They've been doing just that : "Source: Apple Aggressively Recruiting Ex-Google Maps Staff To Build Out iOS Maps". In an sector with, as you point out, very little competition this surely must be a good thing in the long run.

It affects all Apple employees in those stores as well as all customers who walk into those stores.

Calling a senior Apple exec "a terrible hire" is a fluff piece and doesn't qualify as criticizing Apple ? It's your opinion but it shows your own bias at least.

The thing to keep in mind here is that Google is the undisputed champion of mapping, whatever data Apple was going to use it just wasn't going to be as good as Google's. Google has sunk millions of dollars and man hours into their maps in the past few year and redefined people's expectations (a couple years ago who would've thought that having access to a nearly perfect global map at all times would be seen as a necessity ?) Google also knew of this advantage and used it as leverage. Sooner or later something would have to give and it has, unfortunately this means iOS users will have some minor inconvenience in the transition period.

Actually the best analysis so far is that the chip negotiates the assignment of pins in the reversible connector :

"The controller/driver chip tells the device what type it is, and for cases like the Lightning-to-USB cable whether a charger (that sends power) or a device (that needs power) is on the other end.
The device can then switch the other pins between the SoC’s data lines or the power circuitry, as needed in each case.
[...]
I really see no justification for the “authentication chip” hypothesis"

You can tell what a company finds important from what they patent. Google has a lots of patents regarding maps like a patent on ad technology that inserts ads in its Street View mapping images and a patent to use location data in ads. Those are the things Google wants access to, those were probably on the demand side in the Google v. Apple map negotiations. Now in the short term iOS users might be worse off in some cases, in the long term it might be worth it.

He was very critical of the guy who was going to "reorganize" Apple retail, that's no small thing :

"“Even if the customer experience is compromised” are Allen’s words, summarizing what he heard from his sources, not Browett’s. But if they’re accurate, it’s hard to conclude anything other than that Apple made a terrible decision hiring him."

That's just one of many criticisms. Apple fans are some of the most critical around, you just don't notice because you only follow their news sporadically. The attitude of Apple fans is best summed up by John Siracusa's podcast tagline : "Nothing is so perfect that it can't be complained about." They'll happily rant for hours about how Apple stuff is near perfection and they'll happily rant for hours more on how it can become just that little bit more prefect as well.

They won't because Apple has more at stake. Google just doesn't want one company to control the device people view their ads on, Apple's building a lucrative platform which it needs to protect.

Except the guy on the street wasn't random, he had a boss who sat in on meetings which created that haircut design in the first place. And once that haircut was a hit that boss decided to become a barber himself.

Yeah they should build a GUI on top of Java, it's all the rage in the "enterprise" you know.

Android is just Google's way of preventing Apple of being able to do "a Microsoft" and "Netscaping" them. Which is also why it's not viable long term: it doesn't make money for Google and handset makers and operators aren't interested in maintaining a platform so it comes down to gambling on the open source community which hasn't exactly got a good track record on the desktop (or in this case palmtop.)

That's the offer they made Samsung.

Winning a lawsuit in a democracy before a jury of your peers is bullying ? That's a very strange definition.

Because it's an indicator of how likely support is going to continue in the future. All these companies selling crappy Android based phones for next to no profit are never going to support them. Apple will provided support and updates, etc.

Lighten up, it's a joke.

Samsung's the only one turning a decent profit though. And a lot of that market is selling low-end smartphones to be used as dumb phones. One company is building the next generation computing platform, the others are just selling handsets even if some are trying to create a cargo-cult facsimile of an ecosystem (like Samsung with their Samsung S-Cloud and what not.)

It was reported as such, which I assume GP was talking about : Samsung S3: 9 million pre-order new Galaxy phone.