Nicholas Negroponte says Apple is not helping the tech industry
The co-founder of MIT Media Lab and One Laptop Per Child has once again hit out at Apple for not coming to the table in regards to research and participation.
Nicholas Negroponte spoke at the World Business Forum in Sydney on May 26 of his frustration at the company created by his "old friend," Steve Jobs, due to its lack of involvement in collaboration within the technology industry.
SEE ALSO:Apple's latest billion-dollar business: Venture capital?He claimed that in 20 years, the company has not written one research paper or attended any external research meetings, such as working groups, government-funded workshops, or held their own onsite research meetings with external scientists in the way Google, Microsoft and Facebook often do.
Negroponte said the company has a bad attitude and he has struggled to trust them due to their secrecy. "It is well known that Apple does not participate in research and technology in an open fashion and in a way that the field benefits from and it is very much a one-way street," Negroponte told Mashable Australia, after his talk.
He said although you get some benefit back in Apple's "perfectly good, beautiful products," which he admitted he uses as much as anyone, the way they do business is like nothing he has seen from the other tech giants.
"It is well known that Apple does not participate in research and technology in an open fashion and in a way that the field benefits from and it is very much a one-way street."
"If you look at Microsoft, which is a company which I may not admire as much for their products, they have an extraordinary research lab," Negroponte said. "... of course there is proprietary information but in the so-called precompetitive world, we really depend on an openness and a participation which Apple noticeably does not have."
In his talk, Negroponte pointed to the recent FBI phone debacle -- in which Apple refused to unlock a phone that was used by San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook -- as evidence of the company's desire for its customers' trust although it doesn't provide the same in return.
He said it was concerning the public was now in a position it had to trust Apple more than its government but with a lack of information. "Apple said they wouldn't, rather than they couldn't [unlock the phone]. That means they could," he said.
It's not the first time Negroponte has dissed Apple for its closed-doors policy. In a TED talk in 2014, he also used the podium to bring attention to his issues with the company. On Thursday, he called on the company to come to the table. Apple has been contacted for comment.
A company spokesperson directed Mashable Australiato examples of Apple's work in the research space, such as the creation of ResearchKit and CareKit. The company consulted medical institutions and foundations around the world to develop the tools.
ResearchKit is essentially a way of crowdsourcing information from from patients or carers, who are Apple users, to assist in medical research used by doctors and researchers. CareKit is an app that allows users to see how they are responding to medical care.
The open source framework also allows researchers and developers to build apps, which help source health data from a larger pool of people. Judging by his comments, Negroponte obviously thinks that is too little, too late. He has been contacted for further comment.
Negroponte urged Apple to come to the table.Credit: VCG via Getty ImagesStartups should actually try to change the world
A futurist and investor, Negroponte is one person who knows how important research is to the industry. He has seen a lot of companies grow and a lot of ideas come to fruition during his career. He has also been involved heavily with industry research.
During his discussion with Mashable Australia he made note that startups need to push forward with innovation and not create just another app. "There is a long-term deficit of young people working on the hard, long term problems," he said.
In today's technology marketplace, where everyone has a startup, Negroponte believes "there is a lot more money today than there are good ideas." And he should know, being an investor in more than 30 startups during the last three decades.
He advised startup founders to think big and not be put off by investors trying to get out a product quicker and faster. "I ask people to be a little bit more true to what they are trying to do, that doesn't mean to be stubborn, it may be more about the idea and less about the funding of it," Negroponte explained.
"I very often admire people who not just fly in the face of normal wisdom but tell their funders: 'If you find this too difficult, come back later, we'll find somebody else.' Not everyone is in that position but probably people are more often in that position than they believe."
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
-
夏凤俭与四川建安工业有限责任公司董事长耿海波座谈Haaland double sees Dortmund rout FreiburgTrump's 'sh*thole' comment: Who censored and who didn't?[FULL TEXT] Trump's letter to Kim JongPakistan to host South Africa before ICC Women’s T20 World CupRevolving door hiring reemerges as controversy at stateEmotional couple held a touching funeral for their fishN. Korea's border region designated as 'militaryForeign, multicultural students rise amid declining school population'Ticket to Pyongyang, please' [PHOTOS]
下一篇:How 3D Game Rendering Works: Texturing
- ·Tesla considers adding a new ‘stuck detection' feature to Cybertruck. Here’s why.
- ·Barca 'heads held high': Xavi
- ·Moon, Kim hold surprise 2nd summit
- ·Real Madrid win Spanish Super Cup
- ·The Wonderful World of Christmas Trees
- ·U.S. praises Korea, Japan for reaching breakthrough deal on wartime sexual slavery
- ·Mattis warns of bumpy road to US, North Korea summit
- ·Djokovic in Australian Open draw but may still be kicked out
- ·N. Korea test
- ·Nadal, Osaka through after Djokovic saga at Australian Open
- ·Microsoft's Joe Belfiore just buried Windows Phone...on Twitter
- ·Flying 'Harry Potter' brooms come to 'Destiny' for Halloween
- ·Apple to start manufacturing iPhone Pro in India, report claims
- ·成立农机应急队伍,构建科学防灾体系
- ·Zuckerberg wants 1 billion people to use virtual reality
- ·N. Korea's border region designated as 'military
- ·N. Korea test
- ·Southampton mark new era by thrashing Brentford
- ·Victims protest sex slavery deal
- ·China blocks online searches insulting Kim Jong
- ·Footage of Kim Yo
- ·Emma Watson and Robert Pattinson reunite at Golden Globes, 'Harry Potter' fans go wild
- ·工行雅安分行积极开展反洗钱宣传活动
- ·'Destiny' Halloween event finally puts your raisins to good use
- ·AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 may get revealed at the Apple September event
- ·Freight train with no driver is one step closer to a fully
- ·17 Spectacular Outdoor Staircases
- ·Uncertainties remain over inter
- ·Two Koreas begin high
- ·Singapore expels two Korean journalists over trespass
- ·LG Display starts production of advanced OLED displays for gaming
- ·Beating Madrid could be a turning point for Barca: Xavi
- ·Keira Knightley on modern films: 'female characters nearly always get raped'
- ·肇庆赛区15强诞生,晋级决赛!
- ·Yoon, US Senate's armed service committee chief discuss alliance, N.K. threats
- ·Rival parties again fail to agree on electoral map