@ObligatoryChickCommenter: There is no room for negotiation on this point for any company with fiduciary responsibilities.
Apple made up the word "iPod." Letting anyone use it without approval will risk the word becoming the next "xerox" or "kleenex." Btw..."google" is not far behind...but as "google" is an actual word, it would be harder to control.
I know for a fact Steve reads at least some of his emails.
When 3gs came out there was something terribly wrong with my order that I won't go into detail here. I was fed up so I emailed him. Two days later, an Apple Exec Customer Service supervisor was calling me, emailing me, at my feet, every day until my problem was fixed. The guy even gave me his direct cell phone. Two weeks after it was all done, he called again to make sure everything was alright.
My point is, he could have easily afforded to ignore me, but didn't.
Just because he keeps his mouth shut doesn't mean he doesn't care.
@crackel: Riiiiight. Like he hasn't got a flock of flunkies somewheres filtering his inbox. He reads every single one of the hundreds (thousands?) he receives every day.That being said, this is a good customer-service-makes-good story.
@Yournamehere!: a good CEO of a company is wise to stay in touch with his customer base. Whether he reads every single email or replies every time is immaterial, if people realized he would THEN he'd be getting loads of mail. This way, he does just enough to get people to reach out to him yet not get barraged with a billion "where's copy and paste" emails.
So the fact remains that there may be some filtering going on, but judging by his ego, he may just want to see everything at any given point.
I do have another story about emailing him but the coincidence-after-the-fact was so great that even I doubt it's true :)
@crackel: I don't doubt that he might have seen your email. Just sayin' I'd lay odds that it was more likely an astute assistant with the power to actually get something done on his/her own. Anything coming out of the White House / PMO (that's Prime Minister's Office up here in Canada) has heft, unregardless (ya I know) of whether the Pres/PM actually initiated the action in the first place.
@Yournamehere!: right, understood. In my case, certainly possible. But when Steve replies to an email, I HIGHLY doubt that he authorized anyone to do it on his behalf, judging by his leadership style.
I'm 39 years old and I own every movie Pixar has made to date. I'm itching for the originals to come out on Blu Ray so I can buy them again, and I'm on my way now to buy Up. I'm by no means a fan of animated movies, cartoons, CGI movies, etc., but I am a huge fan of Pixar movies. I've watched Monsters Inc. (still my favorite) countless times, and laughed my ass off with other adults at the best scenes in that movie (sometimes with a little help from adult beverages). Another favorite is Finding Nemo.
What attracts me to Pixar movies is that perfect blend of every key element - imagery, animation, story, humor, acting, and character depth. They nail EVERY SINGLE ASPECT, EVERY TIME. It's truly unbelievable.
At the same time, I have no interest whatsoever in animated movies from the other CGI studios, like Dreamworks (Shrek is oohhkayy, but I refuse to watch Open Season). Tried, but just can't get into these other movies.
Wouldn't "iRecover" or something similar make it seem less dodgy. I have used the product, I think it is great, and it is not really a "rip" - it is just a way to salvage your legally purchased music.
It's kind of funny. If Steve Balmer had sent this email, everyone on Gizmodo would be saying what a gigantic dick he is. Steve Jobs does it, and he's so "straight-forward".
You know, just the other day someone cut me off in traffic to which I responded by honking at them. They then rolled down their window and shouted at me "Up yours, assface" and I thought "How helpful that he was so direct and succinct in expressing his viewpoint. God forbid he bore me with a long detailed discussion on the many ways in which I'm an assface or even waste my time with helpful on how I may avoid future assfacery. I appreciate his straight-forwardness!"
Look, I'm not saying that Apple shouldn't defend it's trademarks or whatever -- just that anyone applauding this response has a SERIOUS blind spot for Apple and Steve Jobs. If you don't shake your head at that response and think anything other than "Jesus, what a gigantic dick" -- then you are a fanboy.
If you're ok with that, then carry on. Otherwise, take this opportunity to assess why exactly the neurons that allow rational thought and dissent go on vacation and maybe find a way to prevent that in the future.
@Jrsy Devil's Advocate®: Why overcomplicate what he wants to say? The first email is just waffling on... The second and the last sentance is all that really needs to be said about the matter.
@Gordon McAlpin: Sorry I didn't feel like scrolling through my font archive nor did I want to spend more than a couple mins on it. However, feel free to make your own.
Funny that Steve didn't give himself the same advice when Apple came up with the name "iPhone" and another company owned the rights to that name. Still, an amusing little story.
@smcallah: Adding to your background, you must also remember that Apple started using the name "iPhone" before they had any rights to do so and before they had even opened a dialogue with Cisco. That is why Cisco ended up being paid so much - partially for the name, partially for the arrogance of someone (ahem) at Apple who didn't even ask to use the name first.
@Monty: adding to yours, this man used the iPod without persmission or rights to do so for a full 6 years. Is it due to arrogance as you say with Apple using the term iPhone? I don't think so. Apple had enough money to challenge or buy the rights to the name, and this man didn't. So he was told simply to change it.
If companys didn't challenge their copyrights then they would lose them. Most don't have the intention to harm, just protect what is theirs.
This app can go by any name, but an iPhone by any other name isn't as sweet.
@madog: I was merely pointing out the hypocrisy, not arguing whether either side was right or wrong or had the financial or legal right/need to do so - but I certainly understand your point.
@Monty: wasn't the cisco copyright for a product that no longer exists or something apple was unaware of ? i thought i read that whenever the lawsuit came out.
not that ignorance of an existing copyright makes them right, but it's easier to understand over someone using the name ipod when it's such a recognizable product line.
@robotonist: We were having discussions long before the announcement about this new rumored "phone" Apple was working on and what it might be called. Most everyone was in agreement that it should be called the "iPhone" except we knew the name was already the property of Cisco - so we tossed out other possible names. As soon as Apple labeled it the "iPhone" the rumor mills started going crazy about how Apple would pull that off. Some speculated that Apple would claim it is an entirely different product since it was on cellular networks instead of WiFi (which I suspect Apple used in their discussions with Cisco), but that was not realistic when we learned the iPhone would use WiFi and may support VOIP at some point. Bottom line - Apple very much knew they did not have rights to the name, but made a calculated decision to have public opinion recognize their product as the iPhone and force Cisco's hand. It was a brilliant corporate move.
11/20/09
Steve
Sent from my iPhone, sitting in my Mercedes, in a handicap parking spot.
11/20/09
11/20/09
Using a trademarked name in their product, no matter how innocent, is not allowed. Which part of that is hard to grasp?
11/20/09
11/20/09
Apple made up the word "iPod." Letting anyone use it without approval will risk the word becoming the next "xerox" or "kleenex." Btw..."google" is not far behind...but as "google" is an actual word, it would be harder to control.
A lesson any smart company would try to avoid.
11/20/09
When 3gs came out there was something terribly wrong with my order that I won't go into detail here. I was fed up so I emailed him. Two days later, an Apple Exec Customer Service supervisor was calling me, emailing me, at my feet, every day until my problem was fixed. The guy even gave me his direct cell phone. Two weeks after it was all done, he called again to make sure everything was alright.
My point is, he could have easily afforded to ignore me, but didn't.
Just because he keeps his mouth shut doesn't mean he doesn't care.
11/20/09
11/20/09
So the fact remains that there may be some filtering going on, but judging by his ego, he may just want to see everything at any given point.
I do have another story about emailing him but the coincidence-after-the-fact was so great that even I doubt it's true :)
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/19/09
What attracts me to Pixar movies is that perfect blend of every key element - imagery, animation, story, humor, acting, and character depth. They nail EVERY SINGLE ASPECT, EVERY TIME. It's truly unbelievable.
At the same time, I have no interest whatsoever in animated movies from the other CGI studios, like Dreamworks (Shrek is oohhkayy, but I refuse to watch Open Season). Tried, but just can't get into these other movies.
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
[www.appleautoglass.com]
11/19/09
"Fuck off and do what you are told to."
Wait...that's the same length.
11/19/09
11/19/09
It's kind of funny. If Steve Balmer had sent this email, everyone on Gizmodo would be saying what a gigantic dick he is. Steve Jobs does it, and he's so "straight-forward".
You know, just the other day someone cut me off in traffic to which I responded by honking at them. They then rolled down their window and shouted at me "Up yours, assface" and I thought "How helpful that he was so direct and succinct in expressing his viewpoint. God forbid he bore me with a long detailed discussion on the many ways in which I'm an assface or even waste my time with helpful on how I may avoid future assfacery. I appreciate his straight-forwardness!"
Look, I'm not saying that Apple shouldn't defend it's trademarks or whatever -- just that anyone applauding this response has a SERIOUS blind spot for Apple and Steve Jobs. If you don't shake your head at that response and think anything other than "Jesus, what a gigantic dick" -- then you are a fanboy.
If you're ok with that, then carry on. Otherwise, take this opportunity to assess why exactly the neurons that allow rational thought and dissent go on vacation and maybe find a way to prevent that in the future.
11/19/09
Eschew surplusage.
11/19/09
Then you'll find this extremely refreshing:
You're an idiot.
11/19/09
But you're still a dick.
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
Gee thats still better then the one he sent me
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
If the company making iPodRip had the money to pay Apple to use the iPod name, then they could have.
So Jobs didn't need to take his advice in the iPhone's case, since he has deep pockets.
11/19/09
11/19/09
If companys didn't challenge their copyrights then they would lose them. Most don't have the intention to harm, just protect what is theirs.
This app can go by any name, but an iPhone by any other name isn't as sweet.
11/19/09
11/20/09
#tips
11/20/09
not that ignorance of an existing copyright makes them right, but it's easier to understand over someone using the name ipod when it's such a recognizable product line.
11/20/09
11/19/09