In his letter to Apple employees yesterday, Steve Jobs announced that iTunes VP Eddy Cue is taking on some additional responsibilities in a newly-created role at Apple: VP of Internet Services, which is functionally equivalent to being appointed God Emperor of Awesome.
Many people, including some inside Apple, don't think Apple has what it takes to get the whole "cloud computing" thing right. But, recent problems with MobileMe notwithstanding, Apple is doing a pretty amazing job with the iTunes Store, no mean feat of cloud computing itself. And they don't just do the cloud—they do the clients too: Macs, iPods, iPhones, AppleTV's, even Windows PC's. They even do some of the networking stuff that puts it all together. And they do it all very well.
This whole cloud computing thing is hard. Even Google doesn't get it right all the time, even though they have effectively infinite resources and that's pretty much all they do. But I have great confidence that Apple will get it right. If there's to be an Apple in 20 years, they'll have to.
So Eddy, if you need someone who has some experience running Mac services in the cloud to get your coffee, pick up your dry cleaning, or get your car washed, just let me know. Technical Assistant to the God Emperor of Awesome. That has a nice ring to it.
Update: Misspelling Eddy's name probably wasn't the best way to land the TA job, but I blame Engadget. Then again, maybe it's for the best.
Not "Technical Assistant God Emperor of Awesome," Dwight?
Just hook me up with some employee-discounted stuff when you get there, mm'kay? Thanks!
Posted by: Chris | August 07, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Haha. I'd totally start parting my hair like that too.
-c
Posted by: Charlie Wood | August 07, 2008 at 11:50 AM