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Apple searching for global channel chief
Apple has apparently hired an executive from HP to handle its IT channel business in the UK, and the company is still searching for a global channel director, according to Channelnomics. Apple hired one Trevor Evans to run things in the UK, who joined the company after resigning from HP while on leave. And the company is reportedly looking under every rock it can to figure out who can run its global IT channel, making sure that all of its various retail outlets and groups have all the right connections they need. Apple's criteria are "stringent," say the reports, so Cupertino wants to make sure it finds the exact right person for the job. Obviously this is an important one -- as great as Apple's retail experience can be, there is a huge opportunity to be had on the back end as well, making sure that sales go smoothly and that sales professionals are well-informed and connected. As Apple's retail business continues to grow around the world, it'll need to make sure whoever steps into the position can handle things well.
Google employees now testing Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus S, claim it's delicious
Damn them. As it turns out, Google employees are the lucky guinea pigs for testing Android 4.0 on the Nexus S, and Mountain View's minions have now begun crowing about their superiority. On the up side, this means that all users of Google's former prodigy are one step closer to receiving the official version of Ice Cream Sandwich onto their devices. The company hopes its employees will discover any lingering foul tastes before delivering its frozen treat onto the unwashed masses, although early reports suggest they're digging the flavors. Of course, if you just can't wait -- and hey, we haven't -- there's always custom ROMs to fill the void.
Apple training retail managers on union awareness
CNET has obtained an internal document which details training Apple has given its retail managers on how to respond if employees unionize. Said training has likely already taken place by the time of this publication, and it's mandatory for all new Apple Store managers. According to the training description, "This course is intended to provide managers with a practical understanding of how unions affect the workplace, how and why employees organize, and the legal do's and don'ts of dealing with unions. This is a mandatory class for all new managers, and is required biannually for all managers." This training comes about six months after Apple Retail workers in the Pacific Northwest made an attempt at unionizing. "We work in one of the most demanding retail environments while suffering through unfair treatment and compensation among many other various issues," the group claims, and CNET has cited many other practices the group considers unfair. Unionizing would allow retail employees the opportunity to negotiate these grievances, but CNET notes that an expert on unions told them that Apple's gargantuan retail success makes it unlikely that any such negotiations would go very far.
Apple's termination of retail employee over Facebook post upheld
Apple employees wanting to blow off some steam on Facebook or Twitter may want to think twice before they post their comments. In a recent decision, the UK Labor tribunal upheld Apple's right to fire employees over negative comments left on a social network. This decision cited Apple's social media policy which prohibits employees from posting negative comments on social networks. This legal dispute started when "Crisp," an Apple employee in the UK, posted some derogatory comments against Apple and its products on a private Facebook page. These comments were made outside working hours, but were noticed by a fellow colleague who printed them up and showed them to a manager. Crisp was then fired for "gross misconduct" because he had violated Apple's social policy. According to analysis by lawyer Jamie Hamnett, the UK tribunal agreed with Apple's assertion that these comments could have a material effect on Apple's commercial reputation. When Crisp claimed that he had a right to free expression, the Tribunal again sided with Apple which argued the company had a right to limit this speech, especially since these comments can be easily shared by Crisps's Facebook friends. This decision should be a warning to employees who work at companies that have strict social network policies. You need to be careful what you say online. It should also be a wake-up call for companies concerned about their employee's behavior online. Companies don't have to cross their fingers and hope employees are nice. They can enforce a strict, well-written social media policy with the expectation that it will likely be upheld in court. [Via CNET]
Riot Games' close calls with disaster
Riot Games CEO Brandon Beck gave the closing keynote at last week's IGDA Leadership Forum in Los Angeles, California, and during the talk (in which he made the point that "Riot's secret weapon all along" has been its employees), he gave a few interesting examples of how Riot's staff had really gone the extra distance to turn League of Legends into the successful online phenomenon it is today. His first example was about the matchmaking system -- originally, Riot struggled to make sure that players were matched up against each other in an interesting and effective way, and the company ended up bringing in not a game developer, but a programmer with a PhD in computational biology whose "thinking was radically different and compelling," according to Beck. A month after this hire, the company had a whole new matchmaking system, and in the end, it turned out to be "too fair" -- the games were too close. Since "what players remember are the outliers," according to Beck, the team developed "snowball items," which were "risky purchases that rewarded flawless execution." That bit of gameplay mixed up the matches, and came to be the system the game uses today.
Apple giving employees extra paid time off this Thanksgiving for a job well done
Apple is on a roll. Mac sales are higher than ever, the iPad owns the tablet market, and the company just sold one million iPhones in 24 hours. In honor of all that Apple has achieved this year, the company is giving its employees some extra time off this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. As first published by MacGeneration, Tim Cook sent the following email to all Apple employees this week: Team, I consider it an honor to come to work every day alongside the most innovative and most dedicated people on earth. This is an extraordinary time to be at Apple, and it's all made possible by your incredible efforts. We've had a record-setting year so far and we're heading into the holidays with the strongest product lineup in our history. Customers are absolutely in love with the iPad 2, and the amazing new iPhone 4S is off to the best start of any iPhone we've ever made. The Mac is soaring to new heights with OS X Lion, and on the eve of its 10th birthday, the iPod is still the world's most popular music player. In recognition of the hard work you've put in this year, we're going to take some extra time off for Thanksgiving. We will shut down with pay on November 21, 22 and 23 so our teams can spend the entire week with their families and friends. Of course, Retail and some other groups will need to work that week so we can continue to serve our customers. If you're in one of these groups, please check with your manager about taking time off at a later date. Our international teams will schedule their three-day shutdowns this quarter at a time that's best for them. Details will be available on AppleWeb. I hope everyone enjoys this much deserved break. Tim As noted in the email, retail workers will not get the same days off (they need to be in the stores to continue to sell products during the busy shopping season); however, they will all receive three extra days of paid time off after the holidays. Apple employees in other countries will also get an extra three days of paid time off. Contrary to some reports, this is actually not the first time Apple has done this. When I worked for the company, the same extra Thanksgiving time off was given twice during my stint. Also, for those of you wondering, "AppleWeb" isn't some new Apple Internet product. It's Apple's name for the company-wide intranet.
Gameloft accused of overworking employees
A former head programmer for mobile and iOS developer Gameloft has made some pretty damning accusations against the company in a complaint. Glenn Watson says that he was made to work over 100 hours a week sometimes, and that "it was after I worked four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends - that I realised I needed to resign." The issues didn't stop there, either -- after Watson resigned, he claims, he was asked to apologize for leaving others behind to do the work that he passed up. He says the best apology would be to make sure his fellow employees "never get put through the same rubbish conditions again." Other employees have backed up Watson's claims, apparently, and even the company itself says there are some long hours being worked, though they're all in line with regulations and employee contracts. It's also true, however, that Gameloft's been releasing mobile and iOS titles at a quick rate, and the company's CFO has admitted that it's "an ugly scene" in mobile game development right now. And this definitely isn't the first accusation of employee abuse in the gaming industry -- a posting by an anonymous "EA Spouse" a few years ago laid bare the hours and problems game companies often have when they are pushing to get a game out by a certain time. We'll have to see what comes of this complaint, both in terms of actions against Gameloft, and any changes the company makes in the future.
Rumor: Apple planning something in stores for retail anniversary
Just this morning we were hearing rumors that Apple was planning some sort of event for this weekend's retail anniversary, and now BGR has heard that there's a flurry of activity behind the counter at Apple Stores. There are some overnight shifts planned for this weekend, black curtains to go up and hide the storefronts, secret information going out to managers and trainers, and mandatory meetings for all employees on Sunday. BGR speculates that it's a secret product launch, but that's a little overblown -- it's highly unlikely that Apple would launch a product directly in the retail stores. It's more likely a simple store refresh; a rollout like this is basically standard procedure for switching up the displays, and especially since most of the storefronts are still featuring the MacBook Air and the iPad 2, they're due for a refresh anyway. Apple's not much for anniversaries, but 10 years is a milestone for the very popular retail effort, so there may even be a congratulatory line or two in any new displays. Fortunately, we won't have to wait long. If the black curtains go up this weekend, everything Apple's working on will be public by Sunday. We'll keep an eye out, and if you happen to know more about what's going on, be sure to let us know.
Nokia transfers Symbian development and 3,000 employees to Accenture, will downsize workforce by further 4,000
Nokia's already done quite a bit to cut ties with last year's big push for Symbian and Qt development, though this is perhaps the biggest step yet. The Finnish company has announced it's transferring responsibility for Symbian development to consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture, which sounds odd given the latter outfit's inexperience in delivering mobile OS updates, but the good news is that the 3,000 devs Nokia had working on Symbian will continue their jobs under the new employer. That basically means that Nokia will live up to its unhappy promise that there'll be "substantial reductions in employment" within its own ranks, while still keeping the men and women responsible for updating Symbian employed. Unfortunately, there will still be a further 4,000 job cuts in the company's global workforce, primarily in Finland, Denmark and the UK, which will "occur in phases" between the beginning and end of next year. Nokia's agreement with Accenture also involves continued collaboration on delivering mobility software and services on the Windows Phone platform. You can read more about that in the PR after the break.
Best Buy building out game departments with new sales desks and trained employees
According a recent presentation by the company, Best Buy plans to add employees and facilities to its retail stores to encourage game sales sometime this fiscal year. The big box store currently sits behind other retailers like GameStop and Walmart in gaming revenue, but hopes to turn that situation around by setting up game-focused employees and sales counters. The employees will handle trade-ins and preorders, and be expected to sell "exclusive digital add-ons" as customers come in and pick up their games. Best Buy reportedly wants to push a "virtuous cycle," where customers preorder games, buy the DLC at the store, and then use trade-in credits for another preorder as the cycle starts up again. The game sections in each store are also slated to increase in size, with the less-popular music departments taking the hit in most cases. Best Buy doesn't say if it plans to have free hot dogs for customers who come and buy games, but we're just throwing that out there, guys. Think about it.
NetDevil lays off large portion of its staff [Updated]
When it comes to game development, it's somewhat common to see a layoff or realignment of development team members shortly after the release of a title. However, it appears that NetDevil's most recent round of layoffs came as a complete surprise to its employees. After all, the company's most recent release, LEGO Universe, is well past that initial post-launch phase, having gone live back in October 2010, and both Jumpgate Evolution and Fortune Online are (at least supposedly) under development currently at the studio. There are jobs posted on the hiring page, as well. However, it appears that the developer, owned by Gazillion Entertainment, is on shaky ground as of this morning, according to rumors. The truly horrible thing about this isn't that some developers were laid off -- it's how the affected employees found out. It appears that some of the NetDevil employees were notified that they were going to be laid off via Facebook postings before they were officially contacted by the company, according to a blog posting by Toby Cochran, who worked as a character/creature animator on LEGO Universe. Apparently an image showing a tombstone with the inscription "NetDevil R.I.P. Oct 1997-Feb 2011" started making the rounds on social networking sites shortly thereafter, indicating a far bleaker picture than just that of layoffs. We've reached out to NetDevil and Gazillion Entertainment for comment on the rumors and what, if anything, it will mean for the development of Jumpgate Evolution and Fortune Online. We'll be sure to update this post as soon as we have further information. In the meantime, we hope that all the talented, hard-working NetDevil employees who were affected are able to land fabulous new well-paying spots elsewhere, continuing to do what they love. [Update: We received the following statement from NetDevil: "The transition of members of our team to the LEGO Group allows us to conclude the work-for-hire segment of NetDevil's business and lets us expand our internally-published, free-to-play game businesses based on our own properties and licensed properties. Gazillion is wholly focused on developing, operating, and publishing the next generation of browser-delivered games," said David Brevik, President and COO. "We're proud of the LEGO Universe game that our team built, and we are certain that it has a bright future."]
Microsoft and Nokia team up to fight Apple and Android
Nokia has thrown in with Windows Phone 7 to try and have some impact in the smartphone universe. Steven Elop, a former Microsoft executive and now CEO of Nokia, made the announcement today in London. Reactions are mixed, of course, but Nokia stock has taken a beating, and about 1,000 Nokia employees have reportedly walked out in protest. Nokia has long been a leader in cell phones around the world, but has had vanishingly small sales in the US. This partnership is generally believed to be mainly a benefit for the Windows Phone 7 OS, since sales of devices using it have been disappointing. Nokia had looked at the Google Android OS as a possibility, but ultimately threw in with the boys from Redmond. A Google exec has tweeted that "Two Turkeys do not make an Eagle," a reference to Nokia and Microsoft. Elop tweeted back "Two bicycle makers from Dayton, Ohio, one day decided to fly." It would be interesting to know what the folks at Apple think about all this reshuffling of the competition. Historically, these kinds of partnerships often come to nothing. We'll all be watching, but competition is good if it makes all our phones better. What do you think? Will Nokia-Microsoft be a powerful iPhone competitor? Or just two turkeys? Update: A funny footnote -- Nokia released a little video about the announcement, and if you use iMovie often, you might recognize the music. That's right: to celebrate their deal with Microsoft, Nokia used an Apple app. We wish the new couple well -- they'll probably need it.
FT subsidizes employee iPads, wants them to keep up with the times
You know tablets have officially become a mainstream craze when even the reserved, serious types over at the Financial Times start splashing subsidies around to stimulate their ownership. We've just heard that a $480 purse of gold coins will be extended to any FT workers who decide to purchase an iPad or another tablet between now and the end of June 2011, reportedly in an effort to help the paper's staff become "expert and experienced in using them." We already knew the FT, which happens to have its own iPad and Galaxy Tab apps, saw slate devices as an important piece of the puzzle that is our future, and this move cements that attitude in place. Paper's dead, long live electronics-filled plastic.
HTC 7 Pro going on preorder for Microsoft employees November 8th
Sprint will apparently be offering preorders of its HTC 7 Pro -- the only CDMA Windows Phone 7 device to be announced so far -- in just a few days' time on November 8th, but there's a fairly big catch: you've got to be a Microsoft employee to get in on the action. Redmond has been great about seeding WP7 models to its staff so far, so it's definitely possible that Sprint is working with Microsoft in some capacity to get 7 Pros to its folks a little early in an effort to smooth out last-minute bugs and get feedback... either that, or it's just doing them a solid by letting 'em preorder a few days before everyone else. Last we'd heard, the 7 Pro won't be coming until 2011 (despite the fact that there's already an FCC certification ready to roll), so if we were to see a few of the things floating around campus before January, we certainly wouldn't be surprised. Pricing is yet to be announced.
Rumor: Apple retail app to offer "check-ins," connect employees and customers
MacStories has heard an interesting rumor: that Apple's recent work in location-based networking and "check-in" software will be used inside of Apple's retail stores, specifically to provide better service from employees there. Not a lot is known yet (and MacStories doesn't reveal the source of the info, though presumably it comes from someone who works in or with Apple retail), but the rumor says that Apple would provide an app that's specifically designed to help coordinate the experience of visiting an Apple Store. A customer could check in and set up appointments directly from the app, get push notifications, and even see photos of employees assigned to help them. Employees could also use the app to track customers in the store and receive information about what they were there for. It all sounds very interesting -- we know for a fact that Apple employees went through some training just recently for the upcoming holiday season, so this app could have been one of the topics discussed. Something like this would definitely streamline things at the Apple Store, and move from the very ad hoc way of splitting up customers and employees to a more directed kind of connection. We'll have to see what Apple reveals as we move closer to this year's holiday sales season.
Apple, others talking to DoJ about anti-poaching agreement
Apple, Google, Pixar, Intel, and a few other companies are currently in talks with the Department of Justice about an alleged anti-poaching agreement, according to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal. The government is considering accusing the companies of agreeing to not hire each others' employees for a certain period of time. If, as a law professor tells the Journal, the government finds that these companies are actually agreeing to not poach, then employees could be hurt by not having access to the best deal available. For their part, the companies are reportedly arguing that non-poaching agreements are a requirement, especially when companies are so closely collaborating on various technologies and standards. Apple and Google, for example, would want to create the best products possible for customers, and wouldn't be able to do that if they had to worry about their employees possibly getting hired away by the other partner. There's no actual lawsuit yet -- this is still just an investigation, and the Journal says that there are "some companies more willing to settle to avoid an antitrust case than others." But we'll see -- if the Department determines that the companies did make an agreement and that employees were punished by it, then the case could end up in court eventually.
Zynga employees speak out on 'doing evil'
Google has been long-admired for its unique company motto: "Don't Be Evil." Critics will note that some of Google's practices have fallen from that mantra, but it's a better place to start than, say, Zynga, the company known for the popular Facebook games FarmVille and Mafia Wars. "Zynga's motto is 'Do Evil,'" a former employee of the company told SF Weekly. "I would venture to say it is one of the most evil places I've run into, from a culture perspective and in its business approach. I've tried my best to make sure that friends don't let friends work at Zynga." The driving force behind this bitterness and resentment of Zygna is the company's derivative culture. "You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers," one employee recalls Zynga's founder, Mark Pincus, telling the team. The SF Weekly report shows clear examples of Zygna's copy-paste attitude: there's Farm Town (pictured right), which preceded FarmVille (left) by months; and Playfish's Restaurant City, coming before Zynga's Cafe World. Zygna has already been sued by Digital Chocolate for the use of the Mafia Wars name. According to another employee, lawsuits have been accounted for, with the company mindful of possible settlements. "I was around meetings where things like that were being discussed, and the ramifications of things like that were being discussed -- the fact that they'd probably be sued by the people who designed the game," he says. "And the thought was, 'Well, that's fine, we'll settle.' Our case wasn't really defensible." Supposedly, things are changing. With hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the company, the public has been placing much more attention on Zynga's upcoming games. The era of the quick copy-paste cash-in may be over for Zynga, with at least one employee saying that there's a "new emphasis on original content and more sophisticated applications to draw in and keep users."
Microsoft wants employees to code Windows Phone 7 apps 'in their spare time'
You had to know those freebie WP7 devices for Microsoft employees would come with a few strings attached. We imagined the Redmond brain trust was aiming for some word-of-mouth popularization along with a boost in team morale and proactivity, but as it turns out, things are a little more codified than that. TechFlash has what it claims to be the internal memo announcing the free Windows Phone 7 handsets -- from mobile chief Andy Lees, who hasn't been having the best of times lately -- which sets out Redmond's expectation that employees should "evangelize" the product at every opportunity, while also setting aside some spare time before launch to develop apps (but, you know, only if they really want to). The idea, clearly, is to harness Microsoft's massive talent pool to try and get a headstart on populating the Marketplace with compelling content; we're just not too sure the "spare time" bit is going to go over quite as well as the "free smartphone" part. Either way, you'll find the full email from Andy at the source. [Thanks, Mint]
Another death at Foxconn, CEO makes statement
Looks like Foxconn's troubles are far from over -- hiring an exorcist must not have worked, because another worker jumped to their death last week. That's the 10th such employee death at the plant where many of Apple's parts are manufactured. Foxconn's CEO made a statement earlier this week saying that "we are not a sweatshop," and promising that the company will "soon be able to stabilize this situation." The company has also starting hanging nets around factories to try and save jumpers (that's pretty grisly), and they've asked all employees to sign a pledge to help stop the problem, which Gawker has obtained. The pledge asks workers to seek help before doing something to harm themselves, and to help those around them who need it. Foxconn claims it's not a sweatshop, but reports say the company is asking employees to work 60 hours of overtime a month (far over the legal limit of 36 hours of overtime), and paying only about $132 a month. Clearly something is wrong at the company that Apple depends on for much of its manufacturing labor.
No vacations in June for AT&T employees
Boy Genius has the news that AT&T has blacked out the month of June for employee vacations in their stores. In the past, they've done exactly that when, oh, say, a brand new iPhone launches. So it's possible that we could see a new iPhone out and ready to go even before it's expected in July of this year. Of course, we know that iPhone OS 4.0 is due out sometime soon, and because the new OS features will only work on the current 3GS model so far, it's not a stretch to think that Apple is prepping a brand new iPhone. A new handset has long been rumored to work on Verizon's network, but this would suggest that even if it is spread across multiple carriers, AT&T will have it for sure. We'll keep our eyes open as usual, but if you were planning to buy an iPhone and can wait until June for a new model, that's probably a good idea.
