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Google hires designers from Cuban Council to work on Google+
The folks at Mountain View have worked with the well regarded designers at Cuban Council before, but now Google is taking the partnership one step further by hiring several of the firm's employees. The search giant has acquired the contracts of a number of the company's designers explicitly to work on Google+. The details of the deal haven't been revealed, so we have no idea how many members of the staff will be setting sail for the shores of Goog or how much the pseudo acquisition set the company back. But, we do know that at least some of the firm that once designed the Facebook logo, Evernote's website, Rdio's mobile apps and helped define the beautiful WebOS UI will now be dedicated to keeping Google+ ahead of the aesthetic curve.
HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president
HTC has been fighting to get a better relationship with US carriers lately, and it may have just chosen a clever (if roundabout) approach: hire one of their executives. As of today, AT&T's former phone portfolio VP Mike Woodward is now HTC's president of its North American division, reporting directly to worldwide sales head Jason Mackenzie. The new position won't necessarily get him any privileged access, but it certainly gives HTC someone who's well versed in what carriers want out of a device launch. We'll have to wait awhile to see what Woodward's strategy will be; suffice it to say that the company wants more One X-level anticipation and fewer of those bumpy, Inspire 4G-like releases.
Nintendo takes on Disney veteran as senior VP for digital in US, gets serious about this whole internet thing
Nintendo hinted it was improving its notoriously rudimentary online access with word of the Nintendo Network early this year, and was even more adamant at E3 about making a big push into digital video. Some have accused the company of nothing but flag-waving -- if that's true, the waving is about to turn into a full parade through a new hire. As of July 1st, Nintendo is bringing on Disney's former Interactive Media Group senior VP Duncan Orrell-Jones to take on the just-minted role of senior VP for the company's Network Business group in the US. He'll be handling the overall American digital strategy, which covers both gaming as well as content. We'll need to wait awhile before we see the results, but if it helps make sure friend codes never rise from the dead to haunt our Wii U, we're all for it.
Former Apple UI designer joins Facebook to lead product design team
It remains to be seen exactly what he'll be involved with, but Facebook's new Product Design Manager brings quite a background with him to the job. Until just a few months ago, Chris Weeldreyer was a UI Design Manager at Apple (a role held for over eight years) where, as The Next Web reports, he was responsible for the company's iWeb and Numbers software, and has been named in a number of Apple's patent applications. Before that, he worked in both hardware and software product development, having held positions at Frog Design, Pentagram and Cooper. No word from either company on the move, but Weeldreyer himself made the move official on his LinkedIn page -- and, of course, his Facebook profile.
Tim Cook joined Apple because even 'when customers got mad at Apple, they'd continue to buy'
It's epic storytelling time at AllThingsD 10 as audience Q&A has begun, with Apple CEO Tim Cook opening up on why he came to join the company in the first place in response to a question from Lance Ulanoff of Mashable. To hear him tell it, an executive search firm came calling and he wasn't pressed -- until five minutes into his meeting with Steve Jobs. We'll let him tell it: It was a very interesting meeting. Steve had hired an executive search firm to find someone to run operations. They kept calling, and eventually I said 'Okay, I'll talk.' I flew out Friday on a redeye for a Saturday morning meeting with Steve. The honest-to-God truth, five minutes into the conversation I wanted to join Apple. I was shocked. Why did I want to do it? He painted a story and a strategy that he was taking Apple deep into consumer when I knew others were doing the exact opposite. I never thought following the herd was brilliant. He told me a bit about what would late be named the iMac, and I saw brilliance in that. I saw someone unaffected with money, and that has always impressed me when people do indeed have it. Those three things to me to throw caution to the wind and do it. I went back, and resigned immediately. Did I see the iPad and iPhone? No. What I saw was this: Apple was the only technology company that I knew of, including the one I was currently at, that when a customer got mad at a company, they'd continue to buy. If people got mad at Compaq, they'd buy Dell. If you were mad at Dell, you'd buy IBM. But an Apple customer was a unique breed; there's this emotion that you just don't see in technology in general. You could see it and feel it at Apple. When I looked at the balance sheet of the company, I thought I could do something in turning around a great American company. Whether you call it the reality distortion field or simply a strong brand attachment, it was enough, along with Steve Jobs' vision, to lure Tim Cook to work at Apple even when things weren't going so well back in 1998. Can he keep the shield generators running as CEO? Time will tell.
Google snags the webOS Enyo team, HP says open source plans are still on schedule (Update)
At one time the Enyo app framework was supposed to help webOS run faster and on a wider variety of devices, but as HP continues to struggle, reports have surfaced from The Verge and AllThingsD that much of the team behind it, including leader Matthew McNulty, has been hired away by Google. Numbering a half dozen or so, the immediate danger is the effect this might have on HP's efforts to open source webOS, but in a statement the company indicated it remains on track and will stick to the roadmap it announced in January. Less clear is what these employees might end up working on for Google, although Enyo's focus on web apps and HTML5 suggests the possibility they'll end up working on ChromeOS projects. Update: The remaining members of the Enyo team have also chimed in now, with a blog post indicating yes, some "key members" have left, but that "the majority of the engineering and leadership team remains." Of course, while it continues work on the product there are some job openings now, so interested coders are encouraged to toss an application HP's way.
Carrier IQ hires former Verizon privacy counsel Magnolia Mobley as Chief Privacy Officer
It's been several months since Carrier IQ explained its data collection practices and responded to FCC and Senatorial inquiry about its privacy policies. Despite the fact that it's no longer in the headlines, Carrier IQ's still intent on improving how it handles consumer info. That's why the firm has hired Magnolia Mobley away from Verizon (who eschewed Carrier IQ's services in favor of its own Remote Diagnostics tool), where she was Big Red's Chief Privacy Counsel. Ms. Mobely will be Carrier IQ's General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer and she's expected to help the company focus on preserving consumer privacy. You can read up on her credentials further in the PR after the break.
Gavin Kim's on the move again, joins NQ Mobile after leaving Windows Phone
That was quick. A mere five days after saying goodbye to his cohorts at Microsoft, former Windows Phone GM Gavin Kim has landed at Mobile NQ as its Chief Product Officer. By joining the mobile privacy and security firm, Kim will be working with a couple of former Samsung colleagues at Mobile NQ -- co-CEO Omar Khan and PR maven Kim Titus. The real question is, with this being Gavin's third career stop in a year, how long will the reunion last?
AllThingsD: Google diggs Kevin Rose (updated)
You might know Kevin Rose from his days at TechTV, as the cofounder of the social news website digg.com, or from his awesome drunken (and sometimes quotable) ramblings on his former video podcast diggnation. However, per AllThingsD, it appears that Rose, and perhaps a bunch of his cohorts at his latest gig, Milk, have been poached to work at the Google mothership. That comes merely a day after Milk shuttered its first product, Oink -- an app enabling users to rate experiences rather than venues, think Yelp but for things. As to what Rose and any coworkers that come with him will be doing once in Mountain View is currently unknown, but unfortunately it looks like Milk's headed to the deadpool, folks. Update: TechCrunch has it on good authority that Google is indeed picking up the entire Milk team. Also of note, was an alleged bidding war for the team with Facebook.
HP appoints Bill Veghte as chief strategy officer, will lead 'cloud and webOS open source initiatives'
Bill Veghte was already having his checks cut by HP (after cutting ties with Microsoft), but now he'll be filling a slightly different corner office. The company today announced that he has been appointed chief strategy officer, but somehow, he'll also have enough time to hold onto his current role as executive vice president of HP Software. We're told that he'll be working with HP's senior business and technology brass in order to innovate in ways that perhaps it hasn't lately, with newly-appointed CEO Meg Whitman saying the following: "Every 10 to 15 years, fundamental shifts occur in the IT industry that redefine how technology is delivered. From mainframes to client/server to the internet, companies that identified the opportunity first and developed the right strategy came out on top. As we move forward, HP intends to stay on top, and I believe Bill has the knowledge and vision to keep us there." Strangely, the release (embedded in full after the break) mentions that Bill will be leading HP's "cloud and webOS open source initiatives," but it fails to elaborate on what exactly those "initiatives" may be.
Adobe's Todd Teresi to lead Apple's iAd unit, fully purge himself of Flash reliance
It had to happen at some point, right? Adobe and Apple -- two names in a similar field -- would inevitably end up hiring someone that worked at the other firm in a past life, and unsurprisingly, the world is up in arms about an acquisition that would go unreported if not for the past drama between the two outfits. As the story goes, Todd Teresi (formerly of Adobe) has been hired to be the new chief of Apple's iAd mobile advertising division, but since the hire hasn't been officially confirmed, it's all based on "sources familiar with the matter." Interestingly, Bloomberg BusinessWeek asserts that the iAd team has been "cutting prices to keep customers from jumping ship to rivals, including Google," noting that the dominance seen in the tablet market isn't exactly translating on the advertising side. Something tells us Apple's got a few bills to lose while experimenting, though.
Apple to improve Notification Center with fresh talent
Apple is looking outside its ranks and hiring a college student to help revise its iOS notification system. This isn't any college student. The new hire is Jan-Michael Cart, the whizkid who created a clever mocked up Notification Center redesign and then posted it to YouTube. Cart will join Apple as a UI/UXDesign intern for the next seven months. According to Ars Technica, he, and two other recent hires, may work on notifications for a future version of iOS. Apple rolled out its current notification center in iOS 5. Earlier versions of iOS included pop-up notifications and badges, but little else. This latest iteration includes a drop-down window shade with alerts, pop-up alerts and lock screen alerts. Though it's a likeable update, the iOS 5 notification center needs improvement. There are no alert icons in the menu bar, which means you have to pull down the Window shade to determine which alerts need your attention. The alerts are also difficult to manage. You can't delete individual alerts without opening the item, and the "x" button to clear all the alerts is difficult to tap. You can check out Cart's concept video below and tell us what you think of his suggestions in the comments. [Via Ars Technica]
Microsoft taps Samsung VP Gavin Kim to be new Windows Phone GM
The last Windows Phone General Manager, Charlie Kindel, may have been a longtime Microsoft vet, but the company's looked beyond Redmond for his permanent replacement. As BGR reports, Microsoft has snagged Samsung's VP of of consumer and enterprise services, Gavin Kim, to lead the Windows Phone product team. In describing his new role, Kim tells BGR that he'll "be responsible to help set the future direction for the Windows Phone platform and to accelerate Microsoft's trajectory to win the hearts and minds of consumers, carriers, device manufacturers, developers and partners." At Samsung, Kim most recently worked on the company's various Galaxy products, and he unsurprisingly remains complimentary of the company, noting that it has a "very bright future ahead of itself," and that he expects a "tremendous amount of synergy between Microsoft and Samsung." BGR's full interview is at the source link below.
Yahoo data center head Scott Noteboom joins Apple
Apple has picked up the former head of Yahoo's Global Data Center Infrastructure, Scott Noteboom, according to his LinkedIn profile. Noteboom's been with Yahoo since back in 2005, but now lists his job as working at Apple as a "Distinguished Gentleman" (a well-earned title, obviously, though probably unofficial). Noteboom was instrumental in managing multiple data centers while at Yahoo, and he'll likely be doing the same type of work at the Cupertino campus, as Apple moves further up into the iCloud over the next few years. Noteboom's hire is likely a long time coming -- Apple's been steadily building up its resources for these data centers, including the big installation in North Carolina, and bringing on experienced directors like this one will only help as the operation gets even bigger and more important.
Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot'
He's jailbroken the iPhone and been sued by Sony over alleged hacks, and now George "Geohot" Hotz is grappling with the biggest challenge of his young career: social networking. After about a week's worth of rumors surrounding his new employment arrangements, Facebook confirmed that it has indeed added the infamous young hacker to its payroll. No word on what Hotz will be doing at the site, but we expect big things, just so long as he doesn't come within 100 feet of a PS3.
Ngmoco hires Ben Cousins, creates ngmoco Sweden
Ngmoco has picked up former EA developer Ben Cousins, the man behind much of that company's free-to-play services at the EAsy division. He will establish a new studio under ngmoco called ngmoco Sweden, which will create games and content using ngmoco's (and parent company DeNA's) services and platforms. At EA, Cousins was instrumental in setting up the free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes, as well as the more hardcore spinoff, Battlefield Play4Free, so it's likely that in his new position at EA, he'll be heading up some free-to-play projects more tailored to a traditional gaming audience than ngmoco's current social and casual initiatives. Cousins also used to work at DICE, the company behind EA's Battlefield series, which is also based in Sweden, so there could be a few employees from that developer following him across to the new division at ngmoco. All in all, this is good news for iOS players and fans of ngmoco's games in general. I can't wait to see what titles come out of ngmoco Sweden first. [via Joystiq]
MobileNotifier dev snapped up by Apple to work on iOS framework?
We said that MobileNotifier unobtrusive notifications might be the single best reason to jailbreak your iOS device, and it sounds like Apple may agree -- Redmond Pie reports that lead developer Peter Hajas has been spirited away by the Cupertino computer company to work on iOS itself. Hajas wrote that he was taking a break from MobileNotifier, and some newfangled detective work dug up the rest -- a thinly-veiled reference to Steve Jobs, a tweet mentioning a California "fruit" company, and finally an alleged screenshot of Hajas' entry in Apple's employee database. We're feeling slightly bittersweet about the whole thing, to tell the truth, as while we'd rather not have to smash our iPhone chains, the notion that this is all happening now suggests we won't see greatly improved notifications in iOS 5, come Monday. [Thanks, Jeff]
Apple reportedly hires top UK gaming PR execs from Nintendo and Activision
As you may have noticed, Apple has been more serious about gaming lately that it was even during its Pippin-fueled haze in the mid-1990s, and it's now offering yet more evidence of just how invested it is with a pair of new hires. While the company isn't confirming the move just yet, MCV is reporting that Apple has snatched up Nintendo UK's former head of communications, Rob Saunders, who just left the big N last week and will apparently be focusing on PR for iOS apps at Apple. What's more, he'll reportedly be joined at Apple by former Activision PR director Nick Grange, who's said to be focusing specifically on the iPad -- which, as we've seen, can be a pretty versatile gaming device in its own right.
Google hires Java founder James Gosling amid Oracle infringement suit - ah, snap!
And the war wages on... We've been reporting on the showdown between Oracle and Google over Java-related patent infringement since its inception, and now El Goog's throwing a little extra excitement into the fray by hiring Java founder, and former VP of Sun Microsystems, James Gosling. When Oracle acquired Sun last year, Gosling, who refused to take part, wasn't shy about expressing his views, calling Oracle's Larry Ellison "Larry, Prince of Darkness." On a post to his blog, which has since crashed, Gosling was vague about his new duties saying simply, "I don't know what I'll be working on. I expect it'll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon." That's just the kind of smack talking this scuffle needed to keep things interesting. Long live James Gosling!
Microsoft goes on a hiring spree for new Xbox hardware devs, staffing up for next console push?
Before you go leaping to any conclusions, do remember that Microsoft plans on keeping the Xbox 360 going until at least 2015 so we're not really talking imminent changes here. Nonetheless, the software giant has listed a plethora of new job openings, with the most interesting ones being at its Mountain View research campus, where a team responsible for "defining and delivering next generation console architectures" is looking for fresh blood. A graphics hardware architect is sought to ensure that the next Xbox strikes the optimal balance between the awesome and affordable, while a design verification engineer and a few others will be hired to test and help develop prototypes. This bolstering of numbers seems to indicate Microsoft is starting to ramp up research and development on its next-gen home entertainment linchpin, and while nothing's likely to emerge from those Mountain View labs in the short term, the mere sound of clanking tools and buzzing electrons is getting us excited already.
