But since his tenure as Apple’s chief executive, Cook has done little to be like his predecessor. Cook doesn’t like to gloat about the current state of affairs at Apple, and design is not necessarily something that he thinks constantly about. When he holds keynote addresses or events for the press, Cook is content to offer up only some information, and then leave the big product announcements to his executives.

Even in his calls with investors or interviews with the media, Cook plays a downplayed rule, deciding to allow his company’s strong performance to do the talking. It’s a significant departure from his predecessor’s tack, and something that has taken some getting used to for the millions of Apple fans around the globe.

But given Apple’s recent troubles and the fact that Samsung and Google are increasingly causing trouble for Cook, might it be a good time for some change? Apple might still be the most important technology company in the world, but it’s in no way the dominating presence that it once was. And much of that seems to be due to Cook’s leadership.

Now, that’s not to say that Tim Cook is not a good leader. As we’ve seen in recent quarters, Apple’s sales and profit figures are hitting new heights, and his shareholders appear to be happy with his performance. But since Cook took over, Apple has lost something. The things that made the company so compelling in the first place are now a shadow of their former selves. And it might have everything to do with who is sitting in the CEO’s chair.

The problem is, Tim Cook doesn’t have the charisma or the attitude that Steve Jobs had. Part of Apple’s success was due to Jobs willingly telling anyone that would listen that his company was best. And when given the chance to show off the latest and greatest product, it was Jobs who captivated audiences, not his executives.

Tim Cook’s more subdued role might prove to be a mistake in the grand scheme of things. Apple seems to be a company that needs to have a chip on its shoulder. And Cook is lacking that certain chip.

The truth is, Apple is slipping. The company that was once the only dominant force in several markets is looking like one of a few competitors. Apple doesn’t appear to have the same air about it that it once did. And that might be due to Tim Cook’s desire to be, well, less Steve Jobs-like. But if you ask me, he needs to be more like Steve Jobs.

Asked whether Jobs was maudlin during their final meetings, Gates describes the Apple co-founder as instead upbeat and relatively positive. Jobs “showed me the board he was working on” Gates recalls, a Philippe Starck designed minimalist yacht named Venus which was officially completed late in 2012.

According to Gates, Jobs “talked about how he’s looking forward to being on it, even though we both knew there was a good chance that wouldn’t happen.” The two also discussed how technology was yet to address all of society’s ills, such as education and health.

“We were within a year of the same age, and we were kind of naively optimistic and built big companies. And every fantasy we had about creating products and learning new things– we achieved all of it. And most of it as rivals. But we always retained a certain respect and communication, including even when he was sick” Bill Gates on Steve Jobs

Health is, of course, an area Gates went on to focus his attention on, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarding grants to medical projects across the world. That has been a second life for Gates, after Microsoft, something Jobs himself praised during an AllThingsD appearance.

For Microsoft and Apple fans, however, it’s likely to be Gates’ comments on his relationship with the former Apple CEO that are the most interesting. “We did tablets, lots of tablets, well before Apple did, but they put the pieces together in a way that succeeded” Gates concedes, referring to Apple’s segment-leading iPad, while Jobs’ design and branding insights also come in for praise.

The full Bill Gates interview was shown on 60 Minutes with Charlie Rose, with the full transcript available here. A segment of 60 Minutes Overtime, where Rose reflects on the interview, is shown below.

SOURCE: CBS News

Right now, Cook is auctioning off the amount of time it takes to sip a cup of coffee to one lucky (and rich) fan. As of this writing, the bid stands at $190,000, even though its estimated value is $50,000. And since there are nearly three weeks left to bid, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if that figure runs much, much higher.

But as I look at the bids rising and people lining up for the opportunity to talk to Cook, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if Steve Jobs were alive and offering the same deal for charity. And if I’m right, there’s a good chance that the cup of coffee Steve Jobs would be talking over would cost a bit more than Cook’s.

Let’s face it – Tim Cook isn’t the most dynamic person in the world. He’s undoubtedly one of the most successful people in the technology industry and if anything, he knows how to run a truly massive company. But Cook is not Steve Jobs. More importantly, Cook hasn’t elevated himself to the level of Superman within the technology industry.

The issue for Tim Cook is that he’s viewed by some as simply riding the wave that Steve Jobs created. And with reports that Jobs himself left a roadmap of products for Apple before he died, there are some who believe that Cook is only doing what he was told to do a couple of years ago. In other words, he doesn’t get much respect, even though he truly deserves it.

Steve Jobs, meanwhile, had God-like status among technology enthusiasts. When he walked on stage, it didn’t take long for the standing ovation to commence and tech lovers around the world to start to drool. And when he started speaking, Jobs had the unique ability to captivate an audience and make them truly believe that whatever it was that he pulled out of his pocket was special.

More importantly, Jobs was highly respected among businesspeople – the most likely group to win the Tim Cook bid. Jobs was able to turn around a dying company and turn it into the world’s largest. Tim Cook hasn’t achieved that just yet. And among executives, he’s not at the same level as his predecessor.

So, I ask you: how much would a cup of coffee with Steve Jobs actually cost? If I were a betting man, I’d say that it would hit $500,000 or more. Sure, it’s high, but we’re talking about the one man in the history of the technology industry that was able to turn the head of nearly everyone around the world. And some people would have given much more than a bundle of cash to sit next to him at a table.

Of course, this is not to say that Tim Cook is not worth having a discussion with or doing a good thing by offering his time. But let’s face it: Tim Cook isn’t Steve Jobs. And despite his best efforts, he never will be.

The entire 79-minute movie is available to watch for free on Funny or Die’s website, and the trailer is below if you want to get a teaser on what to expect. However, you’ll certainly have to have an open mind in order to find it funny or entertaining. It’s certainly not up to blockbuster standards, but it is a comedy website after all.

It’s almost as if the movie is a parody of the upcoming Steve Jobs biopics, but Funny or Die does a pretty terrible job at making it entertaining in some way. Justin Long (who plays Steve Jobs) has always kind of been of a loose cannon, and Jorge Garcia (who plays Steve Wozniak) is slightly bad at the role. However, if you’re expecting to get some stupid-humor out of it, rather than accurate drama like what we’ll see in JOBS, this may be the movie for you.

Justin Long has a long history with Apple, though. He most known as portraying the Mac in the Mac vs. PC ads that use to air all the time on television. These ads featured John Hodgman as the PC, and the two would go back and forth on computer tasks that they could better than the other, with the Mac ultimately winning in the end due to its “cool” factor.

The liaison was Michael Foulkes, and he reportedly spoke with the DA for an hour, a conversation that was, apparently, mostly worthless. Gascon said that he didn’t get much in the conversation, with Foulkes doing the majority of the talking. “It was incredible. He would just go on and on, one subject to the next. It was hard to follow. It was almost like someone who’s been trained in the art of doing a lot of talking and saying nothing.”

The liaison then went on to talk about the kill-switch system that the DA is wanting to see unified among phone makers, something the Apple worker said would be “long and laborious” in terms of both research and development. Phone users, at least for the time being, would have to be content with using software to find and terminate their mobile device.

Another issue presented, according to the interview, was that the next two iterations of the iPhone have already been developed. Even more interesting than that, however, is the statement that both of the iPhones “preceded Tim Cook,” indicating that they were possibly developed under the late Steve Jobs. Which iPhones, specifically, the liaison reportedly referenced isn’t known.

[via 9to5Mac]

These videos were submitted initially to Tuaw where a reader by the name of Vince Patton notes that he’s in the process of making sure all of the tapes are transferred and that watchable video is produced from the source material. These videos are all being displayed at Patton’s YouTube channel where you can enjoy them in kind – we’ll also be embedding each of them in this post, of course.

First you’ll see an epic moment in the history of computing that you’ll be glad you took the time to click. Here Woz leads the club in the Pledge of Apple Allegiance, complete with the following lines:

I pledge allegiance
to the logo
of corporate marketing in Cupertino.
And to the computers
for which it stands:
one notion
under Jobs -
indispensable
hardware and software for all.

Make sure you commit that one to memory, dear readers.

Next you’ve got Woz speaking on pranking a hotel, hacking a Video on Demand box, and re-numbering a telephone. Immediately following that, you’ll find a video about additional pranks and wild times Woz had as a college students, including a choice note about how he’d used a TV jammer more than once.

A bit of a break from Woz for a moment, you’ve got Randy Wigginton speaking about the aversion of a near disaster 6 days before the original launch of Macintosh. He goes through the heart-pounding several days before Macintosh had to be launched as a software package, explaining that at 2 o’clock in the morning on the day they had to send the final build out at 6 o’clock in the morning (four hours later), the situation should very well have given their team all panic attacks: “nothing worked.”

Once again with Woz you’ll find a description of how the Apple II was created. This should enlighten your life even if you never used that magical machine, complete with its massive floppy disk drive and connectivity with the epic Koala Pad. This machine was many users of my generation’s first encounter with an Apple product, as the big A had a rather important link with grade schools at that time.

With one good turn comes another – next you’ll see Woz speak about the creation of the Apple I (which of course was created before the Apple II). Inside you’ll have found a fabulous note about how the Apple I worked with 4k dynamic RAM built-in even though it was more difficult to design for – and how no other system worked with that advanced feature for a year (or even two) after they’d done it. This is an absolutely unthinkable situation today.

Below you’ll see Woz speak on how Steve Jobs formed Apple Computer knowing full well he’d have to lose some money before he made any.

Woz returns with more information about how he was put on probation at the University of Colorado for “Computer Abuse”. Such is the life of a young genius, yes?

Finally, (for now), you’ll see Woz recall the point at which he was forced to quit his job at HP and put his efforts toward Apple full-time. This is an iteration of the story of Apple’s creation that we’ve never seen before today, spoken by none other than one of the two men who founded the company. Consider that for a moment, won’t you?

We’d like to thank Patton for his work in translating this all to digital video this week and look forward to the rest of the media without a doubt. Let us know if you hear any other hidden treasures in your viewing of these clips, too!

Levinson has been on Apple’s board of directors since 2000, and was a close friend of Jobs. He says he’s still not to the point where he walks into boardroom and doesn’t miss Steve. He even admits that he can’t even finish Jobs’s biography, saying that “the Steve Jobs that was in the public eye was not, for the most part, the Steve Jobs that [he] knew.”

However, Apple reported $13.1 billion in profit and $54.5 billion in revenues last quarter, in which Levinson describes as “phenomenal.” And while the board gets to see products anywhere from 6 to 18 months before their launch, Levinson says that the board doesn’t really have much say into Apple products, saying that “ultimately, the board is there to hire and fire the CEO.”

Of course, after such a great quarter this time around, it doesn’t look like Apple has any plans to fire its current CEO, Tim Cook. Jobs left Apple in great hands, being high up on the executive list, Cook was a good choice to take over the Apple helm, and has so far led the company as well as anyone would’ve expected.

[via Fortune]

Kutcher specifically mentioned three things that audience members should get from the movie: focus, compassion for customers, and dream the impossible. Kutcher noted that Jobs had the ability to say no to anything that wasn’t his greatest mission at the time, and says that “it’s not a detriment to your character if you say no to the things that won’t help other people.”

He also discussed the compassion for Apple customers that Jobs had. Kutcher said he learned that caring about the consumer experience is what makes Apple a great company, and as long as you focus on customers and give them priority, other things such as revenue and profit will just fall into place. Lastly, Kutcher mentioned that Jobs “believed that it was possible to do things that were impossible.” In fact, one of Kutcher’s favorite quotes from Jobs is, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people who are no smarter than you.”

Kutcher said that he ultimately hopes people walk away from the movie with the motivation to not just settle for things, and he notes that people should just “make life better and build something.” JOBS recently debuted last weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, and will see an official theatrical release on April 19.

[via Cult of Mac]

In the one-minute clip, Jobs and Wozniak are in a heated debate about the operating system that Wozniak created. While Jobs is certain that the OS will be a big hit with the general public, Wozniak isn’t so sure and needs convincing. Apparently, though, the Woz himself denied that he was ever skeptical about his creation, and he actually had full confidence in the operating system. All hell broke loose at this point for Apple fans.

Many argue that there’s no excuse for the production team to bend the truth of the history of Apple and its founders. Because both Jobs and Wozniak have a biography and an autobiography, respectively, fans argue that there’s no reason for the movie to include made up bits, since resources are readily available. For instance, in Steve Jobs’ biography, author Walter Isaacson interviewed Jobs over 40 times, as well as interviewing over 100 different family members, friends, and colleagues in order to get an accurate account of the man behind the company. Because of that, many fans argue that there’s no reason that the team behind JOBS had to steer away from the truth.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, the movie gives a mostly-accurate account of the history of the company and the founders who created it, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the factual details are either missing or a little off, and it shouldn’t be big deal either. It’s just a movie, folks. Movies are meant to be entertaining and fun to watch. In other words, it’s not a documentary, where there’s a word-for-word account of what happened. Remember The Social Network? It’s another non-fiction film that shows off the conception of Facebook, and while it gave viewers a vague idea of how the social networking giant got started, all of the drinking, drugs, and parties actually never happened in real life; but it was still fun to watch. If the movie ended up being an exact representation of how Facebook got started, it would honestly be boring as hell — just Zuckerberg in his dorm room sitting at his desk coding for hours on end. Who seriously wants to watch that?

In other words, it’s completely okay to make up scenes in order to make the movie more dramatic and fast-paced, or whatever style the director is going for. I agree, though, that there is a line, but screen writers these days are smart enough not to cross it. And by crossing the line, I mean putting in explosions, car chases, and pretty ladies in a film about the history of Apple — now THAT would be ridiculous. But so what if Wozniak was skeptical about his operating system in the movie when that really wasn’t the case. It shouldn’t change how you enjoy the movie. Plus, this is only one clip — one minute from a 122-minute film. We shouldn’t even be criticizing something that we’ve only seen 0.8% of anyway.

However, this isn’t the only Steve Jobs biopic that will be coming out. If you recall, Sony Pictures is also working on a movie about the history of Apple and its fearless founders, only this time, Wozniak himself is involved, along with Aaron Sorkin, who is one of the greatest screenwriters of our time. While this Sony version may be a little more accurate than JOBS, though — thanks to the Woz’s help — I’ll be surprised if it’s any more accurate than JOBS. Sorkin was the one who penned The Social Network, and he’s always been one to credit the fact that non-fiction films and documentaries are two completely different beasts.

In any case, if you really want to know what the early years of Apple were like, I hope you would be smart enough to not rely on a couple of Hollywood movie to accurately inform you about the company’s history. You’re better off reading Jobs’ and Wozniak’s respective books, “Steve Jobs” and “iWoz”. Both give a clearer picture of what Apple was like in the early days, and they better reflect the relationship that the dynamic duo had back in the late 70s and 80s. Happy reading!

Entertainment Tonight released the clip today, and it’s a one-minute segment from the movie that shows Jobs and Wozniak in a heated debate. In the clip, Jobs is talking about the operating system that Wozniak created, and while Jobs is certain that the operating system will be a big hit among the general public, Wozniak isn’t so sure and needs convincing.

What’s perhaps the most profound segment of the one-minute clip is the last few moments when Wozniak tells Jobs that “nobody wants to buy a computer,” but Jobs retorts back, “How does somebody know what they want if they’ve never even seen it?” It’s some pretty powerful stuff, and we can’t wait to see some other clips from the movie that will hopefully be released sometime before the movie’s official launch.

UPDATE: Steve Wozniak himself responded to the one-minute clip from JOBS and said that the interaction in the clip was “totally wrong,” according to a response posted on Gizmodo. While the clip portrays Woz as not being confident in the new operating system, it was actually quite the contrary, and Woz even said he was “embarrassed” by the clip, “but if the movie is fun and entertaining, all the better.” He suggests that anyone wanting a clearer picture can read his autobiography, iWoz.

In related news, it looks like the production team behind the movie has made some slight changes to the title of the film. The creators have changed the title from “jOBS” to “JOBS,” changing the lowercase “j” to uppercase, making the whole title all caps. The movie’s official website, Twitter account, and Facebook page have all reflected the change. JOBS will be premiering this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, and will see a theatrical release on April 19.

[via MacRumors]

The official release date for the film has finally been announced. The film will make its worldwide premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week and will hit theaters in April. The official launch date for the film in theaters was timed to coincide with the 37th anniversary of the founding of Apple Computer.

That means the official launch date is April 19. The first viewing of the film at Sundance will be January 25, the closing night of the film festival. The movie is directed by Joshua Michael Stern and was written by Matthew Whitley.

The film follows Jobs’ life from when he dropped out of college to becoming one of the most influential people in technology. Part of this movie was shot in the actual garage where Apple Computer first started. The film stars Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, and Matthew Modine. Another big-budget Steve Job’s biofilm is in the works from Sony.

[via Hollywood Reporter]

During the talk, Kutcher and Gad will be discussing their experiences portraying the two Apple geniuses back when they started the company in 1976. Musician Will.i.am is also planning to attend the conference this year, and will be speaking alongside Intel futurist Brian David Johnson about future technology and gadgets. Fred Armisen, star of Portlandia and Saturday Night Live, will also be present at MacWorld/iWorld 2013.

jOBS will officially be premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, just a few days before the start of Macworld/iWorld. The movie will then see a public debut sometime in April. Ashton Kutcher is a household name, so the film should definitely get a lot of attention, and while Josh Gad isn’t as popular, he has starred in the 2008 film The Rocker with Rainn Wilson. He also made single-episode appearances in New Girl and Modern Family, as well as currently starring in a new NBC comedy called 1600 Penn, where he’s also the co-creator and executive producer.

Macworld/iWorld features upcoming products, apps, and various tech talks, and unlike most other annual tech events, Macworld/iWorld is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased starting at $25 for access to the Expo hall, and the convention is live from January 31 through February 2 at Moscone Center West in San Francisco, CA.

[via Macworld]

While Gad naturally doesn’t look anything like Steve Wozniak, let him grow out his hair, slap a beard on him, as well as some glasses, and you have a close resemblance of Steve Jobs’ sidekick. Both Kutcher and Gad portray the two Apple geniuses during the company’s budding days in the 1970s and 1980s.

Obviously, many people know who Ashton Kutcher is, but Josh Gad is a less well-known name in the entertainment industry. However, you’ve most likely saw him in at least one movie or TV show in the past. He starred in the 2008 film The Rocker with Rainn Wilson, and also made single-episode appearances in New Girl and Modern Family. His newest role besides jOBS is starring in a new NBC comedy called 1600 Penn, where he’s also the co-creator and executive producer.

Other well-known names that will be starring in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic include Dermot Melroney as Mike Markkula, J.K. Simmons as Arthur Rock, and James Woods as Jack Dudman. Out of the rest of the bunch, J.K. Simmons is probably the best known. He starred in numerous films and is well known for his loud and outspoken acting style in Spider-Man as the newspaper editor. jOBS will make its nationwide debut in April of this year.

[via USA Today]

“There were a few people on board cleaning the upper deck, but there was nobody else around” Frackers said of Venus. He also spoke up in the yacht’s defense, after criticism from some quarters as to Jobs’ and Starck’s pared-back aesthetic, arguing that “it’s a very unique design that looks much better up close than in pictures or even in a video.”

Custom-designed for the former Apple CEO, Venus is 260ft long and was constructed by Feadship in the Netherlands at a cost of more than €100m ($133m). €9m of that was French designer Philippe Starck’s fee, an unpaid €3m of which caused authorities to impound the yacht before Christmas.

A swiftly identified security deposit lurking in a bank account saw Venus freed after five contentious days, though exactly what will happen to the craft is unclear. More on Venus’ specifications (and iMac-filled interior) here.

[Thanks Toby!]

It would appear that Starck’s attorney Gérard Moussault has spoken with French daily Le Monde about the situation this week, assuring us all that the Jobs estate had placed a security deposit in a bank account so that the ship could be set free. The amount placed in the account has not yet been made clear. The folks working for Starck had hired a debt collection agency to create a legal order to keep the boat from leaving the Netherlands.

Bloomberg reported that the disagreement included a loose agreement in which Starck would receive 6 percent of the yachts end construction costs. The initial cost of the ship was supposed to be 150 million euros, but according to the Steve Jobs estate, the final cost ended up being closer to 105 million euros – because of this rather sizable difference, the final payment to Starck ended up being 3 million euros short.

The ship goes by the name Venus and has been described several times over the course of the past year. This massive ship is controlled with Apple products such as the set of iMac machines pictured in the one hands-on tour given of the ship this Summer. Have a peek at the timeline below to check out the full epic journey of this beast from rumor to release.

The report from Ubik let Rueters know that their client (Starck) had received only a partial payment for the final product, that being the finished yacht. Of the full 9 million Euro the group was supposed to receive, Ubik says Starck received just 6 million so far. It’s not clear at the moment if future payments were scheduled or if the entire affair was payed in cash: the contract, it seems, was extremely vague.

“The project has been going since 2007 and there had been a lot of detailed talk between Jobs and Starck. … These guys trusted each other, so there wasn’t a very detailed contract.” – Ubik lawyer Roelant Klaassen

At the moment there’s been no word from anyone in the Steve Jobs estate, and the superyacht itself is sitting in a port in Amsterdam. The impound was completed on Wedneday this week and the ship will remain locked up for the foreseeable future. Unless Starck’s camp gets what they believe they’re owed, of course.

For everyone that’s not been watching this superyacht unfold from design to execution, you’ll be fabulously amazed to know that the ship cost more than 100 million Euro to build from top to bottom (see the timeline of Steve Jobs yacht posts below for more details). This ship goes by the name Venus and is extremely minimalistic on the outside – while its insides are stacked to the brim with Apple computers and controls from the future. And you’ll never, ever get to take a ride on it.

Check out the photograph above to see what I mean. Anyone familiar with Kutcher will recognize him on the left and 70s Steve Jobs on the right. We have some more details on the jOBS biopic that have surfaced this week. Previously the film was aiming for a Q4 2012 launch.

Since this is Q4 2012, fans of Kutcher might be wondering exactly when the film will debut. It appears that the Q4 launch window originally promised won’t be met. The movie is set for its first screening on January 27, 2013, which is the last night of the Sundance Film Festival.

Obviously, that moves the picture from a Q4 debut to a Q1 2013 debut. It remains unclear when or if the film will be released into movie theaters. There have been some indications in the past that the movie might go straight to TV. The jOBS biofilm covers 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life from 1971 to 2000.

[via The Verge]

HP’s PC chief took some time out of his day to talk some smack about Microsoft Surface, while Google started sending out emails that said some Nexus 4 orders have been placed on backorder for three weeks. We learned today that 4G LTE networks are surprisingly easy to bring down, and Dell’s earnings for Q3 are showing a pretty big decline year-over-year. Usage of Microsoft’s SkyDrive has doubled in six months (and there are new features on the way), while a new survey is telling us that consumer demand for Windows 8 is a little on the low side.

We learned that the Steve Jobs biopic will be comprised of a collection of pre-keynote footage, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk talked about the future of space exploration. Steve Ballmer had some harsh words for the likes of Android and Apple today, while we learned that thieves made off with a shipment of 3,600 iPad minis. The HTC Deluxe was leaked today, leading us believe that it’s the international version of the HTC DROID DNA, and a new augmented reality game called Google Ingress was officially revealed.

Microsoft will be holding Windows Store app labs in 30 different cities to help Windows 8 developers make apps for the new OS, Xbox Live celebrated its 10th birthday. Spotify confirmed that its web app beta is rolling out to select number of users today, and Bethesda shared a bunch of new screenshots from its upcoming Dragonborn DLC. Finally tonight, Don Reisinger asks why the music industry seems to dislike fairness, while we go hands-on with the new Samsung Galaxy Camera – it’s a cool little device, so you’re not going to want to miss that one! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

What’s known thus far – per Sorkin – is that they plan on filming the movie in three shots. These shots will be continuous, not unlike the film Children of Men – though with far fewer deaths involved, of course. The movie will be backed by Sony and for those of you that don’t know him at the moment, Aaron Sorkin is best known for being a writer for “The West Wing”, a show of some note, and movies like The Social Network and A Few Good Men.

For those of you wondering if this is or is not the Steve Jobs biopic with Ashton Kutcher in it – it’s certainly not. That movie goes by the name “Jobs” and was written by a man named Matt Whiteley. This version has Sorkin speaking on the life of Steve Jobs years before the iPhone and iPad launched. It’s the Mac, here, that he wants to capture.

Speaking about the iconic Mac advertisement “here’s to the crazy ones”, Sorkin said thusly: “if I can live up to that ending, I will have won.” The version of the ad spot you’re seeing here has Jobs himself doing the voice-over rather than the more popular version with Richard Dryfuss doing the audio.

As for the segments this movie is going to come up on, you’ll want to begin with the Mac. This is the Apple Macintosh keynote by Steve Jobs all the way back in 1984. Have a peek and be utterly amazed.

Next you’ll see NeXT – it’s not clear at the moment if this will be the presentation they’ll be speaking about in the movie now or not, but still – interesting stuff! This is Steve Jobs speaking about NeXT OS. Very simple stuff, very visionary.

Then it’s time for the original iPod. This device appears to be a beast compared to the devices we use today, but back then it was an industry-changer. We’ll be getting an interpretation of the action behind the stage before this event started in the movie – can’t wait! Also – please excuse Comic Sans – Apple wasn’t part of the graphic design and typography modernism at the time.

Pixar put in a brief but touching tribute to Steve Jobs in the end credits of Brave, Pixar’s latest film. However, the folks at Pixar wanted to do something a little more permanent in order to honor the man that is claimed to have dug Pixar out of a rut in order to become profitable. So, the company decided to name its main building after Jobs.

Now known officially as the The Steve Jobs Building, the plans and ideas of the main building on Pixar’s campus was actually thought up by Steve Jobs himself. Instead of having separate buildings for different departments, Jobs wanted one huge building with a large atrium that would encourage random encounters between employees.

Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, said that “the atrium initially might seem like a waste of space, but Steve realized that when people run into each other, when they make eye contact, things happen.” Of course, that was Jobs’s plan. By encouraging employees to run into each other in the hallway, he wanted new ideas to form that otherwise wouldn’t have been thought of.

[via Pixar Times]

The private yacht is now apparently complete and has been spied for the first time in the Dutch city of Aalsmeer. The gigantic boat certainly looks like something Steve Jobs would have designed with a minimalist look, lots of glass, and very clean lines. The yacht has reportedly been christened the Venus.

It rather looks like a floating Apple Store with lots of glass and shiny metal. The yacht appears to be quite massive dwarfing the people around it looking more like a cruise ship than a personal yacht. The Jobs family was said to be on hand for the unveiling of the massive ship measuring 80 m long.

Naturally, the command deck of the ship where the controls are housed uses iMac computers to show virtual gauges. There are seven of the 27-inch iMac computers in the wheelhouse. I’ve seen some impressive yachts over the years packed with technology, but the Venus is certainly my favorite.

[via The Verge]

Apple CEO Tim Cook took a moment during the company’s earning call to address the criticism, stating that Apple would not make “one of the seven inch tablets.” According to Cook, the 7.9-inch iPad mini is in an altogether different league than its competition. “[The iPad mini] is not a compromised product like the seven inch tablets.”

At its event on October 23, Apple revealed the iPad mini, which is 23% smaller than the 4th Generation iPad. The not-quite-a-7-incher tablet has a 7.2mm body, and weighs .68lbs. The display has a 1,024 x 768 resolution, which is the same as the iPad 2, allowing users to run iPad 2 apps on the mini without issue. The gadget has a 5MP rear camera and FaceTime HD front camera.

During the announcement, Apple gave a fairly thorough comparison between the iPad mini and Google’s Nexus 7. One of the differences that Cook reiterated during the call was the size difference between the two aforementioned tablets, with the iPad mini offering 35-percent more real estate than the Nexus 7. Apparently .9-inches means the difference between usability and needing to sandpaper one’s own fingers.

Said Cook:

The comments that I think you’re referencing are comments that Steve had made before about seven inch tablets. And, let me be clear, we would not make one of the seven inch tablets. We don’t think they’re good products, and we would never make one. Not just because it’s seven inches, but for many reasons. One of the reasons, however, is size.

I’m not sure if you saw our keynote, but the difference between just the real estate size between the 7.9… versus 7 is 35 percent. And when you look at the usable area it’s much greater than that… The iPad mini is a fantastic product. It is not a compromised product like the seven inch tablets. It’s in a whole different league.

The LG Nexus G has been tipped for a reveal later this month, and it looks like problems with component yields might mean that we’re headed for iPad Mini shortages (assuming the rumored tablet actually exists, of course). The Kindle Paperwhite has officially been jailbroken, and Rovio was spotted teasing a new Star Wars-Angry Birds tie-in earlier today, leaving us to wonder what’s in the pipeline. Sprint might be looking to rain on T-Mobile’s MetroPCS parade, and Anonymous is at it again, this time bringing down government sites in Sweden in the name of The Pirate Bay and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Wii U pre-orders are hard to find these days, but provided you’ve got the cash to burn, you can pick one up on eBay. iPhone cases were popping up left and right today, like this Loop Mummy case for the iPhone 4/4S and these Moshi cases for the iPhone 5. Xi3 has gone to Kickstarter to fund its new X3A and X7A modular computers, and one analyst is saying that HP’s stock should be worth negative $2. Ubisoft gave us a brand new ZombiU development diary, and we heard that increased iPhone 5 quality demands led to a strike at a Foxconn factory in China today.

New algorithms may eventually lead to cell phones that charge twice as fast, while NASA explained why Curiosity is collecting dirt from the surface of Mars. Motorola has managed to fight off Microsoft in a patent dispute over in Germany, while astronomers say they’ve discovered a new star circling a black hole at the center of our galaxy. Pokemon Black and White 2 launch in the US this Sunday (are you ready to be the best?) and we found out today that New Zealand authorities may have been spying on Kim Dotcom much earlier than they’ve admitted.

Finally tonight, we have quite a few original articles to share with you. Don Reisinger asks if Bill Gates will be remembered in the same way as Steve Jobs when he’s gone, Chris Burns explains why the iPad Mini will be free when it launches and what the iPad Mini needs to fix when it comes to Apple tablets, and Chris Davies has a review of the Synology DS213air NAS. That does it for tonight’s evening wrap-up – we hope you have a fun weekend!

A year after his death, Jobs was celebrated by consumers worldwide, giving a clear indication that although his company is now under the leadership of someone else, he will never be forgotten.

But all of the remembrances and tributes make me wonder how other prominent technology giants will be remembered. More specifically, I’m wondering if Bill Gates, a technology icon in his own right, will be remembered in the same way as Steve Jobs.

At first glance, there should be no reason Gates doesn’t earn the same respect and idolatry of Jobs. After all, without Bill’s decisions, we might not have Windows, the PC market wouldn’t be as advanced as it is today, and it’s hard to say how the corporate world would be operating. It’s easy to say that someone else could have come up with everything Gates did, but they didn’t. And his position as a tech icon has been cemented because of that.
"Without Bill’s decisions … it’s hard to say how the corporate world would be operating."
But Gates wasn’t always as beloved as Steve Jobs. For a long time, Gates was viewed unfavorably because he was the richest person in the world. And in the late 1990s when Microsoft was at the height of its power, Gates was viewed as the evil leader that dominated other companies.

Now, though, things have changed a bit. Microsoft is no longer the big, brooding company that it once was. And although it’s still generating billions of dollars in revenue each quarter, it’s largely an afterthought in an industry dominated by Apple and Google.

Moreover, Gates is no longer running Microsoft, and long ago left day-to-day operations at the company. Gates is now a full-time philanthropist. And his contributions to the world and the people who are in need of help is nothing but commendable.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how Gates will be remembered. On one hand, I think that he might finally get his due as a technology icon after his death when people take an honest look at his contributions and the economic activity they spurred.
"Gates was great and all… but he wasn’t Steve Jobs."
At the same time, I can’t help but shake the feeling that Gates inspired enough distaste among critics over the years that even over time, he won’t be viewed on the same level as Steve Jobs. Gates was great and all, those critics might say, but he wasn’t Steve Jobs.

Of course, the debate over whether that’s true or not will last forever. And chances are, no one will be able to arrive at a consensus. But if we can agree on anything, it’s that Gates did contribute quite a bit to the industry. And if nothing else, he should be remembered for that a long ways from now when the old guard gives way to the new upstarts.

The design of the Apple, for those of you that don’t remember all the way back to last year, comes from designer Jonathan Mak – or at least is based upon that design per their press release. This set of three notebooks is all the same, each model coming with 2.7GHz configurations, 16GB memory, and a 750GB solid state drive inside. Each model is made with essentially the same components as the normal MacBook Pro with Retina display, but the Apple logo on the top cover is laser-cut to create the face of Jobs.

The proceeds will be split between the charity Get It Done and another group by the name of SellanApp where it’ll be working with developers working on iOS apps that specifically “don’t have a direct business model, but have a clear societal value.” The bottom of the notebook will also include the following inscription laser-cut into the metal:

“When you grow up you, tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” – Steve Jobs

This is just one of a vast collection of tributes that have been made to Jobs over the past year, with today’s one-year anniversary of his passing making the world once again remember his impact. Of course according to Apple, his influence doesn’t just stop at the idea that everything from his design knowledge to his leadership skills are still being studied today. His design influence in each of the major products in the field being released even today had Jobs hand in them well before they came to fruition.

Have a peek at the small timeline below for more Steve Jobs tributes and memories from the past year, and let us know if you feel that a MacBook Pro with Retina Display is a fabulous way to remember the man’s visage. Also let us know if you plan on picking up one of these three 12 thousand dollar notebooks.

Each of those launches marked a turning point in the consumer electronics industry, reframing the world of smartphones, home computing, and portable music. “No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself” Cook writes in his open letter, and going on to describe more recent launches since Steve’s death as “a wonderful tribute” to what the outspoken chief exec stood for.

Although a contentious figure in the electronics world, and one who refused to accept compromise in many ways, Jobs has been widely recognized by Apple fans and rivals alike as having a huge impact on the industry. His attitudes towards quality, usability, and design have left Apple is a privileged place when it comes to value and success, at odds with the struggles other firms are facing.

There’s more on Steve Jobs in our original memorial post, and Tim Cook’s message is below.

 Tim Cook’s message:

A message from Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

Steve’s passing one year ago today was a sad and difficult time for all of us. I hope that today everyone will reflect on his extraordinary life and the many ways he made the world a better place.

One of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originated from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We share the great privilege and responsibility of carrying his legacy into the future.

I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing, delivering products that our customers love and dreaming up new ones that will delight them down the road. It’s a wonderful tribute to Steve’s memory and everything he stood for.

- Tim

The Kindle Paperwhite has officially sold out, so expect a wait of 4-6 weeks if you order one today, while listings for a 32GB variant of the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Nexus 2 popped up in a warehouse database. Apple will require approval for third-party Lightning accessories, and EE’s 4G network will go live across the UK on October 30. Oracle says that the rumors aren’t true and it isn’t planning to purchase NetApp, while Google was awarded a patent for its smartwatch today as well.

A tape featuring an eerily accurate Steve Jobs Q&A session from 1983 was made public today, and an Apple job posting suggests that an all-new SoC is on the way. The FTC has hit a former scareware distributor with a massive $163 million fine, and iFixit gave us a look inside the new Super Slim PS3 today. iFixit also told us that the amount of toxins in smartphones is on the decline, which is only a good thing, and HP CEO Meg Whitman is saying that the company will probably have issues making a profit next year.

The first presidential debate is tonight, do you know where you’ll be watching it? If not, we have a few suggestions for you. The budget-priced Nokia Lumia 510 was spotted in the wild today, and Facebook has started testing promoted posts for all regular users. Apple struck up a deal with biometrics firm Microlatch today, while Twitter Surveys were introduced as a paid service for advertisers and Sony’s PlayStation Mobile launched on the PS Vita and select Android devices.

Finally tonight, we have a couple of original articles for you to check out – Don Reisinger asks if there can ever be another Apple, while Chris Davies goes hands-on with a BlackBerry 10 Alpha B device. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

Below you’re going to see a SoundCloud presentation of the audio from this interview with Steve Jobs. It’s interesting to note that this conference also had a strange Time Capsule burying ceremony that Jobs contributed to – we’re not yet aware of what’s happened to the capsule, but it’s certainly going to be interesting when the revelation is made. Back when this recording was made there was no Apple Macintosh, the Apple II series was the top computer on the market, and Jobs would leave Apple just 3 years later to start NeXT. The Apple Lisa was their next big thing.

Jobs speaks on voice recognition, early networking, and predicts that it’d be 5 years before office networking would be working at a usable level and 10 to 15 years before home networking would be solved. He predicts that we’d be having portable computers that’d be able to pick up information anywhere with radio links and that in a few years people would be spending more time with their personal computers than with their automobiles. Jobs also drops a lovely bit of foresight on Apple’s strategy at the time.”

“[Apple's strategy is to] put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you that you can learn how to use in 20 minutes.” – Jobs

He added that these computers would connect via “radio link” so people would not have to hook up to anything to communicate with “larger databases” and computers everywhere. He speaks about how the record industry will change as the software industry changes, removing the need for brick-and-mortar stores altogether. Imagine that!

Listen in and let us know what you think about this hidden gem!

This video goes through a wave of design-related subject matter including the power of trying, failing and persevering, the power of ideas, and more on how Jobs certainly appeared to be a human creation machine. “Bold, crazy, magnificent ideas” as well as “dopey” ideas – all of this is important in the design process, notes Ive, and Jobs understood that, he makes sure to let the crowd understand.

There’s also a few stories that’ll make you giggle. One of them includes a process that Ive went through each time he traveled with Jobs in which they’d check in to a hotel, Ive would go up to his room, and Jobs would call him up saying “hey Jonny this hotel sucks.” And then they’d go to a different hotel – but it all ties in to the narrative that Ive creates for Jobs. One of a man who at the same time didn’t assume that they’d be successful but always had faith that they’d make something great.

Take a minute (or 7 and a half) to watch the video and keep your eyes peeled for more stories about Jobs that pop up over the next few days leading up to the end of this week. Have a peek at our Apple portal as well for all the new news regarding the products left in Jobs wake.

[via Core77]

After announcing its new 4G LTE service last month, EE made headlines a few times today. First, the company put a handful of 4G LTE capable devices up for sale, then brushed aside negative comments from its LTE rivals, and finally, we got to take the iPhone 5 through an EE 4G LTE speed test. One analyst is saying that the problems with Apple Maps aren’t having an effect on iPhone 5 demand, while we learned that most of Microsoft’s temporary retail stores will be opening on October 26. We heard today that Samsung Galaxy S III sales took a jump around the time the verdict in its case against Apple was delivered, as well as when the iPhone 5 was announced, which is interesting to say the least.

The BBC is working on its own music streaming player, and Barnes and Noble has updated its NOOK apps for iOS and Android. AT&T and Time Warner are saying they want the same Kansas City benefits Google received when it launched its fiber network there, while Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was spotted telling both Apple and Android fans to calm down. Microsoft is rumored to be working on a Windows Phone 8 device of its own, and in the wake of the HTC One X+ announcement, we compare HTC’s new flagship side-by-side with the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Lenovo announced today that it will soon be building a plant here in the US, while we got a funny story about Steve Jobs and the opening of new Apple stores today as well. HTC said that the One X and One S will both be getting Jelly Bean updates later this month, while Valve announced that not only has the Left 4 Dead franchise reached 12 million sales, but also that non-game software is now available to purchase from Steam. Finally tonight, Chris Burns has a new interview Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed shows such as the Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory, while Chris Davies examines if HTC is about to make a big comeback. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

A brand new “mini” store is being opened at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, and Steve Jobs is set to help unveil the space, full with a new concept for a store that includes white ceilings with backlighting, stainless-steel walls with holes that look like the PowerMac G5, and a white floor as well. The problem with the makeup of the room was that it didn’t account well for real-world use – at least not as far as fingerprints and scuffs went.

Jobs noted that the floor was made with “material used in aircraft hangars” at the time, but it didn’t all add up – Jobs refused to be a part of the curtain undraping and greet with reporters. The store had handprints galore and black scuff marks all over the floor from the people making the presentation ready for prime time.

Jobs was convinced somehow or another to eventually agree to do the unveiling, and as Guglielmo notes:

“When I saw the floor, I immediately turned to Jobs, standing next to me, and asked if he had been involved in every aspect of the design. He said yes. “It was obvious that whoever designed the store had never cleaned a floor in their life,” I told him. He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped inside.” – Guglielmo

Guglielmo also notes that she’d heard several months later from an Apple executive that Jobs later had the designers of the store repent, so to speak. After the store opened on a Saturday, the designers all had to spend the night “on their hands and knees” cleaning the floor of all scuffs. It would seem that the stone tiles that exist in most Apple stores now are in place due in no small part to this incident.

The sculpture shows Jobs with an iPhone in his hand, and was made using the M.I.C. Gadget’s Steve Jobs action figure that was discontinued. Apple’s legal team made it clear the action figure project wasn’t to continue back in 2010. The sculpture is being displayed in a gallery called Cory Allen Contemporary Art. Allen says that production of the sculpture will continue with or without Apple approval.

The action figure is coated in an “Apple White finish” and is cast in a patented plastic porcelain mixture. Part of the plastic porcelain mix includes a recycled resin made up of Steve Jobs’ trash from his home. The artist says he collected the trash from Jobs’ home several months before his death.

The artist will also offer a limited-edition series coded in a color called Apple Black to serve as a motif to bring attention to the past suicides to the Foxconn factory. I seriously doubt any of these sculptures are ever sold. Apple’s legal team is going to be all over this. If history is any indication, when it comes to action figures or sculptures of the late Steve Jobs, Apple doesn’t tolerate this sort of thing.

Apple has certainly thrived, and under Cook’s leadership with the company becoming the most viable firm on the planet with a $621 billion market cap only a few days before Cook’s one-year anniversary. Cook did inherit much of Apple’s success from Steve Jobs with huge demand in massive success with the iPhone and the iPad.

However, Mercury News reports that Cook has used his supply chain expertise, which is what landed him a job at Apple 14 years ago, to help Apple build and ship more and more gadgets all around the world. Interestingly, Mercury News believes that it could be five years or so before we get a clear picture of whether or not Apple can continue to be innovative with Cook at the helm. The launch of the iPhone 5 under Cook’s watch will be the first major product launch in the post Jobs Apple landscape.

I guess we can assume even with Steve Jobs gone almost a year, work on the next-generation iPhone, expected to launch in a few weeks, had begun before Jobs passed away. That could make the iPhone 5 one of the last products to bear Jobs’ fingerprints.

[via Mercury News]

Of course as Apple implemented “find my iPad” and other location-aware software into their operating systems and newer gear over the past few years, it wasn’t long after the heist took place that the thief was caught. The thief confessed to the crime and the breaking and entering of other homes in the recent past once he was identified by the police via his iTunes account. Once he understood that he’d stolen goods from the home of Steve Jobs (a fact he did not known before the event), he wrote a letter of apology to Jobs’ widow.

The clown Kahn, on the other hand, simply gave the tablet back to the family, noting that he had no idea that it was stolen in the first place.

It would be like getting a football from Joe Montana that was stolen out of his house. If this thing weren’t so tragic, it would be comical. It’s bizarre; it’s really bizarre.” – Kahn

Kahn noted also that he’d coached McFarlin on a highschool basketball team more than ten years ago and had been friends with the man ever since. While the iPad was in the clowns possession, he used it to download songs to play while doing his clown routine for tourists and kids in the area.

[via Mercury News]

The burglary happened on July 17th, but is only just now being reported by news sources. The police department handling the case has declined to say whether the equipment that was stolen belonged to Steve Jobs or another family member. The prosecutor in the case, however, did say that the suspect may have been unaware of the significance of the home he was robbing.

According to the report, the house was surrounded by a construction barrier during July. That may have allowed outsiders to wander onto the premises without arousing suspicion, but the details of how McFarlin undertook the burglary aren’t clear. McFarlin is being charged with residential burglary and selling stolen property.

Details of what was taken haven’t been made available, but the home of the late Apple CEO is sure to have contained expensive computer equipment along with valued possessions. It’s not clear if the police have managed to recover any of the stolen goods either, but seeing as how McFarin has been charged with selling stolen property, it might be already be too late.

[via MacRumors]

But enough about boring old courtroom drama, because today Apple and Samsung’s lawsuit was eclipsed by another event: NASA’s Curiosity rover touched down successfully on the surface of Mars today. It was a huge event, and we’ve got plenty of related posts for you to read through. If you missed the live stream, you can watch this video of the Curiosity team as they react to the rover’s landing. There are also a few images from the surface of Mars to check out: after sending back the first image from the landing, NASA received even more images from the surface of Mars. There was also this shot of the descent taken by NASA’s Mars orbiter, which we have to say is pretty awesome. Did you know that Curiosity will be leaving behind tags as it travels across Mars? It is, and it’s doing so in Morse code.

In other news, Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Note 10.1 will indeed be hitting shelves this month. That announcement was accompanied by a new promo video for the Galaxy Note 10.1, and after watching it, we wonder if Android users care more about functionality than they do about specs. We also caught a glimpse of what appears to be Samsung’s plan for Jelly Bean updates on various Galaxy devices, so you may want to give that a look. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gave some warnings about becoming too reliant on the cloud, and it turns out that Steve Jobs actually liked the idea of an iPad Mini. Speaking of Apple, it appears that the company’s entire mobile line is going to get new dock connectors, and YouTube has been banished from iOS 6, but we tell you why that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Get ready ultrabook enthusiasts, because Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Carbon will be launching by the end of the month. Demonoid has been shut down by Ukrainian authorities, much like MegaUpload was by the US earlier this year. Finally, the PS3 is getting a bunch of collections at the end of this month, with Sony announcing today that the God of War Saga and the inFamous Collection will be launching alongside the Ratchet & Clank Collection on August 28.

That about does it for the evening wrap-up, so now that you’re all caught up on the news from the day, head out and enjoy the rest of your Monday evening!

Jobs had made headlines with comments back in October 2010 that users would need to sandpaper down their fingertips in order to use 7-inch slates, which the outspoken CEO described as “tweeners” falling in-between phone and true tablet. As of January 2011, however, high-level mutterings around smaller iPad possibilities already appeared to have been considered to have earned Jobs’ approval. In an email from Cue to Tim Cook, Scott Forstall and senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller, CNET reports, several positive use-cases are cited based on a third-party editorial piece on the iPad and smaller models.

“Having used a Samsung Galaxy [Tab],” Cue writes, “I tend to agree with many of the comments [in the editorial] (except actually moving off the iPad). I believe there will be a 7″ market and we should do one.” Despite Jobs’ public attitude, Cue says he “expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time.”

According to Cue’s own experience, “email, books, Facebook and video [are] very compelling on a 7″. Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable.” Jobs’ original criticisms had been that “this [7-inch] size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps, in our opinion,” something which the GigaOm disagreed with.

Whether Cue’s enthusiasm actually resulted in a smaller iPad project is unclear, though it’s worth noting that rumors of a 7.85-inch model have persisted over the past months. Such a tablet could have half the resolution of the current new iPad – i.e. run at the same 1024 x 768 as the original iPad and iPad 2 – it’s suggested, making for easier app transitions from the 9.7-inch model.

Jobs was known for his proclivity to misdirection, publicly insisting one thing while Apple simultaneously beavered away on the opposite behind the scenes. Comments on video not being something suited to portable music players – then countered with a video-capable iPod – have often been cited as evidence of that. The growth of smaller tablets such as Google’s Nexus 7, not to mention budget ereading slates such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and larger phones like the Galaxy Note, have seen the tablet segment change significantly since those original 2010 comments, however.

Forstall declined to comment on future iPhone or iPad plans as part of his testimony.

[Image credit: Ciccaresedesign]

Apple’s case here, like it has been in several countries around the world over the past few months, is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab lineup is too similar to the iPad to legally be allowed for sale. In this US court case they’ve been successful in getting a preliminary injunction against the tablet line, specifically the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in this case, to bar it from sale until the case is complete. Samsung’s defense was up until this week going to be made in part with the Jobs quote written by Walter Isaacson which goes as follows:

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong, I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” – Jobs

Samsung had intended to speak in court on how the quote “speaks to Apple’s bias, improper motives and its lack of belief in its own claims in that they are a means to an end, namely the destruction of Android.” Apple contended that the quotes are simply a distraction to the case and are irrelevant on the whole. Judge Koh agreed, saying, “I really don’t think this is a trial about Steve Jobs.”

This case is set to begin on July 30th – have a peek at the timeline below to see what other countries have ruled on similar cases.

The big auction here included a circuit board containing A-D rows as well as columns 1-18, a full board working with a a MOS Technologies 6502 microprocessor and labeled MCS 6502 3776. This set of parts included a video terminal and keyboard interface as well, these sitting near 8K bytes of RAM distributed amongst 16-pin 4K memory chips. You’ve got the original cassette board connector, low-profile sockets, breadboard, heatsink, and a lovely set of original manuals as well.

This whole auction was described as having “a bit of wear and tear” but were touted as being a supremely rare item nonetheless:

“An exceptionally rare, working example with original Apple cassette interface, operation manuals and a rare BASIC Users’ Manual. It is thought that fewer than 50 Apple I Computers survive, with only six known to be in working conditions.” – Sotheby’s

The most recent example of an auction containing an Apple 1 was back in November of 2010 where the hardware sold for $213,600 USD. The Apple 1 was only known to have been sold to one distributor, that being Paul Terrell – he selling the one run of 50 devices at his Byte Shop chain of computer stores in the USA. This set of 50 came as pre-assembled kits where otherwise Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak would sell their Apple computers as DIY sets.

Have a peek below at a set of recent Apple announcements from WWDC to see how far Apple has come from back when an Apple 1 cost right around $500 USD.

[via PCMag]

Their release follows current Apple CEO Tim Cook’s appearance at AllThingsD 10 this past week, where the new chief exec talked US manufacturing, acquisitions, Siri and – unsurprisingly – Steve Jobs himself. There’s a full round-up of Cook’s discussions here.

Back in 2003, Jobs had not long re-taken the helm at Apple, and spent much of his time discussing where he felt the company would go in the coming years. By his 2004 appearance, Apple had successfully launched iTunes and was beginning its recreation, going on to talk about an “iPod phone” in 2005.

That device – the iPhone – came on stage with Jobs in 2007, ahead of its retail launch. Jobs remaining two appearances – with Gates, also in 2007, and then in 2010 when he discussed the iPad – are also available to download.

You can find all of the videos available to download, for free, at iTunes [iTunes link].