Day 5 - Apple and Stanford Tour

The day started off at Apple. I got there early as I was not sure exactly where the office was located. On arrival there were quite a number of police around. At the front door was a capsule with the apple logo and more police. Once I got inside I found out that Green Peace had been there on a protest about something. Green Peace had been projecting messages on the wall of the front wall.

Apple Campus - One Infinite Loop

I entered the building and enquired about meeting John DiTomasso who is the Apple Federal Manager, Department of Defence. The receptionist pointed me to a Mac terminal to log in and that when my host arrive he then swiped his card to print a pass for me.


John turned up just after 9am and we went through to the Apple cafeteria. There we talked about what I was looking to achieve. John spoke about a number of the customers he has been working with and projects that they had developed. He explained the development programs for iOS developer both individuals and Enterprises. We discussed other developments and how the change in understanding that Apple brought to the table with respect to mobile development. During our discussions John identified a number of organisations that had been dealing with similar issues that we are facing at DCP. 


The meeting was more confirmation in my understanding that development of mobile applications is a totally new way of thinking. Applications need to be more based on User Processes and Business outcome and let about functions and features. Again as like Oracle the change which Apple has been the leader in, is the need to engage directly with the end user and understanding what they are doing and what they need to achieve. Apple has a number of case studies which explain this scenario. 


I finished at Apple around 11am and then headed towards Stanford University. I thought I would have a look around and identify where I was going for Wednesday and Thursday. I have two lunch events with the HCI section at Stanford, the first is a lunch time workshop with the HCI (Human Computer Interaction) Department. The second event is on the Friday where a guess speaker will be presenting. 

Hoover Tower

This tower is part of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, a major campus research center. The first nine floors of the 285-foot building house more than 1.6 million volumes on Social, political and economic change in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Observation Platform on the 14th floor is open to visitors, offering an aerial view of the campus and much of the Bay Area. The observation deck also houses a carillon of 48 bells, the largest weighing 2.5 tons.

A view from the Observation Deck

Stanford Art Gallery

Signing off 3:58pm 15th May