Tag Archives: Steve Jobs

Arthur Levinson Named New Apple Chairman

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Until now the co-director of the board at Apple Inc, Arthur Levinson will take over the chairmanship in the wake of the death of the former CEO, Steve Jobs.

Apple also chose Bob Iger, CEO of Disney and former close friend of Jobs to a seat on the board.

“Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a prepared statement. “Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition.”

Levinson has been a member of the board at Apple since 2005, making him the longest-serving director. He is also the chairman of the board at Genentech, the biotech drum company, and a board member at Roche Pharmaceuticals. Until 2009 when Levinson stepped down, he was the CEO at Genentech for 14 years.

“Apple is always focused on out-innovating itself through the delivery of truly innovative products that simplify and improve our lives, and that is something I am very proud to be a part of,” Levinson said Tuesday in a statement.

Will Apple Survive Without Steve Jobs?

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The big news (besides Hurricane Irene) is that Apple has lost it’s chief innovator Steve Jobs.  Steve Jobs is essentially Apple and without him the company stock price fell.  One can say lots of things about the world we live in, but Steve Jobs and Apple have revolutionized the way we communicate and process information and because of that his departure seems to be a serious blow to Apple, or is it?

Bill Gates Departed First

Many people had the same reaction to Microsoft’s future when Bill Gates departed, but Microsoft is alive and thriving.  Essentially, Apple under the stewardship of its new CEO Tim Cook will still make iPhones and they will still push forward innovation after innovation.  This is not to say that the transition will be smooth, but big companies are often larger than the vision of one man.  Apple has teams of people who think big and there is no doubt that the future is still bright.

Apple and the Far East

Even with a leadership transition at the top of Apple, the company has made tremendous in roads in Asian markets by connecting with some of the largest communication companies in China.  Apple is in talks with both China Telecom Corp. and China Mobile Limited.  Both of these companies would incorporate the iPhone in their cell phone packages.  This is a tremendous market that would drive Apple revenues and stock even higher.

Microsoft Beats Apple But Doesn’t Tweet So Good

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While Microsoft just hit the 10,000 apps milestone with their Windows Phone 7 Marketplace quicker than any other competing store, it might not yet be quite time to celebrate.  Apple took 4.7 months to hit this number while Microsoft only took 4.5 month.  This has to be good news.

Gates Overtaking Jobs?

But perhaps it might be a little too soon for Microsoft to be celebrating.  The company made a possible recent mistake with the mixed response it received from the marketing tweet it put  out following Japan’s tsunami in an effort to raise funds for the country’s victims.  The idea was that followers would “retweet a message, with every retweet meaning that an extra $1 would be donated by Microsoft, up to $100,000.”

Gates Needn’t Break Out the Champagne Yet

So even though this week did see some good news for Microsoft, it has to be taken in perspective.   Even with its fast milestone achievement, other markets still have way more apps (Android at 200,000 and Apple at 300,000).  But still, good news is good news and there is cause for recognition of their milestone.  As long as Microsoft is careful with its marketing, the products should be able to speak for themselves and any charity the company chooses to give to might not want to use the events from Japan as part of the package. The message for Mr. Gates is thus clear:  let your products do the marketing for themselves.

iPhone Apps Do it Again: This Time in Japan

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During the craziness of the catastrophe to hit Japan last week, how were people trapped about to stay in touch? What was the best piece of technology that linked people to loved ones? A 25-year-old woman from Tokyo who was traveling by train to the airport, spoke about how she managed to tell people she was okay, despite the fact that there was no cellphone network available for voice calls.

3G Saves the Day While Blackberry Is Fruitless

It was the 3G Data Network and a bunch of iPhone apps that came to the rescue. The Blackberry on the other hand, was incapable of sending and receiving messages at all. The iPhone worked, so long as you could keep charging it; it provided consistently good reception. As well, Viber was the only method out of all the networks for getting calls through (Skype was unavailable for many hours).

iPad 2 Figures: Not Surprising

Perhaps given all this it’s not all that surprising that when the iPad 2 was unveiled just over 2 weeks ago, it immediately sold out “within hours” of its launch. It is thinner and more powerful than the first model; has a camera in the front and back to enable video conferencing with photos and videos and is the same price as the first one. Even though this is really just a slight upgrade from the first, customers kept on coming, with one lady selling her spot in the line for $900 to a businessman who just didn’t have time to wait in line from 5 am and had to have the new iPad before his business trip!

Jobs Always on the Job

If Apple creator Steve Jobs just keeps getting it right and his communication tools are even helping in situations such as Japan’s catastrophe, then it makes sense that his products will keep gaining in popularity. Just make sure you reserve your spot in line early for any new Apple launches in the future; you never know, it could be more than just a great gadget; it may be your rescue tool out of a crisis.

Eating Apples on the Job(s)?

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Whether it’s true or not, it’s definitely worth mentioning that co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc. Steven Paul Jobs’s favorite food is apples…allegedly.  That fact one might have guessed.  But here are some other interesting anecdotes about Mr. Jobs one might not have known about.  He’s actually a dyslexic 501 Levis jeans lover, owning one hundred pairs of them.  As well, it took him until the age of 27 until he found his biological parents; a staggering 15 years after he’d found his first love — computers.  When he was 12, he saw a computer for the first time and immediately fell in love, deciding then and there that this would be the field he’d work in.


‘60’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fan


Steve Jobs is a big Beatles fan.  Indeed, he even claims that he based his business plan on their musical career.  It must have been a pretty good idea, because together with his mega-Apple inventions, statistics released two years ago show him as the owner of 5.426 million shares in the company.  No doubt that gives the guy quite a lot of apple-purchasing potential.