Google’s Schmidt ditches increasingly awkward Apple board seat
Apple announced today that Google chief executive Eric Schmidt (pictured, right) has resigned from its board of directors. It’s a move that seemed inevitable, but may also confirm growing competition and tension between the former allies.
The relationship between Google and Apple, particularly the sharing of two board members (Schmidt and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson), drew scrutiny from the federal government earlier this year; Schmidt’s departure became even more likely after the announcement of Chrome… Continue Reading
Report: Steve Jobs had liver transplant, still returning this month
Some of the questions about Apple chief executive Steve Jobs’ continuing medical leave appear to be answered: Jobs received a liver transplant two months ago, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.
Jobs revealed in 2004 that he had been treated for pancreatic cancer, and a medical expert interviewed by the Journal said it’s common for that kind of tumor to spread to the liver. Perhaps more significant from a business perspective, Jobs is… Continue Reading
Without Steve Jobs, should we expect an underwhelming Apple WWDC?
Apple has released some of the details about the keynote address for its Worldwide Developers Conference, which will be at 10am on Monday, June 8. The big news: Senior Vice President of Product Marketing Phil Schiller will give the keynote, not chief executive Steve Jobs.
Now, that’s not exactly a huge surprise — since Jobs wasn’t announced to return until late June from his health-related absence , a Job-less WWDC seemed like a possibility once Apple… Continue Reading
Steve Jobs is back — he’s leading Apple’s netbook efforts, says WSJ
While Steve Jobs may claim he is taking time off from the day-to-day business of running Apple, that certainly does not mean he isn’t guiding the company’s direction. Jobs is still actively involved with business decisions, reports the Wall Street Journal. This includes work towards a netbook device, despite the company’s best efforts to deny that it is interested in the market.
How convenient that Jobs’ return would be confirmed on this day of Easter, the… Continue Reading
A paper trail suggests a June 8 Snow Leopard unveiling. Some guesses suggest much more.
Naturally, the following is all just speculation — but it’s intriguing speculation (the best kind). Why is it intriguing? Because it involves a date for Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, the iPhone and a Steve Jobs return.
WWDC
First, the likely dates for WWDC are June 6 through June 12, The Baltimore Sun’s David Zeller has deducted with some research and some sound logic. First and foremost, WWDCs usually take place in… Continue Reading
Video: CNBC anchor Dylan Ratigan takes Jim Goldman to task over Steve Jobs’ health, too
CNBC Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman is having a tough week. Goldman said in December that “sources inside [Apple] tell me that Jobs’ decision was more about politics than his pancreas.” Ah, but this week, Apple announced that Jobs was sick and would be taking a 5-month medical leave of absence as a result.
What to do when faced with such damning evidence that eviscerates your prior reporting? Get mad at anyone who calls you on… Continue Reading
Report: Steve Jobs’ health crisis not cancer, but does it even matter?
Several years ago, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a treatable form of pancreatic cancer. After a short leave of absence, Jobs was pronounced healthy, wealthy and wise. Except now, Jobs is sick again. And taking a leave of absence. Again. But is it the big “C”?
Brad Stone in today’s New York Times:
Two people who are familiar with Mr. Jobs’s current medical treatment said he was not suffering from a recurrence of cancer, but a condition… Continue Reading
Video: Dan Lyons takes on CNBC’s Jim Goldman over Steve Jobs’ health
Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons takes CNBC’s Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman to task after Goldman swore that sources told him that Steve Jobs’ health was not the reason Apple marketing head Phil Schiller presented at Macworld instead of Jobs.
Goldman went so far as to slam Gizmodo after the gadget blog claimed its own sources said Jobs was having significant health problems. “Until Apple says something different, or I get my hands on something tangible… Continue Reading
Steve Jobs — not on the deathbed — has hormonal imbalance, will remain CEO
Steve Jobs announced today that he has been losing weight throughout the past year because of a hormone imbalance that has been robbing his body of proteins. He said sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis and the remedy is a relatively simple treatment. He said his doctors expect it will take until this spring to regain his usual body weight.
” I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery,” he wrote in a letter… Continue Reading
Jobs entrusts a NYT columnist with the truth about his health, even before he tells Apple shareholders
An Apple (AAPL) spokeswoman lied recently when she said Steve Jobs’ haggard look lately was due to a “common bug,” a remarkable piece in the New York Times this weekend strongly suggests.
NYT columnist Joe Nocera so dogged Apple about Jobs’ health issue that Jobs apparently picked up the phone to call Nocera directly, and gave him an off-the-record explanation of what is really ailing him.
Jobs’ sickness is more serious than company representatives had acknowledged, but… Continue Reading
Can Twitter survive the WWDC Stevenote?
Some of you may recognize that Twitter’s recent downtime issues are a result of its architectural problems exposed by its rapid growth. However, back in the day (that is, January and the preceding months), Twitter used to crash the old fashioned way — when large events would bring a burst of usage. One of those events was the last Steve Jobs keynote at MacWorld in January.
Now another one is upon us.
Jobs will give the keynote… Continue Reading
Two weeks until Apple’s WWDC event: Some keynote wild card options
We’re now two weeks away from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs taking the stage at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to give the keynote address. It’s pretty well accepted that the big announcement at the event will be the launch of the 3G iPhone, but Jobs does love his wild cards — could there be something else in the works as well?
An event with a 3G iPhone and the launch of the 2.0 software… Continue Reading
3G iPhone rumors pour in: 42 Mbps speeds, price not yet set, big Canadian launch and “OS X iPhone”?
We’re nearing the mark for when the 3G iPhone could become a reality. The device, which is now widely expected to be announced at Apple’s WWDC event on June 9th and launched shortly thereafter, already apparently has people waiting in line in New York — perhaps a month before it’s released. Excitement is high and rumors continue to flow.
While the first iPhone had a huge impact on the mobile market, the 3G version could be… Continue Reading
3G iPhone is finally (vaguely) confirmed for June 9
Apple product rumors are really unlike any other. People (myself included) get all excited over patent filings. Users foam at the mouth over Photoshop product mock-ups that border on comical. Some even get whipped up into a frenzy over carrying cases (such as yesterday with the supposed 3G iPhone case). These rumors often start months — or even years — ahead of a product launch (if there even is one), but the mayhem doesn’t usually… Continue Reading
News from Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference
Updated
There was plenty to chew on from Apple’s WWDC yesterday.
Chief exec Steve Jobs said Apple would release a version of the company’s Safari browser for Windows (update: vulnerabilities are already being found in the new browser). Safari will also help with mobile applications for the iPhone, he said: “It’s all based on the fact that we have the full Safari engine in the iPhone…And so you can write amazing Web 2.0 and AJAX apps that… Continue Reading
Roundup: Jobs misled, VoIP on Blackberry, Zude, Twitter grows, more
Apple’s Steve Jobs dealt setback — Former Apple finance chief Fred Anderson now says Apple chief executive Steve Jobs misled him about stock option accounting. Story here, and statement by Anderson here. Question: Will this bring down Jobs?
Ram Shriram weighs in on FCC vote on wireless rule changes — See the Google investor’s VentureBeat column, where he advocates the FCC should take the first step toward opening wireless standards and access when it meets later today (Wed)…. Continue Reading
The dirt on Amazon, Steve Jobs, Topix, Fatdoor, MySpace, VC tax and more
Here’s the latest action:
Amazon’s odd and scary patent — First, Amazon rolled out a product called Mechancial Turk (image left), where people do tasks for you that a machine couldn’t perform. Strange name, we thought, but nicely couched in history, and the people still ruled. But the latest Amazon patent puts the machine in charge, breaking down tasks, and commanding the human to do them. According to the patent, just awarded, “the humans perform the subtasks… Continue Reading
Microsoft’s Ballmer laughs at iPhone
Apple’s Steve Jobs ridiculed the Microsoft’s Zune, saying by the time you finish fiddling with one of its main features, “the girl’s got up and left.”
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer now laughs at the iPhone (click image above for video), saying it is “the most expensive phone in the world” — even after being fully subsidized (with the Cingular plan) — and that it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a… Continue Reading
Jobs steals show with iPhone, but stock-option cloud hangs heavy
Updated
A recent internal review by Apple concluded chief executive Steve Jobs didn’t do anything wrong even though he knew about the back-dated stock options. The review suggested Jobs didn’t appreciate the full consequences of what he was doing.
However, that doesn’t seem to square with fresh reports suggesting Jobs is strongly aware of the significance of back-dating, and has been for some time. John Heilemann in New York Magazine, reveals Steve Jobs pressured Apple’s board to… Continue Reading
Finally, Apple announces iPhone — vows to leapfrog other smart phones
Updated
Apple has not let us down.
Chief executive Steve Jobs said the company will launch its own phone, dubbed the iPhone, and that Cingular Wireless will provide the phone service, ending weeks of speculation.
It will do much more than make calls and play music. It aims to be a full-fledged smart phone, and is underpinned with some elements of Apple software, such as its Safari browser, which could expose mainstream users to Apple’s eco-system in more… Continue Reading