Tony Fadell snips last thread with Apple Inc.

Apple Online Store“An era is formally ending at Apple. Tony Fadell, one of the creators of the iPod and iPhone, is breaking off his nine-year affiliation with Steve Jobs & Co.,” Brad Stone reports for The New York Times.

“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. wink

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.]

44 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. “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.

  7. @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.

  8. 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.

  9. @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.

  10. 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!

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