“Mr. Fadell’s exit from Apple, which he planned to announce online Monday night, has been gradual,” Stone reports. “In 2008, he stepped down as senior vice president of the iPod division, but has remained on Apple’s payroll as a special adviser to Mr. Jobs.”
Stone reports, “Reached by phone, Mr. Fadell declined to talk about Apple but said he was moving on to advise companies and pursue private investments with a focus on green technology. ‘My primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies,’ he said. ‘I’’m determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Little Consumer Green-Tech Riding Hood? Better to attempt to summit Everest or something, Tony – unless you’re shooting for stories that “amaze” in their ability to induce instant narcolepsy. 
UPDATE: 11:25am EDT: Good luck in your future endeavors, Tony! We’re sorry we left that out in our rush to catch up after a late start due to an illness in the family this morning. (We add this update in order to clear up any misunderstandings caused by our Take about the inherent excitement – or lack thereof – in children’s stories about “consumer green-tech companies.” It was meant to be humorous, not an attack on Mr. Fadell. Please try not to inject politics into our Takes where no political comment exists. We do take exception to that; we’ll be really clear when, and if, we make any political comments. If you really believe that “consumer green-tech” would make for “amazing” children’s literature, and hence turn an innocuous bit of attempted humor into some imagined political comment, you don’t have or spend any time with kids. We’ll also try to take an extra minute and not rush so much going forward. Again, we apologize for any misunderstandings our initial Take caused. We fully support companies that are environmentally responsible and iPod fathers who desire not only to work for them, but are also determined to attempt to collect amazing stories about such work. And now we’re even more behind; a stitch in time saves nine, proven true yet again.)
[Attribution: CNET. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
Seriously?!?
One story will be a fact of history and the other a part of fiction! Thank you for your insights in the past.
@MDN – c’mon, be nice. Everyone has choices to make, and we can be charitable in our appreciation of past efforts as well as hopeful for future endeavors. Your “take” is uncharacteristically mean-spirited.
MDN,
Can we not just wish Tony good luck and thank him for his contributions to top class gadgets that we wouldn’t want to be without?
I worked with Tony in grad school. He was a PITA sometimes (tho he was one of the only ones who would stand up to the ‘Bearded Cherub’), but he was (and still is, I’d imagine) sharp as a tack. He was responsible for some pre-web browser developments and also played a role in the development of the Newton’s handwriting recognition software (tho anyone who remembers “Tablespoons” might get a kick out of that — ‘oh fractious day! Cartoon! Cathay!’). I wish him nothing but the best, and he probably still has a lot of that inside him.
MDN…regarding your comment in the “MacDailyNews Take” section, I’m not really sure what your point is, but it seems like a rather infantile comment about someone who would rather contribute to the betterment of the world than help Apple make more money.
The environment needs all the help it can get. And I think Apple will be fine without him.
I’m with Scubaboy and Dirty Pierre Le Punk. Good luck, Tony. Thank you for your contributions on the iPod and iPhone.
MDN… your take was unnecessarily rude and wholly uncalled for.
Have to agree with other commentors… while most of the time the MDN take is spot on, this one was in poor taste. I admire the guy tryin to help the environment, and some trying to strike it out on his own, wanting to revolutionize an industry that’ll have a very positive effect for millions of end users in the face of naysayers?… sounds SJesque to me
MacDailyNews Take: Very Karl Rove. If you’re with us, you’re against us. Childish indeed.
Good luck Tony and thanx for your past contributions.
Yeah why the vitriol MDN?
MacDailyNews Take: Very Karl Rove-like. If you’re not with us, you’re against us. Childish indeed.
Good luck Tony and thanx for your past contributions.
MDN – Go to your room!
Tony, we wish you the best.
Thanks for your contributions to Apple and to the tech industry.
You will be missed. I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavours.
Tony, If you want a story, tell the grandkids about how you took your hard earned fortune and put it all on the Roulette wheel and spun it. Win or lose, there is a story for em.
I agree, bad take MDN. One thing is to be biassed towards something. Nothing wrong with being a fanboy, but your take is simply out of place.
Tony, THNX!
The guy has gone as far as he can @ Apple and it seeking to develop things that have a kinder footprint on an increasingly crowded planet.
If you agree with the sentiment or not, it is a noble and honest way to direct one’s life and skill set.
Steve Jobs hired John Sculley with the line about selling surgar water or changing the world. TF has decided he can change the world via green technology rather than build another phone or media player. I think SJ understands.
The least MDN could do would say thanks and wish him well. If he succeeds, we all win.
Good luck, Tony!
@joey
LOL!!
…no ad clicks for you today, MDN!!
MDN has jumped the shark, go back to listening to Limbaugh.
MDN-Bad form!
Come on MDN. Stop being an obnoxious a-hole. People have phases in their lives. If the guy wants to move on to a new challenge wish him well and be grateful for outstanding past contributions. You belittle yourself.
“@MDN – c’mon, be nice. Everyone has choices to make, and we can be charitable in our appreciation of past efforts as well as hopeful for future endeavors. Your “take” is uncharacteristically mean-spirited.”
Yea, this guy’s reasons for stepping down are totally honorable. If he puts his money towards Green technologies and World Hunger, it’ll be a damn site better than ‘helping the world multitouch’
I should hope that everyone on this board can take a page from guys like Richard Branson and Warren Buffett. I know I sure do, and put my money where my mouth is, giving to charity every month.
Screw MDN’s snarky take. Give Fadell his due for making the iPod what it was (the saviour of Apple Computer) and let him ride off into the sunset with some dignity.
It’s one thing to be a fan of a cool company, it’s another thing to mistake that for a MEANINGFUL LIFE PURSUIT. Instead of snickering about Fadell’s conscience, maybe take a look in the mirror, hrm?
Really, MDN, what’s your problem? Oh, I see. The smiley face makes it all better.
To the not-so-bright,
MDN’s Take addresses the fact that “Consumer Green-Tech” might not yield such “amazing” stories for Tony’s kids and grandkids.
That’s it. Not need to mix in your own political biases.
It’s a simple joke. I got it on the very first try.
Remember when being green was Kermit the frog, fertilizing your lawn or planting a tree?
The lunatic left has polluted another tradition.
MDN: your take is extremely rude, immature, and uncalled for. It’s wonderful that we have brilliant people like Tony who are interested in saving the environment, which is fairly important since you live here on planet earth.
Really tired of the green bandwagon. Does anyone seriously think that NBC using a green colored logo makes one iota of difference in the environment? The only thing green with most of these companies is the greenbacks they seek by playing to the crowd with the cause of the day.
Cut MDN some slack. The Guy was awesome at Apple now he’ll be going the route of Al Gore the green whore. Nothing is wrong with the planet and it will be here long after we are dead and gone.
It’s not easy being green, but it’s easy to take a blind eye to what’s happening around you. I guess pollution is a Good Thing ™.
…and MDN, thanks for the explanation.
Tony – thanks for all you did to help with the iPod. Truly a historical product of epic proportions. Wish you well in your future endeavors!
(MDN, how atypical. For shame on your ill will commentary)
Much-appreciated clarification from MDN.
Moving on is often necessary, though never easy.
What NBC/CNBC do is called greenwashing & is as fake as breast implants.
Technology can make a huge difference. Imagine the energy savings if a specific technology could reduce the consumption of A/C by say 20%. Less electricity consumed means less coal burned, meaning less greenhouse emissions, meaning a lower energy bill for the consumer, meaning new customers can now afford to use A/C.
“Nothing is wrong with the planet…”
Thank you for perfectly illustrating the right-wing position on environmental issues: that of an ostrich. More pollution, please!
@MDN Take
Ditto above finlelineBob and Jon… thanks!!
“Please try not to inject politics into our Takes where no political comment exists.”
To be fair, MDN Takes are so strongly political and slanted the majority of the time, it’s hard not to “inject” a certain rhetorical tone in them.
@Heroin, I promise you that we will both pass on and the earth will still be here when we are gone. Yet there will still be fear mongering presented to our kids by future “green” advocates.
Apple does it the right way by making an efficient product that takes up less space but boost your productivity over PC’s. This I’m for. What I’m not for is the myth of “greenhouse gasses” destroying the planet. There is nothing wrong with efficient cars, AC, appliances etc but don’t lie to me about saving the planet.
WallE,
Actually, to be really fair, please provide evidence to back up your claim that “MDN Takes are so strongly political and slanted the majority of the time.”
Out of 24,584 MacDailyNews articles, of which approximately 90% contain Takes, (22,126 in total), you only need to come up with links to 11,064 with “strongly political and slanted” Takes in order to back up your opinion with actual fact.
@Mac4lfe
“What I’m not for is the myth of “greenhouse gasses” destroying the planet.”
Well, first of all, no one of which I am aware is saying that the planet will be destroyed to the extent of eliminating all life. The Earth has experienced catastrophic extinction events in the past, and life has certainly recovered, although not necessarily the *same* life. And the recovery took quite a bit of time, even in geologic terms.
The questions that you might want to consider are:
“What will the ecological impacts be of a few degrees change in the average temperature for decades?”
“How will those ecological impacts affect our ability to sustain human society?”
It doesn’t necessarily take much deviation from an equilibrium point to initiate substantial and long-lasting perturbations that could seriously impact the food chain.
Steven Levy’s book on the iPod detailed how Apple recruited Tony Faddell. He originally got a call from Apple while on the ski slopes, and had to be dragged in almost against his will. The reason: he had already been quite a success and had made a pile of money. But the challenge of the iPod proved irresistible.
I have a hunch that the wheel barrow of stock options he received, combined with the incredible appreciation in Apple stock price during his tenure secured a wonderful future for Mr. Faddell and his family. Good for him.
I hope he and those he loves live happily ever after. Thanks for your fantastic contributions and hard work, Tony! Have a great life!
I had a bike that back-peddled …
“Nothing is wrong with the planet and it will be here long after we are dead and gone.”
Oh great, a Sarah Palin supporter/Creationist