Project Purple este proiectul initiat de catre Apple in 2004 pentru dezvoltarea unui telefon mobil care avea sa revolutioneze lumea. Cand Steve Jobs initia acest proiect, nu avea nici cea mai vaga idee ca va reusi sa schimbe atat de multe in gandirea utilizatorilor sau in cea a producatorilor, dar el stia ca trebuie sa dezvolte un produs de care lumea nu avea nevoie. In aceasta idee el l-a pus pe Scot Forstall sa preia proiectul Purple si sa dezvolte iPhone-ul, insa i-a spus ca nu poate angaja pe nimeni din afara Apple pentru aceasta misiune. In cadrul procesului dintre Samsung si Apple, Forstall a descris greutatile prin care a trecut incercand sa caute in interiorul Apple ingineri care sa dezvolte un smartphone, adica un produs pe care angajatii companiei nici macar nu visau sa il produca vreodata.
Forstall said that late Apple chief Steve Jobs put Forstall in charge of building all of the software for the phone. But he told Forstall that he could not hire anyone from outside the company. And, of course, Apple had never built a phone. “This was a real challenge,” Forstall testified. And, while he could recruit anyone from inside Apple he wanted, he couldn’t tell them the project they would be working on or even who they would report to. Forstall testified that his pitch was to find “superstars” from throughout Apple. “We’re starting another project,” he would tell those he brought into his office. “It’s so secret I cannot tell you what the project is.”
Avand sarcina de a dezvolta acest sistem de operare, Forstall a cautat oamenii necesari, insa acestora nu putea sa le spuna cine a initiat proiectul sau ce anume dezvolta ei acolo. Forstall a adunat o echipa de ingineri atentionati de la bun inceput ca vor fi nevoiti sa renunte la weekend-uri si sa faca ore suplimentare pentru cativa ani de zile, insa asta nu i-a oprit si echipa lui Jobs a preluat o cladire din campusul Apple in care a inceput sa dezvolte iPhone-ul. Desigur ca masurile de securitate erau foarte stricte, insa Forstall dorea sa dezvolte un terminal care sa faca navigarea pe web placuta, un terminal atat de grozav incat chiar si angajatii companiei ar fi dispusi sa il cumpere cand apare pe piata. Pentru ca proiectul era atat de secret, Forstall a pus pe usa cladirii un insemn pe care scria Fight Club, totul in ideea de a ascunde adevarata natura a acelei cladiri.
Plus, he promised little but long hours if they accepted the offer. “You are going to have to give up nights and weekends probably for a couple years,” he said. Some sales pitch. That said, Forstall said he managed to get some amazingly talented people. The team took one of Apple’s Cupertino buildings and locked it down. It started with a single floor with badge readers and cameras. In some cases, even workers on the team would have to show their badges five or six times. The goal was to create a phone that the Apple employees themselves wanted to carry, Forstall said. “We wanted something that was a great phone,” he said. “We wanted to do it from whole cloth.” Forstall said that the company also wanted a means to deliver the true Internet, unlike current phone browsers of the time, which used a technology called WAP. “It really gave you this baby Web, this dumbed-down Web,” Forstall said.
Si asa Forstall a inceput sa lucreze la dispozitivul care a revolutionat o lume intreaga, dispozitivul pe care acum sute de milioane de oameni il utilizeaza. Atunci Forstall a avut la dispozitie doar cateva zeci de persoane pentru a dezvolta iPhone-ul, insa in momentul de fata peste 2000 de angajati lucreaza sub conducerea directa a lui Scott si acesti ingineri se ocupa exclusiv de dezvoltarea iOS-ului. Din pacate nu s-au oferit mai multe detalii in proces, dar lupta continua si s-ar putea sa aflam alte lucruri la fel de interesante in curand.
