Linked List: August 7, 2010

Saturday, 7 August 2010

Mark Papermaster Leaves Apple; Responsible for iPhone 4 Antenna ★

Miguel Helft, reporting for the NYT:

Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of hardware for the company’s flagship iPhone, has left the company in the wake of widely reported problems with the antenna of the recently introduced iPhone 4.

It is not clear if Mr. Papermaster was ousted or left on his own accord.

From what I’ve heard, it’s clear he was sacked. Papermaster was a conspicuous absence at the Antennagate press conference. Inside Apple, he’s “the guy responsible for the antenna” — that’s a quote from a source back on July 23. (Another quote from the same source: “Apparently the antenna guys used to have a big chip on their shoulder. No more.”)

Nice Catch ★

Masato Akamatsu, center fielder of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, climbs the wall to catch a would-be home run.

Karl Bode on Google and Net Neutrality ★

Karl Bode, writing at DSL Reports:

While this tactic of pre-empting real consumer protections with lobbyist-written fluff is Verizon’s usual modus operandi, it’s an interesting shift for Google (at least in terms of neutrality). It’s clear the search giant is now willing to shelve their previous principles in order to protect their lucrative Android relationship with Verizon.

The New York Times on Mark Hurd’s Ouster From HP ★

Ashlee Vance:

Sources close to the company and familiar with the situation said that over a number of months, the contractor attended events for H.P. in Asia, Europe and the United States, and often dined alone with Mr. Hurd after the events. The contractor’s fees ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 for events in the United States and up to $10,000 for overseas ventures. Even though the same contractor was present, Mr. Hurd said that he dined alone or with a different person on his expense reports, these people said.

But, curiously, both Hurd and the woman (who has not been named) claim the relationship wasn’t sexual:

Gloria Allred, the celebrity lawyer who has agreed to represent the woman, said, “We want to make clear that there was no affair and no intimate sexual relationship between our client and Mr. Hurd.”

Hurd — under whose leadership HP’s stock price has doubled since 2005 — didn’t want to go. He offered to reimburse the company for the disputed expenses, but the board refused.

Hurd’s severance package: $12.6 million in cash, and a boatload of stock options.

The Economist on Net Neutrality ★

The Economist:

If companies always agreed with regulators’ rules, there would be no need for regulators. The very point of a regulator is to do things that companies don’t like, out of concern for the welfare of the market or the consumer.