I had the pleasure of working with Marissa for four years (2003-2007) helping shape Google's user experience, but to find the root of my belief that she's the best possible choice for Yahoo!'s top spot you only need to look at my recent archives.

When Carol Bartz was ousted in late 2011, I wrote my own prescription for Yahoo!'s next leader:

Hire a CEO who has experience building consumer web properties. Someone who has experience working with engineers and product designers and is eager to do so. Someone who's claim to fame isn't schmoozing, swearing, or otherwise leading a company in a different industry.

Take a look at the companies where your talented engineers, product managers, VPs and designers have gone, and consider that maybe those guys know what they're doing. You might find a leader from within one of those companies.

Your problem is making and maintaining compelling products, not media partnerships. You'll have a better chance choosing a leader who knows more about that stuff than making movies or CAD software.

Though the subsequent appointment of Scott Thompson was a small step in the right direction (hiring someone who had actually worked in a leadership role in a consumer internet company) it didn't go nearly far enough, CS degrees notwithstanding.

I don't recall if I had Marissa specifically in mind when I wrote my description of the ideal Yahoo! CEO, but I might as well have. She's exactly what Yahoo! needs.

All products die. It's inevitable. That said, Apple didn't just let the 17-inch MacBook Pro die. They didn't simply kill it off. They assassinated it and are hurriedly burying the body.

My wife, Rachel, is a photographer and has lived on 17-inch Apple laptops since before they were even called MacBooks. She cherishes hers because of the anti-glare screen and ample screen real estate for photo post-production.

My dad got one of the first ones back in 2003, and when he passed away it went to my sister who used it until recently, when it couldn't be upgraded anymore and she needed a newer OS to sync her iPad.

People close to me have relied on 17-inch Apple laptops for nearly a decade.

Today during the WWDC keynote Apple acted like the machine never existed, and when the keynote was over the machine was wiped from the site and the store (albeit a bit clumsily).

Rachel's 17-inch MacBook Pro is over three years old and though it works fine the latest model is about 4x the speed, and hers won't last forever. Since the Retina 15-inch MBP doesn't have an anti-glare option, and the 17-inch screen size is still preferable, we decided we should get a replacement 17-inch MacBook Pro while we can.

First off, the Apple Online Store isn't an option. It shrugs at you innocently and says "17-inch MacBook? I've never heard of that." After calling around to the local Apple Stores we found three that had them in stock, all three of which said they had instructions to send their remaining inventory back to Apple at the end of the day. One of them even said they had instructions not to sell any before they sent them back.

I managed to get one of the few remaining machines tonight, and it's the first time I ever bought AppleCare for a machine. If something goes wrong with it down the line I want it fixed, since replacement won't be an option.

It turns out that this is why Apple needs the existing inventory of 17-inch MacBooks. The production lines have halted, and Apple needs parts to meet its AppleCare commitments for the next several years. For most people yesterday held plentiful machines in a popular line, but by tomorrow the machine will have been all but wiped off the face of the earth, save for the handful in third-party stores that are sure to go within a matter of days. The Apple machine that has made an art of taking a product from nonexistence to ubiquity in a matter of weeks has shown that it can perform this magic trick in reverse as well.

See? Assassinated.

R.I.P. 17-inch MacBook Pro. You were a mighty warrior.

Report card time! Rather than grades like I gave myself after last October's iPhone event, I'm just re-publishing my predictions, color-coding them as really right, right, meh, wrong, really wrong. Enjoy!

iOS things to expect

iOS 6 developer beta

It's iOS preview time, and there's plenty of new functionality that developers will love to get their hands on.

Siri API

It's easy to forget that Apple still classifies Siri as a beta feature, but they do. Expect that to change with iOS 6, which will include a Siri API for third-party apps. No API yet, but at least there's the ability to launch third-party apps

Facebook integration

Expect a Facebook deal on par with Twitter's current iOS integration. iOS 6 may be the version that lets apps register services so that any app can have the same kind of presence in the 'send' menu that Twitter, Mail, and Message currently enjoy, and Facebook may be shown off as an example of best practices, or it may be another one-off deal like Twitter.

All new Maps App

As has been widely rumored on the web, and hinted at by iPhoto for iOS's use of Open Maps data instead of Google's tiles, it looks like now's the time for Apple to show off their new in-house Maps app. The current Maps app is showing its age and, though it uses Google's map tiles, Apple is actually responsible for building the app, which is why so few of the many advancements that have come to Google Maps on Android (like offline access, 3D view, and route bending) have made their way in to the iOS app (walking directions and street view are notable exceptions).

Expect the new app to use a completely different tileset, and to have a very slick Google Earth-style 3D view that covers every building via algorithmic analysis from Apple's acquisition of C3 Technologies last year. Google's 3D models have historically been hand-drawn in SketchUp, though they are also working on algorithmic analysis for 3D extrapolation.

While Apple is making a stellar '1000 foot view' with C3's technology, Google is trying to make a huge improvement to the street-level experience using some of the same technology they've been working on for their self-driving cars. These cars, equipped with LIDAR pylons, create a 3D model of their surroundings several times a second as they drive, and the same LIDAR pylons have been integrated into a fleet of Google Street View cars. Realtime depth data, merged with the photo data from the car's ball of cameras, allow for the creation of a rich texture-mapped picture of the surroundings, allowing for a high fidelity street view that can be navigated smoothly rather than frame-by-frame, and could even eliminate transient objects like parked cars or people on the sidewalk.

Presumably once Apple stops using Google Maps tiles for their Maps app Google will be free to submit their own maps app for iOS and Apple would be hard-pressed to stop them, given the government scrutiny they underwent when stalling on the approval of Google Voice and other Google apps for iOS a few years ago.

Expect Google to have an Android Maps app update available this month and an iOS app 'in the works for near release', and Apple to have the new Maps app in the iOS 6 developer build, but not available to mainstream users until iOS 6 comes out in late Summer.

New screen resolution

The only place where Apple may tip its hand regarding unannounced hardware may be in placing an emphasis on 'vertically agnostic' iPhone app design. By encouraging app developers with a wink and a nod to design apps in a stretchable framework where the shorter dimension is fixed but the longer may grow or shrink, Apple may help developers prepare for a new, taller iPhone screen. Many apps using the iPhone SDK's widgets will already work in a taller environment since most elements are 'stuck' to the top or bottom of the screen, with the middle container simply taking up the rest of the available space.

Reading apps for a wider landscape view may not be as intuitive, but still shouldn't be a big problem.

I'm curious to see just how Apple frames this piece of advice though, since everyone in the room will have seen the leaked faceplates and read the rumors of a taller-not-wider iPhone display.

iOS things we won't see

New iPhone

Even if the new iPhone were ready for imminent release, Apple wouldn't use the WWDC keynote for its unveiling. The new iPhone will come out when iOS 6 comes out, and that will probably be in September.

7" iPad

We'll probably get a 7-inch iPad eventually, but I wouldn't count on seeing it until next February. It'll almost certainly be 1024x768 and be exactly like an iPad 2, but smaller.

AppleTV things to expect

Development tools for an AppleTV app store

For the first time Apple will invite all developers to create apps for the AppleTV. Don't expect iPhone or iPad apps to run on the AppleTV, but expect the application development process to be identical. Just like iPad apps won't run on the iPhone, AppleTV apps will be specifically for the AppleTV.

There will likely be a large number of sessions to set the tone for how AppleTV apps should work and what the OS environment will look like.

AppleTV developer beta

I would expect that when AppleTV With Apps comes out, it will be compatible with the current (1080p) version of the AppleTV, but nothing earlier. There will probably be a developer beta version available to developers that can be installed on these current boxes.

AppleTV things we won't see

AppleTV All-In-One device

As much speculation as there is about a forthcoming all-in-one AppleTV device, expect Apple to say nothing about it at WWDC. There are millions of AppleTV pucks in the wild, and Apple will use that footprint to drive the creation and distribution of third-party apps, creating a thriving AppleTV app ecosystem before any new hardware comes along to take more advantage of it.

When is the 'real' AppleTV coming? Who knows? Maybe this Fall. Probably some time in 2013. Almost certainly before WWDC 2013 though.

Mac things to expect

New MacBook Pros with Retina Displays

In what may be the only hardware announcement at WWDC, I expect we'll be getting a real unveiling of the new MacBook Pro hardware. Slimmer than current models, it'll lose the optical drive and very likely the 2.5" hard disk as well, in favor of an SSD daughterboard. Brand new Ivy Bridge processors will give a good bump in performance.

The biggest change however will be the inclusion of a double-resolution Retina display. Like when the iPhone and iPad got the Retina upgrades, the MBP interface will still look the same, only smoother and crisper. Apps that use text or vector drawing will immediately see the benefits, and it'll be light work to update UI elements to have 2x versions. Apps that want to take deeper advantage of the extra pixels (like all of Adobe's Creative Suite) will need a bit more work, though I wouldn't be surprised if they got early access and show stuff off at WWDC as an example.

Mountain Lion is almost done and will probably be required for the Retina MBPs, so the unveiling will probably be partnered with a sale date in early July, along with the release of Mountain Lion for regular consumers. I was wrong about the Mountain Lion MBP dependency, but right about Mountain Lion's July release date.

Mac things we won't see

Any other Mac hardware

A Retina display iMac is certainly in the cards eventually, but a pixel-doubled 24" display would be quite a feat, and even Apple probably isn't at the point where they can get 5120x2880 pixel displays in a reasonable quantity.

There might be an Ivy Bridge rev to the MacBook Air line, but that's anyone's guess, and not really relevant to WWDC. The MBAs won't be getting Retina Displays on the first go-around, both to help differentiate the MBP and because the new displays need more battery than the old, and the MBP has room for more energy storage than the MBAs do.

Mac Pro towers? Maybe we haven't seen the end of that line yet, but new models never really make big news.

---

Biggest miss? The elimination of the 17" MacBook Pro. There were rumblings, but there'd been rumblings before. I'll be sad to see it go.

(Note that, as always, these predictions are based on past Apple strategies and current speculation, and are no way informed by people working at Apple)

Apple's World-Wide Developer Conference is upon us once again, running from June 11th through the 14th. This is the best opportunity Apple has to communicate with its developer community, and has been the launching point for most of Apple's initiatives that need developer support for success.

While WWDC has sometimes been the stage for major consumer announcements, in recent years Apple has honed its announcement machine to the point where it can gain more news traction at a Media Event than at a WWDC keynote, so consumer reveals will probably be limited to those necessary to further WWDC goals and, wherever possible, software advancements will be separated from their related hardware announcements.

Here's what I believe is in store for WWDC attendees next week:

iOS things to expect

iOS 6 developer beta

It's iOS preview time, and there's plenty of new functionality that developers will love to get their hands on.

Siri API

It's easy to forget that Apple still classifies Siri as a beta feature, but they do. Expect that to change with iOS 6, which will include a Siri API for third-party apps.

The biggest risk of opening up Siri to third parties is the dilution and muddling of Siri's carefully curated and regularly updated vocabulary. Expect Apple to address this concern by letting users address apps by name when giving commands. In addition to a 'first class' tier of services that Siri draws upon (currently Maps, Yelp, Wolfram Alpha, Reminders, Countdown Timer and web search) the apps a user has installed can be addressed by name, for example, "Siri, ask Schwab how my portfolio is doing" or more simply, "Shazam, what's this song?"

Each app will be responsible for its own vocabulary (possibly with some stemming and synonym help from the API) and one poorly written app or one with an overly broad vocabulary won't inhibit the usability of other apps via Siri.

Facebook integration

Expect a Facebook deal on par with Twitter's current iOS integration. iOS 6 may be the version that lets apps register services so that any app can have the same kind of presence in the 'send' menu that Twitter, Mail, and Message currently enjoy, and Facebook may be shown off as an example of best practices, or it may be another one-off deal like Twitter.

All new Maps App

As has been widely rumored on the web, and hinted at by iPhoto for iOS's use of Open Maps data instead of Google's tiles, it looks like now's the time for Apple to show off their new in-house Maps app. The current Maps app is showing its age and, though it uses Google's map tiles, Apple is actually responsible for building the app, which is why so few of the many advancements that have come to Google Maps on Android (like offline access, 3D view, and route bending) have made their way in to the iOS app (walking directions and street view are notable exceptions).

Expect the new app to use a completely different tileset, and to have a very slick Google Earth-style 3D view that covers every building via algorithmic analysis from Apple's acquisition of C3 Technologies last year. Google's 3D models have historically been hand-drawn in SketchUp, though they are also working on algorithmic analysis for 3D extrapolation.

Google is apparently concerned by Apple getting a two-week media head-start on their own Maps work and, rather than waiting for Google I/O at the end of this month, they're holding a media event specifically to discuss the future of maps from Google's point of view.

While Apple is making a stellar '1000 foot view' with C3's technology, Google is trying to make a huge improvement to the street-level experience using some of the same technology they've been working on for their self-driving cars. These cars, equipped with LIDAR pylons, create a 3D model of their surroundings several times a second as they drive, and the same LIDAR pylons have been integrated into a fleet of Google Street View cars. Realtime depth data, merged with the photo data from the car's ball of cameras, allow for the creation of a rich texture-mapped picture of the surroundings, allowing for a high fidelity street view that can be navigated smoothly rather than frame-by-frame, and could even eliminate transient objects like parked cars or people on the sidewalk.

Presumably once Apple stops using Google Maps tiles for their Maps app Google will be free to submit their own maps app for iOS and Apple would be hard-pressed to stop them, given the government scrutiny they underwent when stalling on the approval of Google Voice and other Google apps for iOS a few years ago.

Expect Google to have an Android Maps app update available this month and an iOS app 'in the works for near release', and Apple to have the new Maps app in the iOS 6 developer build, but not available to mainstream users until iOS 6 comes out in late Summer.

New screen resolution

The only place where Apple may tip its hand regarding unannounced hardware may be in placing an emphasis on 'vertically agnostic' iPhone app design. By encouraging app developers with a wink and a nod to design apps in a stretchable framework where the shorter dimension is fixed but the longer may grow or shrink, Apple may help developers prepare for a new, taller iPhone screen. Many apps using the iPhone SDK's widgets will already work in a taller environment since most elements are 'stuck' to the top or bottom of the screen, with the middle container simply taking up the rest of the available space.

Reading apps for a wider landscape view may not be as intuitive, but still shouldn't be a big problem.

I'm curious to see just how Apple frames this piece of advice though, since everyone in the room will have seen the leaked faceplates and read the rumors of a taller-not-wider iPhone display.

iOS things we won't see

New iPhone

Even if the new iPhone were ready for imminent release, Apple wouldn't use the WWDC keynote for its unveiling. The new iPhone will come out when iOS 6 comes out, and that will probably be in September.

7" iPad

We'll probably get a 7-inch iPad eventually, but I wouldn't count on seeing it until next February. It'll almost certainly be 1024x768 and be exactly like an iPad 2, but smaller.

AppleTV things to expect

Development tools for an AppleTV app store

For the first time Apple will invite all developers to create apps for the AppleTV. Don't expect iPhone or iPad apps to run on the AppleTV, but expect the application development process to be identical. Just like iPad apps won't run on the iPhone, AppleTV apps will be specifically for the AppleTV.

There will likely be a large number of sessions to set the tone for how AppleTV apps should work and what the OS environment will look like.

AppleTV developer beta

I would expect that when AppleTV With Apps comes out, it will be compatible with the current (1080p) version of the AppleTV, but nothing earlier. There will probably be a developer beta version available to developers that can be installed on these current boxes.

AppleTV things we won't see

AppleTV All-In-One device

As much speculation as there is about a forthcoming all-in-one AppleTV device, expect Apple to say nothing about it at WWDC. There are millions of AppleTV pucks in the wild, and Apple will use that footprint to drive the creation and distribution of third-party apps, creating a thriving AppleTV app ecosystem before any new hardware comes along to take more advantage of it.

When is the 'real' AppleTV coming? Who knows? Maybe this Fall. Probably some time in 2013. Almost certainly before WWDC 2013 though.

Mac things to expect

New MacBook Pros with Retina Displays

In what may be the only hardware announcement at WWDC, I expect we'll be getting a real unveiling of the new MacBook Pro hardware. Slimmer than current models, it'll lose the optical drive and very likely the 2.5" hard disk as well, in favor of an SSD daughterboard. Brand new Ivy Bridge processors will give a good bump in performance.

The biggest change however will be the inclusion of a double-resolution Retina display. Like when the iPhone and iPad got the Retina upgrades, the MBP interface will still look the same, only smoother and crisper. Apps that use text or vector drawing will immediately see the benefits, and it'll be light work to update UI elements to have 2x versions. Apps that want to take deeper advantage of the extra pixels (like all of Adobe's Creative Suite) will need a bit more work, though I wouldn't be surprised if they got early access and show stuff off at WWDC as an example.

Mountain Lion is almost done and will probably be required for the Retina MBPs, so the unveiling will probably be partnered with a sale date in early July, along with the release of Mountain Lion for regular consumers.

Mac things we won't see

Any other Mac hardware

A Retina display iMac is certainly in the cards eventually, but a pixel-doubled 24" display would be quite a feat, and even Apple probably isn't at the point where they can get 5120x2880 pixel displays in a reasonable quantity.

There might be an Ivy Bridge rev to the MacBook Air line, but that's anyone's guess, and not really relevant to WWDC. The MBAs won't be getting Retina Displays on the first go-around, both to help differentiate the MBP and because the new displays need more battery than the old, and the MBP has room for more energy storage than the MBAs do.

Mac Pro towers? Maybe we haven't seen the end of that line yet, but new models never really make big news.

---

So that's what I expect out of this year's WWDC. A lot of laying the groundwork to let developers prepare for future hardware advancements, while talking about those actual hardware advancements as little as possible. The fact that most of the new developer stuff (Mountain Lion, iOS 6, AppleTV for Apps) works on existing hardware means Apple doesn't have to tip its hand about future plans any more than it wants to.

It bugs me when I hear an executive talk about 'doubling down' on an initiative. It's most often used to indicate that someone is redoubling their efforts in order to win, or that they're otherwise entering a 'make or break' period.

At the blackjack table, doubling down means to reduce your chances of success when you're in a good position in exchange for the ability to increase your bet. Doubling down when you're behind in order to catch up is a rookie move.

Things have been progressing quickly with a few other gorups we've been talking with. We're still very interested in working with A16Z (your reputation among those we've spoken with has been stellar) but we are getting a bit constrained with the timing. Would you be able to meet some time this week?

I wrote a thing about what I feel are some recent Google UX missteps and I published it on Google+. I like to think of Fury as my soapbox and Google+ as a place for conversation so I posted those thoughts there because it felt more like a conversation than a soapbox, but if you read Fury then the post is definitely worth a read. For the full Kevin experience it's probably worth following me on Google+ and on Twitter.

• OS X 10.9 - Leopard Seal
• OS X 10.10 - Sea Lion
• OS X 10.11 - Nyan Cat
• OS X 10.12 - Keyboard Cat
• OS X 10.13 - Ceiling Cat
• OS X 10.14 - Basement Cat
• OS X 10.15 - Bob Cat

(hat tip to @municode for Nyan Cat and inspiration)

It was supposed to be a breakthrough in travel efficiency. People go to the airport and board the nearest plane. The computers calculated the optimal destination for the sum of passengers and planes took off at once. The problem became immediately clear when every plane landed in Las Vegas, including the planes leaving Las Vegas.

Reading about Samsung's newly announced effort to combine their 'Bada' mobile OS with Intel's 'Tizen' mobile OS in an effort to reduce their dependency on Android, I was reminded of Taligent, Apple and IBM's joint venture in the mid-90s to create an alternative to Microsoft Cairo and NeXTSTEP. The situations aren't really the same, but Wikipedia offered up a real gem of how Taligent came to be in the first place. It's something all software developers should keep in mind:

During the initial planning for the operating system to follow System 4.1, new ideas were written down on index cards. Ideas that were simple and could be included in a new version of the existing software were written on blue colored cards, those that were more advanced or took longer to implement were written on pink cards. A new operating system, code-named Pink, was planned based on the ideas written on the pink index cards. … In addition to running programs written for Pink, the system was to be capable of running existing Mac OS programs.

Sounds like a good idea, except:

The problem was that System 7 was so large in memory terms that it would barely fit onto existing Macintosh models, meaning that if Pink were going to run Mac OS programs by emulating System 7, it would have no room left over for itself.

And inevitably:

Meanwhile, corporate infighting at Apple doomed Pink. To those working on Blue, Pink was seen as a project that might steal mind share from their own work. As the turf war grew, engineers started to abandon Pink to work on Blue, and whole projects were brought into one group or another in a flurry of empire-building.

The whole project was eventually spun off as Taligent, an OS with a completely different purpose, and no longer part of the evolution of MacOS at all. So much for the pink cards. Go ahead and read the whole Wikipedia entry though, and think about the dangers of equating 'easy' and 'hard' with 'now' and 'later'. Also, apologies to those of you who read this during Wikipedia's SOPA blackout.

Motorola Mobility's CEO says Android handset manufacturers skin Android with their own UIs because the carriers demand it. Apparently it gives the illusion of a broader OS product offering than if they all ran stock Android. If this is true though, wouldn't the carriers embrace Windows Mobile phones as a truly differentiated OS choice? Apparently they aren't, because Microsoft is just launching a $200million program to pay salespeople a bounty for each Windows Mobile phone they sell, in an effort to get them to actually show the phones to prospective customers.