GeekwithEnvy

jobs

Apple to Bring Jobs to Arizona

by Leave a Comment

Apple Logo

In an official statement from the Arizona government, Governor Jan Brewer welcomes Apple to Arizona as he mentions that Apple will creating a new manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona that will bring with it at least 700 new jobs in the first year along with approximately 1,300 construction related jobs.

This is not only a big plus for Arizona but also for U.S jobs in general as many companies, including Apple, have relied on factories overseas to build their best products. The statement does not mention which products will be produced here, but it’s likely that it may have something to do with the upcoming Mac Pro line which will be made right here in the US.

Apple is indisputably one of the world’s most innovative companies and I’m thrilled to welcome them to Arizona,” said Governor Brewer. “Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate we have been creating these past four years. Their investment in renewable energy will also be greening our power grid, and creating significant new solar and geothermal power sources for the state. As Governor, I’ve worked hard to demonstrate that Arizona is open for business. Today’s news is proof that’s paying off.”

jOBS Gets Criticism From Wozniak

by Leave a Comment

The latest scene from the new movie about Steve Jobs, jOBS, is now making it’s way around the web and as interesting as it is, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, says it’s totally wrong. In a conversation with Gizmodo, Woz goes on to mention that the scene we see here in the clip above, never even happened and that the personalities are way off.

He continued on in an email to say this:

“Totally wrong. Personalities and where the ideas of computers affecting society did not come from Jobs. They inspired me and were widely spoken at the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve came back from Oregon and came to a club meeting and didn’t start talking about this great social impact. His idea was to make a $20 PC board and sell it for $40 to help people at the club build the computer I’d given away. Steve came from selling surplus parts at HalTed he always saw a way to make a quick buck off my designs (this was the 5th time).

The lofty talk came much further down the line.

I never looked like a professional. We were both kids. Our relationship was so different than what was portrayed. I’m embarrassed but if the movie is fun and entertaining, all the better. Anyone who reads my book iWoz can get a clearer picture.” 

It’s no surprise that hollywood got the details wrong and often they change things up to make something work on film a little better, but this is just a little silly. You want to be in the ballpark not out in the parking lot when it comes to bringing a true story to life. It makes you wonder why they didn’t utilize a bit of consultation before solidifying the script. Just getting the clothing right would have been nice.

With all of that being said, I don’t want to completely trash a film that I have only seen one clip of. It’s nice to see that a story like this is being brought to hollywood, despite it’s flaws. Not only is this story interesting but it’s inspiring and that’s something a lot of today’s films just don’t offer. Although I can’t help but see Ashton as Kelso at times, he does seem to pull off the look of Steve Jobs in the early days pretty well. Despite Wozniak’s comments I would still like to watch the film in it’s entirety.

 

Apple to Create More U.S Jobs

by Leave a Comment

Many large corporations that are U.S based find that sending the jobs over seas is a no brainer and Apple is no different. It’s not that these corporations are evil and hate the U.S, it’s that globalization is an integral part of doing business in today’s world, but does it leave enough behind for the U.S?

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Source:Apple)

A great question was asked of Tim Cook (Apple’s CEO) in an interview with Bloomberg last week. The question was, “What are the obligations of an American company to be patriotic, and what do you think that means in a globalized era?”. Cook replied with, ” I do feel we have a responsibility to create jobs. I don’t think we have a responsibility to create a certain kind of job, but I think we do have a responsibility to create jobs.”

Further in the discussion Cook mentioned that businesses are often being evaluated by the number of employees that a company has in order to deduce what kind of job growth they have contributed to over the year, he went on to mention that this is an outdated technique and that Apple, for example, has created jobs in many other ways. One of the ways that Apple has indirectly created jobs is by offering entrepreneurs a way to be successful through software development and utilizing the App Store.

Apple is going a step further in U.S job creation by taking a more direct approach as Cook mentions bringing some Mac production back to the states. There could be as many as 200 new jobs in the U.S with Apple’s effort to bring some work back home. This of course would be great news for a tough U.S economy. Many of these jobs will be manufacturing jobs that offer pay from 30k up to 65k a year.

I feel that any U.S company should offer some direct employment opportunities right here in the U.S. Although it’s not a requirement, it’s expected and why not reward the country that allows you to become successful in the first place? I understand the importance of a global economy but how much risk is there in bringing even a handful of jobs back home, perhaps in areas of the country that need them the most. It’s more of an investment in the stability of the U.S economy that you grow in, albeit small. We should look at a company the way Cook mentions in the interview and try to see all aspects of job growth provided by a company and not just it’s employees.

As a software developer myself, (currently by hobby) I can’t help but to stand back and look at how many tools today’s software companies  and even individuals have at their disposal. Thanks to companies like Apple and Microsoft there are tons of resources available to get you off the ground and then there’s this great platform to showcase your product in front of millions and millions of people. The logistics of software production and distribution even 10 years ago was a huge stone wall to many and now it’s possible to sell millions of copies of the game digitally and practically overnight. This creates jobs and yes Apple is partly responsible for that happening.

Hopefully, other corporations will continue to bring jobs back to the U.S and not just manufacturing jobs either. We need high skilled jobs as well, but that requires that we have high skilled workers and our obligation is to improve our educational system to allow for better opportunities to learn the skills required for these jobs. Most employers don’t want to spend the time and money to train new employees, they expect you to have the experience when you walk in the door. Unfortunately, this creates a catch 22 situation. You need the experience to get the job but no one will hire you without the experience. We need to address this issue in the U.S and employers should work a bit closer with educators to make this problem disappear.

In the meantime, having any direct job creation here in the U.S is a good thing because we have all kinds of skilled people here at home that could benefit greatly from any opportunity given to us by these large corporations. We will have to wait and see how things work out for Apple in this new U.S job push.