A sort of slow, but rumor-filled, Tuesday. Just as we learned of alleged philosophy changes within Apple retail stores, the Genius training workbook leaked right into the hands of the media. Sure, it's kind of a weird look at the internal Apple corporate message, but the company's focus is elsewhere; like Germany.
Sure, anyone with a bit of tech industry knowledge is well aware the Apple v. Samsung case was part of a larger proxy war between Apple and Google. But spats over mobile OS supremacy notwithstanding, the two companies are about to do business; albeit indirectly. CNET is reporting Apple and Motorola (a unit of Google) are close to making a deal after squaring off over -- you guessed it -- Motorola's patents. We're only talking about Germany, though. The two could still duke it out in the U.S.
One way or another, Gizmodo has acquired a training manual for Apple retail employees. The book, featuring some rather lame cover artwork, contains references to "banned" words, psychological profiling tips, and feigned empathy. Genius' are apparently instructed to replace words like "crash," with phrases like, "stops responding." While reading through the documentation is a bit odd -- "use three Fs: Feel, Felt, and Found" -- it's not really any more weird than most corporate training material. OK, well maybe it's super weird -- but it could be much, much worse. See below.
Earlier this summer, Apple announced its lead hardware engineer, Bob Mansfield, would retire. Dan Riccio has still taken over the old post, but the company also announced Mansfield would stay on for "future projects." What that means, precisely, is still unknown, but Mansfield will report to CEO Tim Cook. Riccio, along with newly promoted sr. vice-president of software engineering Craig Federighi, will make up the executive management team.
If you're an Apple history nut with a spare $100,000 or so burning a hole in your pocket, Christie's is the place to be this October. The auction house has announced (via Computerworld) it will place an original Apple 1 machine up for sale this fall. While a prior Apple 1 sold for a whopping $374,000 through Sotheby's, this particular computer is "discounted," as it's inoperable due to missing DRAM. But hey -- if you've got that kind of cash, maybe you can pay Steve Wozniak to ride a Segway to your house and fix the thing.
Sources at The Telegraph say that Apple wants to improve its AirPlay wireless streaming technology by eliminating the need for Wi-Fi and simply allowing the iOS device to stream on its own. Though Apple has made no comment, the rumor could be plausible with Apple's purported switchover to a smaller dock connector, which could mean that Apple will rely less on an iOS device to be docked to share media.
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johntheeditor
August 29, 2012 at 7:50am
Stops responding for crash is straight out of the Microsoft Manual of Style.
