AllThingsD » Lynn Fox

PR Maven Lynn Fox Joins Twitter

Liz Gannes — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:22:57 +0000

Tech PR veteran Lynn Fox will join Twitter later this month as director of communications under Sean Garrett. Fox was previously at Apple, Google, Palm, Lucasfilm and most recently Ustream. At Twitter she’ll focus on corporate PR.

Former Apple Software Chief Joins Palm Backer Elevation Partners

John Paczkowski — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:50:27 +0000

Add another name to the list of former Apple employees resurfacing at Palm and its chief backer, Elevation Partners. Avie Tevanian, who once served as Apple’s chief software technology officer, has joined Elevation as a managing director.

“Avie and I worked closely together at Apple for many years and I have always admired his engineering talent and leadership, his strategic vision for how software can transform businesses and his ability to execute on that vision,” Elevation co-founder Fred Anderson said in a statement. “We are proud that he has decided to join Elevation and believe he will be a huge asset as we explore new investment opportunities.”

Indeed. Tevanian, who spent nearly a decade leading Apple’s software engineering efforts before leaving in 2006, came to the company from Steve Jobs’s Next Computer, where he helped build the NeXTSTEP operating system, an early precursor of the current Mac OS.

I can’t imagine that Apple (AAPL) is at all happy about Tevanian’s latest career choice.

By enlisting with Elevation, Tevanian joins a group of Palm-backing Apple alums that includes Palm (PALM) Chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein, formerly Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering; Senior VP of Product Development Mike Bell, former SVP of product development at Apple; Senior Apple Designer Jeff Zwerner; VP of Public Relations Lynn Fox, who once headed up Mac PR for the Cupertino, Calif., company; and, of course, board member Fred Anderson, who served as Apple’s CFO from 1996 to 2004.

Image credit: Que Nerd

Apple CEO to Palm: I'll Quit Sniffing Your Org Chart if You Quit Sniffing Mine

John Paczkowski — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:28:20 +0000

Apple appears to have a particular affinity for the unwritten no-poaching agreements said to be so popular among the nation’s biggest tech companies. Earlier this summer, the New York Times reported that Apple may have quietly negotiated an agreement with Google (GOOG) not to hire away each other’s top talent. Now, Bloomberg claims that the company attempted to win a similar commitment from Palm, but was rebuffed.

In August 2007, just after former Apple exec Jon Rubinstein joined Palm, Apple CEO Steve Jobs warned Palm CEO Ed Colligan against poaching his company’s employees. “We must do whatever we can to stop this,” he said, according to communications reviewed by Bloomberg. Colligan declined. “Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other’s employees, regardless of the individual’s desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal,” he told the Apple CEO, noting–ironically–that Cupertino had hired away some two percent of Palm’s workforce as it began developing the iPhone.

And that’s proven a wise move. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating just such gentleman’s agreements as a collusive restraint on trade. And Palm (PALM) and Apple (AAPL) are sparring over intellectual property and the Pre handset, which Apple claims “falsely pretends to be an iPod.” How convenient for Palm that these communications should emerge now when its Cupertino rival is giving it such a hard time. And such a distraction for Apple legal….

Of course, Jobs was right to worry. Within a year of his warning to Colligan, Palm hired away Mike Bell and Lynn Fox, Apple VP of CPU software in the Macintosh hardware division and head of Mac PR respectively, among others hired later. And within two years, Palm debuted a new handset that some consider a worthy rival to the Apple iPhone.

Apple CEO to Palm: I'll Quit Sniffing Your Org Chart if You Quit Sniffing Mine

John Paczkowski — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:28:20 +0000

Apple Alumni Association of Palm, Inc. Announces New Member

John Paczkowski — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:47:01 +0000

Palm has added another Apple alum to its employee roster.

Jeff Zwerner, who did stints at Apple as both senior art director and creative director for packaging, has signed on at Palm (PALM) as senior vice president of brand design.

Zwerner joins Palm Chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein, formerly Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering; Senior VP of Product Development Mike Bell, former SVP of product development at Apple (AAPL); VP of Public Relations Lynn Fox, who once headed up Mac PR for the Cupertino, Calif., company; and board member Fred Anderson, who served as Apple’s CFO from 1996 to 2004.

Quite a collection. And it doesn’t include rank-and-file employees who’ve train-hopped from Cupertino to Sunnyvale. Seems Palm’s makeover isn’t so much a reinvention as a reimagining of the company as a sort of paint-by-numbers version of Apple.

You Can Almost Hear the Shrieks of Outrage in Cupertino, Can't You?

John Paczkowski — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:15:59 +0000

“iTunes 8.2.1 disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre. As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.”

– Apple, July 15, 2009

“Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That’s right–you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1).”

– Palm, July 23, 2009

Devices “falsely pretending to be iPods” can once again sync with iTunes, whether Apple (AAPL) likes it or not.

Palm (PALM) this evening released an update to the Pre’s webOS operating system that restores the iTunes syncing ability disabled by its Cupertino rival only last week.

“Palm has released webOS 1.1, which, along with offering more robust EAS support for business users, re-enables Palm media sync,” said company spokesperson Lynn Fox. “Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member.”

The “oh, and one more thing” was a nice touch. But let’s face it, nothing can come of this but ugliness….

You Can Almost Hear the Shrieks of Outrage in Cupertino, Can't You?

John Paczkowski — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:15:59 +0000

“iTunes 8.2.1 disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre. As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.”

– Apple, July 15, 2009

“Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That’s right–you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1).”

– Palm, July 23, 2009

Devices “falsely pretending to be iPods” can once again sync with iTunes, whether Apple (AAPL) likes it or not.

Palm (PALM) this evening released an update to the Pre’s webOS operating system that restores the iTunes syncing ability disabled by its Cupertino rival only last week.

The “oh, and one more thing” was a nice touch. But let’s face it, nothing can come of this but ugliness….

"Unsupported Third-Party Digital Media Players." Hmm, Wonder Who That Could Pre…

John Paczkowski — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:13:43 +0000

Palm’s Pre is the first non-Apple device to successfully link with iTunes in years. And it may be the last. On Tuesday, Apple issued an advisory warning that it does not support iTunes integration with third-party digital media players.

Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.

Translation: The Pre won’t be syncing with iTunes for long.

Now, Palm isn’t explicitly named in the advisory, but it’s clear that this is a broad shot across its bow. And it’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Did anyone really think that Apple (AAPL) would permit the Pre to sync with iTunes by masquerading as an iPod?

Funny. Asked last month at D7 if Apple might take issue with the Pre’s iTunes integration, Palm investor Roger McNamee said, “I don’t think so. They are practically a monopolist and this is what consumers want. Consumers own all this media. I find it hard to believe that Apple will get bent out of shape.” (see video below)

Well, believe it. That said, Palm (PALM) seems unfazed by Apple’s implied threat. Reached for comment, the company said Cupertino will only harm consumers if it disables iTunes integration with the Pre. “Palm’s media sync works with the current version of iTunes,” Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox told me. “If Apple chooses to disable media sync in a future version of iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we could consider.”

[ See post to watch video ]

"Unsupported Third-Party Digital Media Players." Hmm, Wonder Who That Could Pre…

John Paczkowski — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:13:43 +0000

Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.

Translation: The Pre won’t be syncing with iTunes for long.

[ See post to watch video ]

Palm Pre: The Big Day …

John Paczkowski — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:03:40 +0000

The Palm (PALM) Pre officially went on sale this morning, and judging from initial reports–and my experience at a local Northern California Sprint store–neither demand or supply was particularly overwhelming. Certainly, lines for the device were far shorter than those that extended from Apple (AAPL) stores for the launches of the iPhone and the iPhone 3G.

Arriving outside my local Sprint (S) store about an hour after they first opened, I found not a queue of eager Pre-buyers, but two kids making forts out of a few Pre shipping boxes left outside the store. Inside the store, I found a group of nine people waiting in line to add their names to a waiting list for the device, which was already sold out at this location. A Sprint rep refused to tell me how many Pres had been sold this morning, but admitted that the shipment had been a small one.

The situation is apparently the same across the country. The Boston Globe reports that Sprint’s Back Bay store sold out of its 55 Pres by 11 AM. An informal survey by 24/7 Wall Street reveals sell outs or fast-dwindling supplies of the device at Sprint and Best Buy stores in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Four of the five Best Buy stores I contacted reported selling out of the Pre very quickly; one representative told me his store had just four of the devices and he believed that to be the case at many other locations.

Sprint stores I spoke with in LA, Chicago and Boston told me they’d sold out by late morning.

Q: How many names on the list? A: “We’re not allowed to say.” A reader tells me that the line outside the W. Division Street in Chicago was at least 50 people long, and that the store started wait-listing people somewhere around #36. Another reader reports a line of about 20 people outside an Emeryville, CA Sprint store. That same reader claims a clerk told him the store had 60 Pres on hand. Still another reader reports that the line outside Sprint’s Market Street store in San Francisco started at 6 AM this morning. There were a dozen or so folks in line by about 7:30 AM. Finally, another reader reports that a Sprint store in San Francisco’s Castro district had a line of about 40 people when she showed up to get in line at 7 AM. That location, too, sold out quickly.

Four phones at the local Best Buy? Stores in Marin, LA and Chicago sold out within hours? Makes you wonder if Palm and Sprint are purposely constraining supply to foster an image of overwhelming demand.

Palm Pre on June 7? No Way.

John Paczkowski — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:25:00 +0000

June 8. That’s the day Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference kicks off and the day the company is expected to uncrate its next-generation iPhone.

Could it also be the day after Palm rolls out its new Pre handset? The latest rumors suggest it is, positing June 7 as one of the release windows for the Pre and noting that the company is casting a viral video campaign slated to run through that month as well.

It’s an intriguing thought, but would Palm (PALM) really do such a thing? It seems doubtful. Certainly, debuting a handset as anxiously awaited as the Pre a day before Apple’s WWDC keynote would be a bold move that would generate no end of jawing in the tech media and beyond.

But only for about a day. Because 24 hours later all eyes and ears will shift to WWDC and they’ll be watching not just for the next iPhone but for this mysterious new tablet device we’ve been hearing about, as well and in who’s hands those devices may or may not debut. If Steve Jobs delivers the keynote and announces them, the media’s focus will be on his health, Apple’s future and these new devices. If he doesn’t, the focus will STILL be on his health, Apple’s future and these new devices.

So for Palm to launch the Pre on June 7 would be sheer lunacy. To do so would be to set itself up to have its most important product release in years washed away in a deluge of Apple (AAPL) coverage. Better to launch the device well in advance of the next iPhone’s expected arrival or after it than be subsumed in the iPhone/iTablet monomania that’s ramping up. WWDC is already sold out.

Oh, one last thing–an interesting side note. My last message to Palm’s PR head, Lynn Fox, was met with an out-of-office message explaining she’s away on vacation until May 11. Resting up for the big announcement, presumably, which–given her return date–may fall closer to the originally rumored May 17 drop date than thought.

The Mac: 25 Years After 1984

John Paczkowski — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:00:06 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]