Al Gore Joins Apple's Board Of Directors

zzxc writes "News.com.com reports that Al Gore has been chosen to be on Apple's board of directors. Apple has a press release with more information. According to the press release, 'Al brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and wisdom to Apple from having helped run the largest organization in the world--the United States government' and 'He has remained an active leader in technology--launching a public/private effort to wire every classroom and library in America to the Internet.' The inventor of the internet should be a valuable asset to Apple."

Insert Internet Inventor Joke Here

[numbski]

Seriously though...he was advising Google???

I had absolutely no idea. Last I knew he was busy being a sore loser(winner?) of the last election.

At any rate, it ought to be an interesting addition to the staff. So long as he doesn't SERIOUSLY take credit for inventing the internet. ;)

I have to go hear him lecture next week

[webster1]

Gore is going to be lecturing my class next week at Middle Tenn State Univ (where he has been an adjunct prof for a while...i am not proud).

Anyone have any questions you want me to ask him?

He is officially there to talk to my 'Legal Problems of the Recording Industry' class about he and his wife's censorship/labeling campaign in the mid 1980's. However, we have been told that we can "ask him anything." Tipper may be there too, but at this point we dont know.

Finally something truly interesting.

[Blimey85]

I've been bored off my ass all day... until now.

Now I can't stop laughing. Apple has always though different and I think that through all of the problems they have had, they have done pretty good. Not many companies have taken on MS and lived to tell the tale. Apple has. But what is the reasoning behind hiring Al Gore?

Yes I read the bloody article and yes I know what Apple is telling us, but what is the real reasoning behind the scenes? Do they honestly think Al Gore can bring something to Apple? What does he know about computer companies, software companies, or the Apple way of doing things? Why not bring back Woz? At least Woz had an idea of what the hell is going on. Maybe this is just a gimmick though. Something crazy to get Apple in the news for a while. To make people remember they exist. Or maybe Steve really thinks Al can add to the Apple brand.

Re:al gore _did_ invent the internet

[Elwood P Dowd]

If you actually read the exact comment that he made, and understand the role Al Gore had in the creation of a research friendly political environment, no, it wasn't really silly or moronic.

I don't mind him getting lampooned, because it's funny, but... still. He deserves it even less than Dan Quayle (who was reading from a card with the alternative spelling "potatoe").

Re:Politics

[odin53]

Beats another lawyer....

These are the directors of Apple:

Bill Campbell
Chairman and former CEO
Intuit Corp.

Millard Drexler
Chairman and CEO
J. Crew

Albert Gore Jr.
Former Vice President of the United States

Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple
CEO, Pixar

Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D.
Chairman and CEO
Genentech

Jerry York
President and CEO
Micro Warehouse

Where are the lawyers? I don't understand your statement. And what would be wrong with having lawyer on the BOD (assuming conflicts of interest don't exist)?

Re:Insert Internet Inventor Joke Here

[questamor]

I know this may be as much PR as anything else, hiring an ex-famous-person to be on your BOD, but ex-politicians have to keep themselves occupied somehow. Surely Apple isn't the first tech company slashdot would report on, that has someone like this working for them.

How about Dell? Redhat? SuSE? Gateway perhaps - any that have famed people mainly known for their non-tech work?

Re:I have to go hear him lecture next week

[Mikey-San]

Ask him, very specifically, about Apple's DRM stance.

"You've just recently been added to Apple's board of directors. What are your feeling towards Apple's customer-friendly, honesty-based stance on Digital Rights Management?"

-/-
Mikey-San
Submitted without a karma bonus for extra flavour!

Re:bull shit.

[mshomphe]

Okay:
http://www.kings.edu/twsawyer/y2kelect/honest-al.h tml [kings.edu]

Please note the following:
(1) Al Gore never claimed to have created the internet, merely that he took initiative in fostering its development (as acknowledged by Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf)
(2) He was misquoted about Love Canal. In fact, "[t]he school group he was talking to demanded that the Washington Post retract its misquote of the Vice President."

Is anybody else weirded out by this?

[IdahoEv]

That Apple is inducting Al Gore on the very day the Bush is starting a war in Iraq?

Isn't this just a little weird to you guys?

I'm not insinuating any particular meaning --- I have no clue as to the meaning. It's just kind of creepy...

Al Gore and Ricochet

[batobin]

I wonder if the people making the decision saw this [tobinhosting.com].

genentech

[smitty45]

for what it's worth...they don't have Apple X servers crunching numbers...they have SGIs and a beowulf.