steve jobs

Top IBM chip designer joins Apple; IBM files lawsuit to block move

Paul Mah — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:32:38 -0400

One of IBM's top chip executives has agreed to join Apple as a senior executive--a move that has IBM suing in an attempt to block the transfer. Mark Papermaster apparently plans to join Apple in November where he will work closely with Apple CEO Steve Jobs. IBM says that Papermaster, who until recently served in IBM's Blade Development unit, had signed a non-compete agreement that prevents him from accepting a job from a competitor. IBM called Papermaster "IBM's top expert in Power architecture and technology," and says it will "vigorously pursue this case in court." While it will be interesting to see how the lawsuit will play out, speculation is rife, at the moment, as to Apple's chip design directions--especially since Apple also conveniently acquired chip maker P.A. Semi earlier this year. One also wonders if this will affect the current cozy relationship between IBM and Apple.

To read more about this story:
- check out this New York Times article

Steve Jobs' death greatly exaggerated

Judi Hasson — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:09:55 -0400

It's certainly a news organization's worst nightmare, and it also must have been somewhat unsettling for Apple CEO Steve Jobs as well. The Bloomberg financial news service last week posted an obituary of Jobs by accident on its wire service, and then quickly retracted it.

It is common for news organizations to write and update obituaries of notable people while they're still alive so that they are ready when needed. But it's not everyday that you get to read your own obituary. The obituary outlined Jobs' career, including his 1976 founding of Apple, the introduction of the Mac in 1984, his ouster from the company the following year and his return to Apple in 1997. It also mentioned his gaunt appearance in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which fueled speculation that the CEO's cancer had returned. Bloomberg's obituary noted that Apple has never named a successor to Jobs for the company's top spot.

For more on "what a mistake:"
- check out this Computerworld.com article

Mac OS X 10.6 showcased

Paul Mah — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:16:57 -0400

Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed that the next version of Mac OS X--10.6--will be code named Snow Leopard. The focus of this new version will be more toward incremental improvements to the operating system, though a number of these "enhancements" seem pretty substantial by themselves.

For one, Snow Leopard will optimize for multi-core processors by leveraging on a new technology called "GrandCentral." Memory limit also will be raised to 16 TB, though the most interesting feature is probably the inclusion of Open Compute Library (OpenCL). OpenCL commands allow programmers to tap into the processing power of the GPU. Out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 is also quoted, but it is unclear how it will be implemented. Reports indicate that Mac OS X 10.6 is expected to ship "in about a year."

For more on Mac OS X 10.6:
- check out this TG Daily article

ALSO NOTED: Microsoft expects sharp earnings rise; Steve Jobs earns $1 a year;

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

> Microsoft expects sharp earnings rise. Article
> Steve Jobs earns $1 a year. Article
> Blackberrys enhanced to handle email. Article
> Shortage of IT workers delays eHealth records. Article
> Stress is a killer. Article
> eBay names Meg Whitman's successor. Article
> Dell opens factory in Poland. Article

And Finally... Say "Thank you" to your employees. Article

MacBook Air makes Apple greener

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

As you'll probably recall, Apple has a bit of a history with Greenpeace, with the two organizations having done a bit of the old back-and-forth over the course of the last year. If you were paying attention during this past week's MacWorld Stevenote, however, you may have noticed a slight change during the introduction of the new MacBook Air. For the first time in Apple history, Steve Jobs gave a brief rundown of the new product's environmental specs. Among them, a fully recyclable aluminum case, a mercury and arsenic-free LED-backlit display and a number of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic-free circuit boards.

"This time Steve is on the right path for a green Apple," Greenpeace wrote in a news item on their site. "The MacBook Air is a strong entry in the race to build a green PC. As a mercury and arsenic free laptop it exceeds European Standards (RoHS directive exemptions) and raises the bar for the rest of the industry." While the MacBook Air might represent an environmental step forward for Apple, it wasn't enough to completely appease Greenpeace: in an interview with Wired, Greenpeace legislative director Rick Hind criticized the company for not making the Air completely green-friendly. "Apple is getting greener, but not green enough," Hind said. "The Macbook Air has less toxic PVC plastic and less toxic BFRs, but it could have zero and that would make Apple an eco-leader."

For more on the ongoing discussion:
- see this Greenpeace news item
- and this Wired article

MacWorld 2008: Movie rentals and more

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

The MacBook Air may have stolen the show at this year's MacWorld Expo but rest assured, there was a whole lot more to see. Here's a quick rundown of the new products announced during Steve Jobs' keynote:

Time Capsule: Essentially an 802.11n Airport Extreme base station combined with a 500GB or 1TB hard drive. Indented for laptop users who want wireless backups via Time Machine. $299 and $499, respectively.
iPhone v1.1.3 firmware: As expected, here's the new iPhone firmware. Google Maps with My Location (faux GPS), a customizable home screen, multiple-recipient SMS messages, support for chapters, subtitles and languages in videos and more. Look at those home screen icons jiggle!
iPod Touch Update: The iPod Touch will (finally) be getting some new apps--Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes and Weather--but existing Touch owners will have to pay $20 for the update. Ouch!
iTunes movie rentals: As expected, iTunes gets downloadable/streamable DVD-quality movie rentals from Fox, Warner Brothers, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, and New Line Cinema--basically every major studio. You can watch the flicks on your iPod, iPhone, computer or Apple TV--you can even rent directly from your couch with the Apple TV. Once downloaded, you'll have 30 days to start watching the file and 24-hours to finish watching. $2.99 for older titles, $3.99 for new releases and an extra buck if you prefer HD quality. Over 1000 titles are currently available. What's more, the Apple TV's UI will get a complete overhaul and the unit will see a price drop to $229.

For more on the announcements:
- see this Ars Technica article

Apple announces MacBook Air

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500

Well folks, it looks like the rumors were true, though we certainly didn't expect it to be quite this thin. Say hello to the MacBook Air: what Steve Jobs is calling "the world's thinnest notebook." In many ways, this thing is a fanboy dream: a mere .16 inches thick at the bottom and .76 inches thick at the top, the laptop can easily fit into a manila folder. It sports an LED-backlit 13.3 display with ambient light sensor, full-size keyboard, a multitouch trackpad, 2GB of RAM, an optional 64GB SSD and 5 hours of battery life.

So, how did they make this thing so darn thin? First off, they removed the optical drive, though there are two options for folks who still need the old CD/DVD drive: a $100 external drive or "Remote Disk," which allows you to "borrow" another Mac or PC's optical drive wirelessly. Speaking of wireless, the MacBook Air is almost totally wireless (hence the name) save for a few ports: a headphone jack, a micro-DVI, 1 USB and a MagSafe power connector. Of course, it's got 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 on board--sorry rumormongers, no WWAN or WiMAX. Apparently, that didn't get the thing thin enough though, so they used a 1.8" hard drive for the standard model (the same hard drive found in iPods) and had Intel custom make two Core 2 Duos (1.6Ghz and 1.8Ghz) that were 60 percent thinner than existing Core 2 Duos. Apparently the MacBook Air's CPU is the width of a dime, the thickness of a nickel and so thin that Intel CEO Paul Ottellini was heard to remark ""When we started this project, we didn't think it was possible."

So there you have it folks, the latest drool-worthy notebook from Apple. The standard config with 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo and 80GB hard drive goes for $1800, while the 1.8Ghz, 64GB SSD-sporting model will run you a massive $3100. Pre-orders are available now, shipping in two weeks.

For more on the MacBook Air:
- see Apple's website
- and this Ars Technica liveblog

Video: Bill Gates' Last Day

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Bill Gates is many things: a business icon, a technology pioneer, a lover of huggable children's robots (apparently). And soon, Mr. Gates will be able to add one more title to his list: retiree. As you may recall, old Bill is going to be stepping down as the chairman of Microsoft later this year, ending his tenure as a full-time employee. He says that he plans to devote the majority of his time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, though he'll still maintain a certain degree of involvement at Microsoft. What else does he plan to do? In a hilarious video presented during his 12th (and ostensibly final) CES keynote speech, Gates offered a comedic take on what his final day in Redmond might look like. Without spoiling too much, I'll say this: the video features surprising cameos from a number of famous actors, rock stars and Presidential hopefuls. If you haven't seen it yet, hit the link at the bottom of this article.

In other Gates news, the tech pioneer has been making the CES interview rounds for what might be the last time, offering up pearls of wisdom from his 30+ years in the industry. Be sure to check out his interviews with Engadget and Gizmodo, wherein he candidly discusses his impending retirement, his love/hate relationship with Apple and Steve Jobs and his vision for digital media convergence.

For more on Bill Gates:
- watch the "Bill Gates' Last Day" video
- see this Engadget interview
- and watch Gizmodo's video interview series

Office for Mac 2008 gets previewed

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

If you've got any Intel-based Macs in your enterprise, chances are that you've been waiting with baited breath for Office 2008 ever since it was officially announced. There are plenty of reasons to want this year's model: new features and functions, an overhauled UI, compatibility with Microsoft's new Office Open XML format. And the fact of the matter is, now that Adobe's Creative Suite applications are finally available as Universal Binaries, Microsoft's productivity suite is the last major Mac product that has yet to make the leap to x86. After months of delays, Office 2008 will finally be available on January 15th (the day of Steve Jobs's MacWorld keynote, coincidentally enough) and not a minute too soon.

So, what exactly does Office 2008 have in store for the Mac crowd? While we've been hearing a few tidbits here and there, a recent Ars Technica piece gives us the first extensive overview of the software suite that we've seen. It's chock full of screenshots, first impressions and overviews of the changes you can expect to see in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Exchange. For the most part, it looks like Office 2008 is set to be the fastest, most "Maclike" version of Office yet, so click on over and check it out.

For more on Office 2008:
- see this Ars Technica preview

Bill Gates: IT savvy needed to succeed

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Now that he's phasing himself out of day-to-day operations at Microsoft, chairman Bill Gates has a bit more time on his hands. Apparently he's spending that time playing with huggable children's robots, making fun of old pal/rival Steve Jobs and penning columns for the BBC. In his latest turn as a scribe of the written word, Gates waxes philosophical about the skills needed to succeed in the modern world. "A solid working knowledge of productivity software and other IT tools has become a basic foundation for success in virtually any career," Gates writes. "Beyond that, however, I don't think you can overemphasise the importance of having a good background in maths and science." British spellings aside, Gates goes on to discuss the importance of collaboration and dispels the myth that software development is a solitary activity.

For the full column:
- head over to the BBC