“Now that Apple SVP Eddy Cue has had some time to assess the debacle that was the iOS 6 Maps launch, he’s taking decisive steps to make sure it never happens again,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD.
“He has fired Rich Williamson, the guy who oversaw the development of Apple’s mobile mapping software, which launched with enough flaws to prompt a public apology from CEO Tim Cook.,” Paczkowski reports. “Williamson’s sacking follows the high-profile ouster of former iOS software chief Scott Forstall, who was pushed out of the company over the troubled Maps rollout, among other things.”
Read more in the full article here.
Adam Satariano reports for Bloomberg, “Cue, who took over last month as part of a management shakeup, is seeking advice from outside mapping-technology experts and prodding digital maps provider TomTom NV to fix landmark and navigation data it shares with Apple.”
“In removing Williamson, Cue wants to install a new leadership team for the group, one person said. A replacement for Williamson wasn’t immediately known,” Satariano reports. “A team at Apple has been working to fix the mapping mistakes, focusing first on some of the most glaring problems, one person said. The satellite imagery over the U.K. has been improved and labels for popular U.S. landmarks such as the Washington Monument have been corrected.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What we wrote back on September 28, 2012:
One thing we would like to know is: Who’s responsible for opening Apple up to this overblown shitstorm and why are they still working for Apple Inc., if they still are?
…No matter what Apple does, no matter how much better they make Apple Maps, it will now always “suck” in the minds of a large segment of the population… The fool(s) responsible for preparing Maps for release and then releasing it with obvious issues (overblown as they are) and therefore tainting Maps forever should face severe consequences. As in: Pink slip(s). If you don’t get fired over this debacle, what exactly does get you fired at Tim Cook’s Apple?
Here’s a little hint for the future: Everything that requires widespread customer use to develop a rich database before the product becomes fully usable should be clearly labelled “beta” upon release. Apple did it with Siri, but they forgot to do it with Maps. Had Apple been smart enough to simply place a “beta” tag on Maps, all of this rigamarole would never have occurred.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “Mark W.,” “Mike H.,” “JES42,” and “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related article:
Tim Cook takes full control of Apple: John Browett and Scott Forstall out; Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi get expanded responsibilities – October 29, 2012
