Ex-Apple engineer: 'Almost anything Apple does which involves the Internet is a mess'

Engineer Patrick B. Gibson says that "almost everything Apple does which involves the internet is a mess."

The ex-Apple employee, who helped build the original iPad and now works at Tilde Inc., wrote a blog post on blogging platform Tumblr, discussing the idea that the iPad and iPhone maker should buy social networking site Twitter.

Titled "Apple and Twitter", Gibson begins by outlining a thesis on "Apple's biggest problem", stating that Google is improving in the field of design faster than Apple is getting better at web services.

Calling himself a "long-time Mac user and a diehard Apple fan", the engineer says that when Apple touches anything to do with the Internet, it becomes a "clusterf**k"; with iCloud, MobileMe, and .Mac only achieving adequacy at best.

Besides synchronization issues, Gibson goes on to say that Apple has a number of other Internet-related issues. Within the blog post, these include:

• Apple can't update its online store without taking it offline first.
• A popular Game Center game was able to bring down the entire network.
• Apple requires you to re-friend everyone on Game Center, Find my Friends, and Shared Photostreams.
• Notes requires an email account to sync.
• The iTunes and App Stores are still powered by WebObjects, a mostly dead framework written almost 20 years ago.
• iMessage for Mac lives in an alternate dimension in which time has no ordered sequence.
• Ping.

So, in conclusion, the ex-Apple employee says that "anything Apple does which involves the internet is a mess," and the only exception to this statement is the tech giant's "excellent" web browser teams.

In comparison, Gibson says that Google, specifically Android, has been steadily improving its entire whole platform, and it "Just Works." Android may not have the same shine and sparkle as a number of Apple's services -- deemed "ugly" by Gibson -- but the overall improvement in functionality means that Android is gaining "a serious leg up on iOS."

This is where Twitter joins the fray.

The ex-Apple employee states that Apple should buy social networking site Twitter, not because it needs "social" help, but because of the talent and knowledge pool the acquisition would mean for the tech giant.

Gibson alleges that Apple's problems stem from its inability to recruit and keep talented web engineers, as the firm prioritizes consumer gadgets and products. The engineer continues:

"Where Apple falls short, Twitter flies. Not only does Twitter use some of the most advanced web technology, they invented it. They own scale. They know how to send hundreds of thousands of tweets a minute. Further, Twitter is social network with values that (used to) reflect Apple: focus and simplicity."

However, Gibson believes that if a deal isn't reached between Twitter and Apple soon, it won't happen at all -- as the larger the social network gets, "the more likely an IPO," -- and Apple won't pay inflated rates for the firm.

Furthermore, Twitter itself is in danger of losing its key engineering talent as it becomes focused as a media company.

Considering himself potentially jaded, the ex-iPad developer says that the acquisition is unlikely to take place, concluding:

"Apple is probably too in denial about the failings of it's antiquated approach to the web to consider dropping such a huge amount of money."