Former OS X chief working on cloud startup with other ex-Apple employees
Serlet is working with at least two other former Apple employees at the company in downtown Palo Alto, Calif., according to Business Insider. The company is described as a "cloud hosting provider" with "consulting services in the field of cloud computing."
Said to have joined Serlet at Upthere is Roger Bodamer, a former vice president of product operations and development at Apple, as well as Justin Maxwell, a former Apple user interface designer.
Other details on Upthere are scarce. The company filed for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization in September of 2011, which was granted.
A job posting for Upthere didn't identify Serlet or any other ex-Apple employees by name, stating only that the company's founders "were key to building the world's leading operating system (Mac OS X) and database (Oracle) and have a clear vision of core technology for a Cloud OS."
The departure of Serlet from Apple was announced in March of 2011, making him one of a handful of key executives that would exit the company last year. Retail chief Ron Johnson also announced last June that he would be leaving Apple in November become the new chief executive at retailer JC Penney, while company co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs passed away last October at age 56.
Serlet worked with Jobs for 22 years before last year's departure, which he said would let him "focus less on products and more on science." He was replaced at Apple by Craig Federighi, who is now responsible for the development of OS X.
25 Comments
Doesn't Apple require non-compete agreements from key employees?
Should they shut these guys down? Why aren't they using what Apple taught them to further Apple's iCloud inititative, rather than trying to kill it?
Doesn't Apple require non-compete agreements from key employees?
Should they shut these guys down?
Itchy trigger finger?
No one knows (yet) what these guys are doing and to what extent (if any) it violates their agreements with Apple or whether these agreements even apply in this case. I'm not even sure non-compete agreements are very enforceable in California.
Why aren't they using what Apple taught them to further Apple's iCloud inititative, rather than trying to kill it?
Maybe Apple didn't want to do what these guys want to do. Who says they're trying to "kill" anything (let alone what Apple is doing)?
Sheesh.
That is so funny! "Up There" is a long running joke at our office ever since an email interchange that went something like:
- "Ok the file is up there."
-- "I don't know where "Up There" is but I don't see the file."
- "It is in the folder with your name on it."
Ever since then it is always "Up There" with lyrical emphasis.
Too bad Apple didn't buy Sun when they had the chance. They could always snatch up Joyent (its made up largely of ex-Sun engineers) as its pretty much in the same area Up There is targeting.
[quote name="JerrySwitched26" url="/t/151008/former-os-x-chief-working-on-cloud-startup-with-other-ex-apple-employees#post_2137260"]Doesn't Apple require non-compete agreements from key employees? Should they shut these guys down? Why aren't they using what Apple taught them to further Apple's iCloud inititative, rather than trying to kill it? [/quote] I for one am glad to see Steve Jobs' "DNA" out there evolving the tech universe. All these guys were hired and trained by Jobs and have the Apple Way in their genes... Except for Rubin of course. :-)