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It's funny, I have the exact opposite opinion of Phil. Back when I worked at Apple we'd watch every presentation because, hey, it's a good excuse to slack off

It's funny, I have the exact opposite opinion of Phil. Back when I worked at Apple we'd watch every presentation because, hey, it's a good excuse to slack off at the office. Phil was always the most boring guy because you always knew exactly what he was going to say and exactly what kind of non-answers he'd give to questions. I mean yeah, it's great he hits the mark perfectly every time, but it's also so, so boring. He's the classic marketing shill. I wonder if his name is really even Fill Shiller, it's too perfect.

newscracker 6y ago
Thanks. It’s interesting to hear other perspectives. > Phil was always the most boring guy because you always knew exactly what he was going to say and exactly what kind of non-answers he'd give to questions. I never felt this way. Maybe it’s because I was never in a place where I could ask him questions or watched a presentation where someone could ask him questions. > I mean yeah, it's great he hits the mark perfectly every time, but it's also so, so boring. He's the classic marketing shill. I wonder if his name is really even Fill Shiller, it's too perfect. I didn’t see most of his presentations as marketing shill. Maybe I haven’t been paying much attention to that aspect.
- refurb 6y ago
  Just a guess, but I assume someone internal to the company has a much different perspective, just because they have more knowledge of how things actually went. I’ve seen senior folks at my former company do external talks that get rave reviews and my opinion was always “that’s not how it happened at all!”. Sort of like not eating sausage anymore once you’ve seen how it’s made.
Lammy 6y ago
I think his personality worked really well on stage as the guy next to Steve Jobs who ran the Wintel Photoshop filter demos and made excuses for why they aren't as fast as the G4 =p
- andrekandre 6y ago
  ill always remember him for jumping of a ledge to demonstrate wifi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw remember watching that on a postage stamp sized video as a kid... so magical (and whimsical) in those days
  - pfranz 6y ago
    Phil Schiller tells the backstory here: https://atp.fm/317 https://atp.fm/317 (28:00)
    - andrekandre 6y ago
      interesting, thanks!
Answerawake 6y ago
Phil Schiller needs to go back to awkwardly jumping off of heights to make a impact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw EDIT: Whoops, just saw someone posted the same clip below.
draw_down 6y ago
Yes, I feel similarly as an external observer. He just says how great the new stuff is, in a way that is typically quite uninteresting. He is really good at doing that, though. It would be nice to be slightly more candid about the things Apple is clearly not as good at, but I suppose that just isn't his thing. (Or Apple's thing more generally.)

newscracker 6y ago

Thanks. It’s interesting to hear other perspectives. > Phil was always the most boring guy because you always knew exactly what he was going to say and exactly what kind of non-answers he'd give to questions. I never felt this way. Maybe it’s because I was never in a place where I could ask him questions or watched a presentation where someone could ask him questions. > I mean yeah, it's great he hits the mark perfectly every time, but it's also so, so boring. He's the classic marketing shill. I wonder if his name is really even Fill Shiller, it's too perfect. I didn’t see most of his presentations as marketing shill. Maybe I haven’t been paying much attention to that aspect.

refurb 6y ago
Just a guess, but I assume someone internal to the company has a much different perspective, just because they have more knowledge of how things actually went. I’ve seen senior folks at my former company do external talks that get rave reviews and my opinion was always “that’s not how it happened at all!”. Sort of like not eating sausage anymore once you’ve seen how it’s made.

Lammy 6y ago

I think his personality worked really well on stage as the guy next to Steve Jobs who ran the Wintel Photoshop filter demos and made excuses for why they aren't as fast as the G4 =p

andrekandre 6y ago
ill always remember him for jumping of a ledge to demonstrate wifi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw remember watching that on a postage stamp sized video as a kid... so magical (and whimsical) in those days
- pfranz 6y ago
  Phil Schiller tells the backstory here: https://atp.fm/317 https://atp.fm/317 (28:00)
  - andrekandre 6y ago
    interesting, thanks!

Answerawake 6y ago

Phil Schiller needs to go back to awkwardly jumping off of heights to make a impact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MR4R5LdrJw EDIT: Whoops, just saw someone posted the same clip below.

draw_down 6y ago

Yes, I feel similarly as an external observer. He just says how great the new stuff is, in a way that is typically quite uninteresting. He is really good at doing that, though. It would be nice to be slightly more candid about the things Apple is clearly not as good at, but I suppose that just isn't his thing. (Or Apple's thing more generally.)