Don't Do It, Tim Cook!

First a disclaimer that you probably were already keenly aware of: We have no business telling other people what career moves they should make. With that said, Tim Cook please don't go to GM.

Word has broken that Cook is believed to be a "top candidate" for the position of CEO at General Motors. (And by believed to be, we mean Business Insider received an anonymous tip.) If you don't know Tim, he's the wizard that makes everything at Apple hum along without a hitch, and he's been doing it for the last four years as COO. He was at the helm of the company during Steve Jobs' leave of absence, and generally does a heck of a job keeping drama out of Apple's operation-side of things. 

With is strong track record, and his ability to run tight inventory levels, he would make a great CEO somewhere, but GM? Consider before Apple he spent 12 years at IBM. This guy gets tech, and he gets working in an environment with a fast-moving (and changing) inventory. GM is neither. GM has had a revolving door of sorts at the CEO position over the last 18 months. What that company needs is a person who has all kinds of groundbreaking ideas about the actual product (cars), not someone who can deftly handle an established and thriving dynamic environment. And all of this is to say that there's no word on whether Cook actually would have any interest in going to GM.

We wish him the best, and think there have to be opportunities out there if he finds Apple has grown stale/tiring, or he realizes his chances of being Apple's CEO while Jobs is there are nil, but there's got to be a better match than GM. We know that, and Tim Cook knows it too. Don't go vying for his office just yet, folks.

TDL Live This week: (1/26-2/6)

It was another raucous edition of TDL Live last night. We talked about breastfeeding photos, Palm Pre, femtocell, and of course all things Apple. First, a quick reminder, you can subscribe through iTunes to never miss an episode. Or you can hope its one of the weeks we remember to post it here in the blog. Don't risk it.

Jobs' Announcement May Explain Bland Keynote

We're all still digesting Steve Jobs' announcement that he will be taking a leave from Apple to care for his health issues that are, in his words, "more complex than I originally thought." First, it's worth noting that this was the suspicion of Jamie here at TDL from day one. I didn't believe it, and still don't want to. That said, this may explain why this year's keynote was so bland, and in a different way than you may have originally thought.

It is my belief that products like the iPhone nano, and the revamped Mac mini are ready, or nearly ready to debut. Apple may have taken a calculated risk: After all, if those new products were released, and Jobs left for an extended time, and Apple had nothing new to ship, what would people say? Apple can't make great products without Steve. Now, they can release these products over the next six months, and give the appearance (whether true or not) that the company can innovate perfectly fine with Jobs on the sidelines.