition — a transition that no one wanted but which could not, alas, be avoided. And as ever, he’s doing it his way.

So it goes.

Read The Full Article:
http://daringfireball.net/2011/08/resigned

Digg this

That Day Has Come Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple
CEO

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 07:03:42 PM. © Daring Fireball

Steve Jobs, elegant and to the point, as always:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longermeet my duties and expectations as Apple?s CEO, I would be thefirst to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if theBoard sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Appleemployee.

Reuters is reporting that Jobs has already been named chairman, and that Tim Cook has already been elected CEO.

Damn.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.macworld.com/article/161928/2011/08/steve_jobss_resignation_letter.htm
l

Digg this

WebKit Turns Ten

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 07:03:42 PM. © Daring Fireball

Matt Drance:

Today is the tenth anniversary of Apple?s open-source WebKit codebase, which powers nearly every relevant web browser and engine used today, including Safari, Chrome, and even WebOS itself.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.appleoutsider.com/2011/08/24/webkit/

Digg this

McAfee: Android Malware Problem Getting Worse

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 07:03:42 PM. © Daring Fireball

Rue Liu, Slashgear:

According to a new quarterly report from McAfee, Android has now soared to the top as the most targeted platform for malware. In only three months time, Android has gone from third most attacked platform to the first. Another recent report from Lookout claimed a similar upward climb in Android malware infected apps. […]
Malware incidences on Apple?s iOS have been so negligible that it has not made the list.

Remember the old argument about Apple platforms not getting malware only because they weren’t popular enough to attract attention?

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.slashgear.com/mcafee-android-malware-problem-getting-worse-now-most-ta
rgeted-platform-24174009/

Digg this

While the Cats Away, the Mice Shall Play

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 03:03:16 PM. © Daring Fireball

Merlin Mann’s guest co-host on this week’s Back to Work: Jonathan Coulton. Last week’s Rob Corddry. Not bad.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://5by5.tv/b2w/30

Digg this

U.S. Department of Justice: Google Forfeits $500
Million Generated by Online Ads and Prescription Drug Sales by Canadian Online Pharmacies

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 02:03:45 PM. © Daring Fireball

Don’t be evil.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/August/11-dag-1078.html

Digg this

9/11 Memorial App to Be iPad-Exclusive

post from Daring Fireball on 24 August 2011 02:03:45 PM. © Daring Fireball

Interesting perspective:

?The iPad is the single fastest selling consumer device in the history of consumer electronics,? he said. ?There are 30 million now on the market. What?s more limited? A beautiful glossy photo book that sits in Barnes & Noble, or something that?s free and on a device that lots of people have??

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.observer.com/2011/08/911-memorial-app-to-be-ipad-exclusive/

Digg this

Arcade style 3-D shooter Total Turret is now
available for iPhone

Sky Shark Studios LLC today presents the iPhone version of Total Turret, their arcade style 3-D shooter that was previously available for iPad only. The game features classic turret defense gameplay combined with the intense action and strategy. In Total Turret users should strategically plan their campaign to withstand enemy unit tanks and successfully complete the mission using a variety of tactics and available weapons in Survival and Campaign modes.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-29918.htm

Digg this

DistinctDev Expands Its Franchise With Major
Releases

Creators of The Moron Test expand their horizons after two years of chart-topping success and cross-platform expansion. DistinctDev today announced the release of 'Skip Day', the highly-anticipated Section 5 of The Moron Test, while simultaneously launching the iPad version of their flagship title. The team that created one of the most recognizable names in gaming is also debuting their beloved Turtle character as a limited edition plush toy.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-29917.htm

Digg this

Zevrix BatchOutput for InDesign at 50% off on
MacZOT - August 25

Zevrix Solutions announces that BatchOutput, its popular professional solution to automate printing, exporting and post-processing from Adobe InDesign, is available at 50% off on MacZOT tomorrow, August 25. Developed originally for a major ad agency in Canada to boost productivity of its prepress department, BatchOutput offers output of multiple files, single pages output, link auto-update, PDF preflighting, variable file names, file delivery and other workflow automation solutions.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-29916.htm

Digg this