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Apple Hardware News Technology

Apple Transitions Hardware Leadership 108

redletterdave writes "Apple will begin transitioning the leadership role within its hardware engineering department, now that Bob Mansfield, who led the engineering of many of Apple's most successful products since 2005, has decided to retire. Apple was quick to name Dan Riccio — currently the VP of hardware engineering for the iPad — as Mansfield's successor, mentioning that Riccio will learn the new role over several months. During that time, the hardware engineering team will continue to report to Mansfield."
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Apple Transitions Hardware Leadership

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  • Wait (Score:3, Funny)

    by Sav1or ( 2600417 ) on Saturday June 30, 2012 @02:46PM (#40506251)
    I thought Steve Jobs invented everything, designed everything, fixed everything and sold everything at every apple store in the world.
    • by Anonymous Coward
      No, he just took credit for all of that.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    the year of the linux diskterp!

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Is this the Borg Collective Press?

  • now apple needs a real desktop or at the very lest least a imac with a EASY TO GET TO HDD SLOTs. NO other AIO makes you take the screen off to change the HDD and most of them have at least 2 hdd slots.

    And don't replace the hdd with a SDD on a card.

    The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.

    But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays

    • Every one of your proposals sounds like pretty much the exact opposite of what you would put the guy with the iPad experience in charge of...
      • by chrish ( 4714 )

        Seriously; look at the new MacBook Pro "Retina", it's entirely disposable. You can't upgrade or replace the RAM, disk or battery, the three things you'd need to touch in a laptop to keep using it for more than a couple of years.

        I've been buying Mac laptops since the iBook G4, but if this is the new normal, forget it. Not looking forward to trying to find a decent PC laptop though, everyone seems to have ten billion slightly different and incomprehensibly named models...

        • Seriously; look at the new MacBook Pro "Retina", it's entirely disposable. You can't upgrade or replace the RAM, disk or battery, the three things you'd need to touch in a laptop to keep using it for more than a couple of years.

          I've been buying Mac laptops since the iBook G4, but if this is the new normal, forget it. Not looking forward to trying to find a decent PC laptop though, everyone seems to have ten billion slightly different and incomprehensibly named models...

          So buy one of the other two MBPs instead. Everyone wringing their hands over the MBPwRD is carefully avoiding that that option exists. And there is a VERY good reason why Apple did it that way.

    • Mac users know better than to open their computers. You might untangle the interwebs in there.

      • by gmhowell ( 26755 )

        Mac users know better than to open their computers. You might untangle the interwebs in there.

        Opening the box lets out the magic smoke. Everyone knows this.

    • now apple needs a real desktop or at the very lest least a imac with a EASY TO GET TO HDD SLOTs. NO other AIO makes you take the screen off to change the HDD and most of them have at least 2 hdd slots.

      These days, are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives. USB 2 works pretty well, FireWire 800 is fantastic, and Thuderbolt is supposed to wipe with the floor with FW800. I'm sure the next iMac will have USB 3.

      External drives work fine for a desktop. It's not like years ago when if you didn't have SCSI the performance was terrible.

      And don't replace the hdd with a SDD on a card.

      I seriously doubt Apple would do that for the iMac. On the laptops you do it for space reasons, but on a 23" or 27" computer you have plenty of space to spare.

      The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.

      The point of the mini is that it's a tiny quite computer on the cheap (compared to full sized Apple models, not low end PCs). Why does it need to be bigger? And you're not supposed to need to open the case. What percentage of normal computer buyers do you think ever open their computer? At this point, laptops sell the best and can't be opened. They just have a slot or two that can be accessed through a panel. I'll agree that upgrading the older minis was terrible (I don't know if it's improved, I doubt it), but Apple markets and treats their computers like sealed appliances, and most people don't seem to care.

      But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays.

      For $1200 the base iMac is a great computer. The graphics are fine for 95% of users. You can easily expand the storage with all the ports mentioned above. A fair number of people upgrade the RAM or hard drive in their computers, but almost no one buys expansion cards. The most common reason seems to be to get some new port (like USB 2 when that came out, or USB 3 now) and you can do that with Thunderbolt.

      Apple has all the large market bases covered, and then some. The DIY Mac may appeal to /.ers, but I seriously doubt they'd sell. I can tell you users love the integrated easy to use appliance like setup of the current iMacs. I use one for development every day at work, and it's fantastic. Most people (both for person or work reasons) buy laptops anyway.

      What kind of user would switch to the Mac for that? People who want to play games? Because the game selection on OS X isn't that great, and usually runs months behind Windows, if the games every come. When the latest graphics card comes out, there wouldn't even be drivers. No one is going to use it as a server, Apple clearly isn't interested in that (and I don't blame them, it's not a big market, and you can just use a Mac Pro if you really want one).

      So your market is DIY people, who aren't hardcore gamers, who don't want a server, but do want a desktop. That's a tiny fraction of people. The Mac Pro is probably a rounding error in Apple's computer sales, and it has a decently sized market of professionals. But with Thunderbolt, some of the reasons for using a Pro (such as high speed interconnect to a RAID for video editing) can now be covered by the iMac.

      Face it, the Mac Pro is what you want, you just don't want to pay the price. I don't blame you, it's not targeted at individuals and the price reflects that (by a good margin). But really, Apple has been ignoring the requests for the Mac Pro Mini for most of a decade, and it doesn't seem to have hurt their business at all. It's clearly not necessary.

      • are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives

        The people who make good Apple customers are the same ones who like to have the hood of their car welded shut.

        • by jedrek ( 79264 ) on Sunday July 01, 2012 @08:02AM (#40509877) Homepage

          are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives

          The people who make good Apple customers are the same ones who like to have the hood of their car welded shut.

          You shoot that off as a derogatory comment, and that's why you're missing the reality of modern life. I've never done anything with my car mechanics-wise in the past 6 years other than top up fluids, replace a headlamp and change a flat. I'm neither technically inept, rich or foolish - I'm just an adult.

          See, my reality is that I work pretty hard, earn a decent living and it is easier and cheaper for me to hand my car over to a competent mechanic to fix it, that it is for me to a) diagnose the problem, b) buy the tools, c) source the part(s), d) find a space to fix it and, finally, e) do the work. I am by no means technically inept, I just don't find car repair interesting in the least. And by that measure, I can understand people who don't find computer repair/upgrade skills to be of any value to them. They're not worse, they're just interested in other things than you are.

          • but with apple basic stuff like top up fluids, replace a headlamp and change a flat. On some models can only be done at the dealer (aka apple store) with a much longer trun around time.

            • but with apple basic stuff like top up fluids, replace a headlamp and change a flat. On some models can only be done at the dealer (aka apple store) with a much longer trun around time.

              That analogy is only relevant if you can provide the car analogy to computer glossary.

          • The people who make good Apple customers are the same ones who like to have the hood of their car welded shut.

            You shoot that off as a derogatory comment...

            I do, and it's aimed at you.

        • are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives

          The people who make good Apple customers are the same ones who like to have the hood of their car welded shut.

          NASCAR drivers?

        • are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives

          The people who make good Apple customers are the same ones who like to have the hood of their car welded shut.

          Really? I've been using Apple computers exclusively (unless forced not to by employers) since my Apple 1 in 1976. I use them for everything from embedded software and hardware development to everyday computing tasks.

          I also work on my own cars, TVs, stereos, DVD players, computers (yes, my Macs), microwave ovens, Air Conditioners, plumbing, house wiring, carpentry, roofing, et FUCKING cetera.

          So NOW what?

          • You're not a good Apple customer, you will be gone soon enough. Because you actually have a brain.

            • You're not a good Apple customer, you will be gone soon enough. Because you actually have a brain.

              Well, I WILL die eventually; but since I have used Apple computers exclusively since 1976 (except when employment forces otherwise), I very much doubt I will be "gone" as an Apple customer any time soon...

      • the imac has some down sides like a build in screen and a video card that is really not the best fit (power wise) for it's size.

        For a desktop why should I have to use EXT boxes to get more space??

        Thuderbolt is fast but a case and cable costs a LOT more then a disk on it's own and E-sata is faster and it uses IO that is part of the base chip set that is other wise unused.

        The mini does have some heat issues. Also it is limited in ram, cpu and video. All stuff that Thuderbolt can't fix.

        For the mac pro it's no

        • by MBCook ( 132727 )

          My family has had an iMac for years, and I really like the one I have at work. You can get better graphics cards at the higher end, but none of them are blow-your-socks-off. I can't wait to see a 27" retina display model, but I'm sure it will at least a year, probably two, to get one.

          I agree the external storage thing is a little odd, my point was more that in this day and age it's not that bad, you're not sacrificing performance. The hard drives in the current iMacs may be big enough for most users for th

      • These days, are HDD slots really necessary? Most users don't upgrade their hard drives.

        Well, they may replace them when they inevitably fail. Of course, they take their computer into the Apple Store and say, "It broke. Make it better," rather than actually consider replacing the hard drive themselves. Especially when, if they looked, they'd see that Apple is charging them up the yang for a hard drive. But that's another story.

        This is always an interesting question, though, and tough to gauge. One of th

      • External drives work fine for a desktop. It's not like years ago when if you didn't have SCSI the performance was terrible.

        ESPECIALLY since FireWire ***400*** was developed as a replacement for SCSI, and FW800 is PUH-lenty fast for a Hard Drive (let alone Thunderbolt)!!!

    • by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Saturday June 30, 2012 @04:37PM (#40506839)

      The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.

      If it was bigger then it wouldn't be a mini now would it?

      But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays.

      I think you are confusing what you want with what Apple needs. What you are describing is a PC with OS X. If that is what you want, build it yourself [wikipedia.org]. Fact is that most people never open their PCs ever. The few that do aren't really much concern to Apple. Desktop PCs like what you describe are a market with a limited future. Laptop and tablet sales are where the profit and the demand is. Why would Apple introduce a product in a dying market segment with features that hardly anyone will use? Makes no business sense at all.

    • by jedrek ( 79264 )

      But what apple really needs is a $1000-$1500 (base price) desktop with a mid-range video card in a X16 slots + 1-2 open pci-e slots. with 4 ram slots and at least 2 hdd bays.

      No, this is what you want, this is not what Apple needs. This is a machine for people who build out their own hardware. It's an extremely vocal minority on hardware/CS forums, but in reality it's a part of the market that fits snuggly in the margin of error of most statistical models (3-5%). Why would they dilute their line with a machine like that?

    • now apple needs a real desktop or at the very lest least a imac with a EASY TO GET TO HDD SLOTs. NO other AIO makes you take the screen off to change the HDD and most of them have at least 2 hdd slots.

      Taking the screen off takes about 2 minutes, and once you get past the "scary factor", isn't a big deal at all. Every single one of the online repair guides makes it about 5 steps too hard. There is specifically enough slack in the display cabling to allow the replacement of the iMac's HD WITHOUT completely removing (or even disconnecting) the display panel.

      And don't replace the hdd with a SDD on a card.

      Sorry. Apple is ahead of the curve. Everyone will be doing it soon, and it makes a TON of sense.

      The mini needs to be a little bigger so it can have been cooling and a easier to open case.

      They made the 'mini MUCH easier to add RAM to; which is

      • Thunderbolt is slower then pci-e and is shared vs haveing 2-3 pci-e slots that each have there own bandwidth.

        Also Thunderbolt is to slow to put a video card on it's bus.

        • Thunderbolt is slower then pci-e and is shared vs haveing 2-3 pci-e slots that each have there own bandwidth.

          Also Thunderbolt is to slow to put a video card on it's bus.

          1. PCI-E ain't here yet, man.

          2. Thunderbolt is NOT too slow to put a video card on its bus. IIRC, it would support up to an AGP 4X card. Besides, unless you are doing hard-core 3D gaming, you'd never need external video. I just saw an article [tuaw.com] with THREE external displays being hooked to an MBPwRD (albeit, one was hooked up to the HDMI port), along with the laptop's built-in, for a total of FOUR displays. So, that oughta do for MOST people.

          But of course, it wouldn't be enough for YOU, even if I showed yo

  • Need to put my glasses on before I sit down at the computer--Misread the article as "Apple Transitions to Hardware Leadership".

  • by theodp ( 442580 ) on Saturday June 30, 2012 @03:40PM (#40506545)

    iPad2 Launch Video [youtube.com]: Steve Jobs asks those who worked on iPad2 to stand and take a bow.

    • Apple isn't the top destination for comp sci grads any more, that would be Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter.

  • I loved Bob Mansfield because he made me laugh. [wikipedia.org]
  • But if I had a time machine, I wouldnt think it twice and just take his spot in history.

    Hey may not had the skills of a Torvald or an Stallman, but boy HE knew where to put his money.
    • if I had a time machine, I wouldnt think it twice and just take his spot in history

      Would you have BO and park in the handicapped spot?

  • by ronmon ( 95471 ) on Saturday June 30, 2012 @08:32PM (#40507987)
    round the corners, add a button or two and file a patent.

"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller than the both put together."

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