Apple management shake-up – iOS software chief Forstall and retail boss Browett both given the boot

Apple announced some big changes at the top of the company on Monday, with long-time Apple employee and iOS software chief Scott Forstall and retail boss John Browett both removed from their positions.

Apple has kicked the week off with a major management shake-up, with iOS software chief Scott Forstall and retail boss John Browett both given the boot.

News of the departures was announced in a statement on Apple’s website on Monday. While Browett appears to have had his contract terminated with immediate effect, Forstall will stay on in an advisory role until 2013.

The precise reason for Forstall’s departure isn’t clear, though many will point to the disastrous rollout of Apple’s iOS 6 Maps app last month as a possible factor. But with Forstall an integral, long-established member of the Apple team – he joined the tech giant back in 1997 – it’s hard to believe he’d get dumped over one misstep.

The decision to end Browett’s tenure with the company, though somewhat surprising considering the Brit had only been in the job a matter of months, may be more clear cut.

Browett was recruited from British electronics retail chain Dixons in January and was Tim Cook’s first major hire after becoming CEO in 2011 following the death of Steve Jobs. “Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” Cook said at the time.

John Browett

Having streamlined Dixons’ retail business and improved its financial position, he seemed to set about doing the same with Apple’s retail business, although by all accounts it was doing OK as things were. Reports of recent hires at Apple stores being axed and existing staff having their working hours reduced hit the headlines over the summer, creating confusion and resentment among the workforce.

A short time later, the tech firm admitted that the layoffs had been the wrong thing to do and started hiring new workers again. “Making these changes was a mistake and the changes are being reversed,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement, adding, “Our employees are our most important asset and the ones who provide the world-class service our customers deserve.”

However, it hasn’t been all bad for its retail workers under Browett’s tenure, with employees at the stores reportedly receiving pay rises of as much as 25 percent as well as being offered generous discounts on Apple products.

Cook will be assuming Browett’s responsibilities until a replacement is found, Apple said in Monday’s statement.

In other changes, Apple’s design guru Jony Ive is set to take on more responsibilities, as is senior vice president Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Internet software Eddy Cue,  and vice president of Mac software engineering Craig Federighi.

UPDATE: A Wall Street Journal report late Monday suggests Forstall refused to sign the apology letter which Tim Cook issued in response to complaints about iOS Maps, which, if true, would certainly have strained the relationship between Cook and Forstall.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

The Nexus 4 was lost in a bar… Why is this so familiar?

Following in the footsteps of Apple, one of its biggest competitors, a Google employee left a Nexus 4 prototype at a bar in San Francisco. Refusing a free phone, the man who found it decided to leak details of the device to media outlets.

Turns out Apple isn’t the only one who knows how to lose a smartphone in a bar because it looks like someone at Google did the same thing. To refresh your memory, a man named Brian Hogan found an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar left behind by an Apple engineer. Hogan ended up selling it to Gizmodo for $5,000 and consequently ended up in a lot of trouble. This story ends a little differently.

The bar this time around was the 500 Club in San Francisco. It happened on a Tuesday of last month. Jamin Barton, a bartender nicknamed “Sudsy”, found the phone while closing. At first, he didn’t think anything of it.

“We find about 20 a week,” Barton told Wired. ”Most people come back for them in 15 minutes.”

But this particular phone didn’t seem like the others. Nobody came to pick it up and Barton noticed quite a few peculiar features like a lack of SIM card and a “not for sale” sticker accompanying a Google logo on the rear panel. Once he showed it to fellow 500 Club employee, Dave, it was confirmed to be the upcoming Nexus 4.

The Nexus 4 is the smartphone Google was planning to unveil in New York on October 29, but that event has since been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. And, we might add, every detail about the Nexus 4 has already been leaked, including photos of the device. It will be manufactured by LG and have a 4.7 inch display, a quad-core processor, and ship with Android 4.2. If it was meant to be a secret then Google clearly dropped the ball.

Dave took over from there, offering to call Google HQ and explain what had happened. And much like Apple, Google blew the whole thing out of proportion. Brian Katz, Google’s global investigations and intelligence manager, was sent to the 500 Club almost immediately. Dave assured Google that Barton would hand over the phone as long as whoever picked it up confirmed their affiliation with Google.

Long story short, after some drama involving a riot and the local police station, Dave handed the phone over to Katz. In exchange, Katz offered Barton a free phone if he would agree to keep the incident under wraps and not discuss it with the pubic until after the official announcement. Obviously, Barton refused the offer and was paid a freelance fee by Wired for providing photos published alongside the article. Looks like isn’t the only one that’s lost control of its secrets. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Whole shipment of iPhone 5s stolen from French airport

Just before the Japanese launch of the iPhone 5, three stores were robbed of a total of 191 units. Then about a week ago, an employee of a London O2 store made off with an entire shipment of 250 iPhone 5s, which are worth about £100,000.

Now there’s a report that on Tuesday there was yet another major iPhone 5 theft, which occurred in France. The number of units stolen wasn’t confirmd, but the whole thing played out like a heist movie.

The iPhone 5 shipment was being loaded on a plane at Marignane airport when three armed robbers blocked the vehicle used to load the plane with two BMWs. The gunmen then forced the driver to follow the two cars and a Renault Master that lead the way.

About 10km down the road, the robbers stopped and loaded the shipment (which also included a number of Apple laptops) in the van. After they were done, they set the airport’s truck on fire and drove off.

The police investigating is ongoing.

Note: the image above is not an actual photo of the incident, just a photo of something being loaded on a plane with a quickly photoshopped Apple logo.

Source (in French)

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Microsoft gives away Surface RT tablets, Windows Phone 8 devices and Windows PCs to employees

Microsoft just decided to go Santa Claus on all its full-time employees. At the annual Microsoft employee event, CEO Steve Ballmer announced that each of the 90,000 or so full-time employees will be getting a host of freebies, including a Surface RT tablet, Windows Phone 8 device and a Windows PC.

This is not the first time Microsoft decided to lavishly appraise its employees. The last time they did this was when Windows Phone 7 was announced and each employee received a free device.

Regarding the Windows Phone 8 device, it’s not clear which one it would be but it’s not hard to guess that it mostly like be the Lumia 920. As for the Window PC, it could be a desktop PC, a notebook or a tablet. Engadget even has a picture sent by a Microsoft employee who received a Lenovo tablet running Windows 8.

Giving away your devices to such a large number of people has its advantages. For starters the employees are up to speed with the offerings of the company and are in a better position to show off their advantages to other people. This is an easy way to let a lot of people try out your device and thus increase your prospective buyers. Of course, it also increases the goodwill among the employees.

Of course the regular folks will have to wait till October to get their hands on any of these devices.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Fan designs home office to look like a mini Apple store

Perhaps only missing an employee wearing a blue shirt, an Apple fan spent three months on an Apple store transformation in his home office.

Described in a post on an Apple fan’s personal blog, the product designer David Wu redesigned his personal study by using design elements that would be found in a typical Apple retail location. The most eye-catching element within the home office is the black pillar that stretches from floor to ceiling and incorporates the glowing, white Apple logo. In addition, Wu installed a LCD panel into the pillar that displays a high definition feed from one of his Apple TVs. The LCD display usually runs through family photos in the screensaver and Wu occasionally uses the Apple TV to play music when he’s working. In order to recreate the Fetzer Maple Wood tables in an Apple store, Wu had a replica designed for the office in addition to adding working drawers. On the desk, Wu has positioned his iMac, Apple TV and printer in addition to a cute iClock.

To the right of the pillar, Wu displays the boxes from all the Apple products that he’s purchased over the years such as iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and an AirPort Express. Above the shelving, Wu mounted a 24-inch Samsung LED television to watch 24-hour news channels. Above the television, Wu has framed a couple pictures of his family.

Along the walls, Wu mounted glass panels on all sides in order to reflect light and create the illusion of a larger room. Wu didn’t place the glass at eye level above his desk, but did line the lower portion of the wall with a red-tinted glass to provide a bit of color.  On the ceiling, Wu hung a light panel from four cables to copy the design of the Apple store.

Earlier this year, Wu attempted to launch a Kickstarter project for a new method to taking self-portraits with the iPhone and was called the eyeClick. The eyeClick was a case that wrapped around the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and allowed the user to take pictures with a remote control. The user could also attach a HD lens on the case to use the high definition camera on the back of the iPhone while still looking at the video feed on the iPhone screen. Unfortunately, Wu was only able to raise two thirds of the required investment before the end of the Kickstarter campaign.

[Photo credit: David Wu]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Rumor: Fallout 4 heads to Boston and MIT

An alleged MIT employee claims Bethesda's been scouting the school and Boston for Fallout 4.

Bethesda is going to make Fallout 4. It will do this because Bethesda and its owner, publishing umbrella ZeniMax, are businesses and they make creative works likely to make money. People liked Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. A lot. Yeah, Bethesda will probably sit down and build another irradiated wasteland for people to wander and mess about in. That’s not in question: It’s the locale that will be up in the air. The Elder Scrolls studio let you drift about Las Vegas and the District of Columbia in the past. Next time, it’ll let you act out all your post-apocalyptic Good Will Hunting fan fiction and fight a mutated Bill Belichick. Fallout 4 is headed to Boston.

So says Reddit user “Fallout4boston.” This intrepid tipster hit the aggregator community over the weekend claiming to be an MIT employee. That educational institution will figure prominently in the next Fallout game as Bethesda has reportedly paid a number of scouting visits to the campus lately.

The Boston area is called “The Commonwealth” in Fallout lore, an area as nasty and unforgiving as Pittsburgh remnants “The Pit,” but also home to the “Institute” and the “Railroad.” The Institute, built from the remnants of MIT, is an organization producing technologically advanced weapons and human-like androids that pop up in Fallout 3’s quests. The Railroad is the Institute’s sworn enemies, a group trying to free the androids. Both factions are classic Fallout, cleaver references to familiar 20^th century trappings, slightly warped. Example: The Railroad refers to the Tech Model Railroad Club, an unofficial group formed at MIT in the ‘40s remembered as the first hacker collective.

A perfect set up for a new Fallout adventure. That technological conflict is very different from past entries in the series, and the harsh coastal climate of Boston should make for a familiar but different setting. Not to mention all the hilarious accents wandering muties are bound to have!

All this is speculation though. The only official anything out there for Fallout 4 is the ZeniMax-owned URL Fallout4.com, but its owned that domain since 2004, back when Bethesda’s ownership of the series was hotly contested by Interplay.

That said, Fallout 4 will probably be a reality well before series albatross, the Fallout MMO. ZeniMax Online is hard at work on The Elder Scrolls Online. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com