05/13, 11:18am
Friends and rivals discussed family, history, future
An unaired portion of a 60 Minutes interview with Bill Gates saw the founder of Microsoft in an unusually reflective state when questioned by interviewer Charlie Rose on the topic of the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, his friend and rival. Jobs met with Gates for an extended period very near the end of his life, an unusual concession to a colleague he had had a tumultuous relationship with over the decades. Gates said the two men had "grown up together," each building the computer industry in their own image.
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04/17, 8:13pm
Justin Long stars as Jobs throughout his life in satirical biopic
A satirical look at the life of Steve Jobs starring former Apple pitchman Justin Long has debuted after being delayed slightly due to the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The film from comedy site Funny or Die, called iSteve, is an 79-minute romp through some of the well-known chapters of the life of Apple's co-founder and former CEO. In addition to Long -- who plays Jobs from the age of 19 onwards -- the movie stars Jorge Garcia (Lost) as Steve Wozniak, Venture Brothers voice James Urbaniak as Bill Gates and Michaela Watkins as Melinda Gates.
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04/12, 10:52pm
Focused on Dream Act, but called Jobs' contributions 'pretty cool'
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, spoke briefly about her late husband at the beginning of an interview with NBC anchor Brian Williams which was primarily focused on her support of the Dream Act. She had mentioned prior to the interview, which aired Friday night on Rock Center, that she would not discuss the death of the former Apple CEO, now or in the future; however, she commented on his legacy and how the ongoing contributions Jobs made to technology comfort her and her family.
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04/03, 4:00pm
Reported to be on its way to new California home
Venus, the yacht designed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and French designer Philip Starck, has docked in Florida waters after a cruise of the Caribbean, a local gossip column reports. The 260-foot vessel has docked at the Rybovich Marina in West Palm Beach after sailing into the Intercoastal Waterway that criss-crosses the southern portion of the state. The ship is now owned and used by Jobs' family, but it is unknown if they are staying in the area. The ship is said to be eventually heading to a new home in California.
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04/02, 1:46pm
iSteve trailer now online
Funny or Die has released a teaser trailer for iSteve, its parody movie based on the life of Steve Jobs. First announced last month and slated for release on April 15, iSteve will be a 60-75 minute film that stars Justin Long, who became known in the Apple community for his part in the "Mac vs. PC" commercials, as Steve Jobs. While Funny or Die has branded its film as "The first Steve Jobs movie," it is certainly not the only one currently making its rounds in the news. Ashton Kutcher's Jobs premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January but is now experiencing a delayed release, while Aaron Sorkin's film that is based on material from Walter Isaacson's authorized biography has yet to begin production.
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04/01, 11:04pm
Apple is 37 years old today
We at MacNN would like to take a moment to wish Apple a happy birthday. The company was incorporated on April Fool's Day in 1976, making it 37 years old today. It is one of the few computer makers from the early computer manufacturing era to still be in business, and unlike most of the others is growing, setting records and generally more influential than it has ever been. It is fair to say that without Apple, all computing uses -- even Windows PCs and Androids, the Internet and cell phones, even commercial music and so much more -- would have ended up profoundly different. Even without its legendary co-founder Steve Jobs at the helm, it's very possible that Apple's best days are still in front of it.
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03/27, 7:30pm
QuickTake photos document Jobs' return to Apple in 1996
Former Mac OS Evangelist Tim Holmes has posted a set of previously-unpublished pictures on photo-sharing service Flickr documenting the evening event at which Steve Jobs was formally introduced as returning to Apple, late on Friday, December 20, 1996. The set of photos was taken with an Apple QuickTake camera, which Holmes notes "Jobs killed within the year." He happened to have the camera on him by chance, as he was unaware of the event's significance ahead of time but had gotten into the habit of carrying it with him everywhere.
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03/20, 4:33pm
Will also introduce 'iPad 5' on iPhone's sixth anniversary
An unnamed "inside source" at Apple (and "confirmed" by an also-unnamed "third party") has alleged that Apple will introduce its next model of iPhone and iPad at a special event on June 29 in celebration of the sixth anniversary of the original iPhone. The dubious report claims the event will be called "Original Passion, New Ideas" to highlight that the "iPhone 5S" and "iPad 5" will be the first new products from Apple with no input from the company's previous CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs.
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03/18, 5:36pm
Satirical film on Apple co-founder to debut online April 15
Online comedy site Funny or Die will become the first to have a full-length Steve Jobs movie hit the mainstream market, when they debut their own parody film of Jobs' life, called iSteve, on April 15. The Funny or Die film, intended to poke fun at the competing bioflicks of Jobs -- the completed-but-delayed Jobs starring Ashton Kutcher and the big-budget Sony Pictures effort being written by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) -- stars Justin Long, who played "the Mac" in Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads.
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03/06, 1:30am
Iovine's 'Project Daisy' subscription service may dovetail with Apple's plans
Legendary music producer, label head and Beats Audio CEO Jimmy Iovine has allegedly met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and media services chief Eddy Cue in a "wide-ranging" discussion of the music industry and related topics, including Iovine's "Project Daisy" proposed music service that he had previously pitched to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The meeting has renewed talk of alleged Apple plans for a subscription or premium music service.
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03/04, 1:32pm
Supports taking long-term approach
Apple should "ignore" David Einhorn and Greenlight Capital, according to Warren Buffett. Speaking with CNBC today, the famous investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO dismissed Einhorn's push for a preferred Apple stock option, which recently led to a threatened lawsuit. Greenlight ultimately withdrew the suit, since its only goal was to prevent a vote on proxy proposal at Apple's annual shareholders meeting, for which a judge granted the needed injunction.
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02/20, 3:53pm
Apple board sees some products up to 18 months before public
Apple's board of directors is informed about new products anywhere between six to 18 months before they're announced to the public, according to current board chairman Arthur Levinson. The comments emerged at a Tuesday speech by Levinson at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The former Genentech CEO added that while the Apple board doesn't usually have much influence on product design, the input of board members is sometimes taken into account, if enough lead time is available.
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02/01, 12:10am
Actors intended 'the utmost love, admiration and respect'
The stars of the independent theatrical movie jOBS took the stage on the first day of the MacWorld/iWorld conference today in San Francisco, discussing their roles in the film, which premieres nationally on April 19. During their talk, Ashton Kutcher (who played Steve Jobs) and Josh Gad (Steve Wozniak) discussed their involvement, their take on Apple and the men they were chosen to portray, the accuracy of the film in general and other issues surrounding the movie, which focuses on the formative years of Apple.
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01/29, 11:17pm
$200 figure will likely never make it to market
Following in the footsteps of others that have attempted to market a Steve Jobs action figure, a Japanese company called Legend Toys has made another eerily realistic doll based on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' iconic look and is taking pre-orders for the $200, 12-inch figurine. As with previous attempts, the company will likely be served with a cease-and-desist order both from Jobs' family as well as Apple itself, which has previously claimed that it owns at least some of the rights to Jobs' likeness.
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01/24, 8:00pm
Rare look back from forward-thinking, revolutionary company
Seven years ago, at the MacWorld conference in January of 2006, Steve Jobs stunned his audience by taking a few seconds at the end of the keynote to comment on the fact that Apple would be turning 30 years old on April 1 that year. It was a very rare look back from a man who prided himself on his vision going forward, who eschewed museums and awards and other such remembrances. Tim Cook yesterday noted that today is the 29th anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh in a similarly brief way.
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01/24, 4:20pm
Clip reverses inventor's view on future 'social impact' of computing
The widely-publicized first scene released from Ashton Kutcher's jOBS biographical feature on Steve Jobs is said to be "not close" to the actual relationship between Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, according to Wozniak himself. The film will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival, with Kutcher and co-star Josh Gad appearing at the Macworld conference next week to promote the picture.
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01/24, 9:29am
Movie to get sneak peek at Sundance Film Festival
jOBS -- the first Steve Jobs biopic to enter production after his death -- will reach theaters on April 19th, says the Hollywood Reporter. The movie is directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Matthew Whitely, and stars Ashton Kutcher. The arc of the movie covers the period between Jobs dropping out of college and him becoming one of the most famous corporate moguls.
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01/24, 2:02am
Now a half-billion dollar industry, but still a 'hobby'?
Ask anyone with an Apple TV (particularly the latest, $99 black iterations) and they will tell you they absolutely love it. In the conference call with analysts earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook started off by saying that "the most important thing [to Apple] is that customers absolutely love our products. Not just buy them, but love them." The Apple TV embodies this concept, but even after record 60 percent year-over-year growth in 2012, Cook still echoes former CEO Steve Jobs' description of it as "a hobby."
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01/22, 10:58pm
Court filing reveals emails from Apple CEO to Palm CEO
In documents revealed in the employee anti-poaching hearings in front of Judge Lucy Koh in California, it was disclosed that Apple CEO Steve Jobs threatened Palm with a patent lawsuit if it didn't agree to stop poaching Apple employees. The communication from Jobs to then-CEO Edward Colligan surfaced in a hearing regarding class-action status in a suit brought by five tech workers against Apple, Google, and Intel, alleging a conspiracy to eliminate competition for each other's employees to ultimately drive down wages.
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01/20, 10:42pm
Raided Apple founders' home during renovations
A burglar who raided the home of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs while it was undergoing renovations and helped himself to Jobs' wallet, computers, iOS devices and other valuables has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Kariem McFarlin, 35, was found to have burglarized a number of homes and may have been caught through the "Find My iPhone" iOS tracking feature, as well as a bizarre incident in which one of the stolen iPads turned up in the possession of a children's party entertainer. Though he pled guilty, McFarlin claimed he was driven to the thefts by "desperation."
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01/18, 9:00pm
'We just met, and this is crazy, but here's a number, call us maybe?'
A new published account of how Apple acquired both the technology and employees of music startup Lala and failed social network Color sheds insight into the deal-making style of Apple executives, at least while Steve Jobs was CEO. Aubrey Johnson, a former designer at Color, recounts the rise of Lala and the struggles of Color and how Apple eventually paid "pennies on the dollar" to acquire the Color talent that had walked away from the Lala deal. The blog post sheds some light on the workings of small acquisitions and backroom dealings.
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01/15, 10:57am
Jobs, Ive listed among inventors
Apple has won a US patent on the combination of a glass trackpad and a metal unibody chassis, notes AppleInsider. The patent is simply titled Portable Computer, and comes out of a series of application continuations; Apple's filings date back to 2008. Over a dozen people are credited with the invention, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and lead designer Jonathan Ive.
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01/14, 11:22am
Marks end to dispute over design fees
A yacht designed for late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been spotted near Tenerife in the Canary Islands, says 9to5Mac. The boat appears to be on its way to the US from Amsterdam, where it had been impounded in a fee dispute between the Jobs family and lead designer Philippe Starck. In late December, though, the two parties came to an agreement and the yacht was allowed to leave port.
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01/11, 10:09pm
Couldn't quite convince Jobs, will try again with Eddy Cue
In an interview with AllThingsD during CES, legendary Interscope Records founder, producer and Beats headphones co-creator Jimmy Iovine admitted that he had spent several years attempting to convince Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs to adopt some form of subscription model for iTunes or a related spin-off. Iovine told reporters that he will meet with current iTunes SVP Eddy Cue, even as Apple is allegedly preparing a "Pandora-like" radio service.
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01/10, 10:44am
Giant iPhone display images, videos of Apple co-founder
Unveiled on Wednesday, a new Russian monument recognizes Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, says RIA Novosti. Located in the courtyard of the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, the monument is designed to resemble an oversized iPhone, and displays a photo and video slideshow. On the back of it is a QR code, which when scanned by a phone takes people to a commemorative website.
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01/07, 10:56pm
Covers 'human-centric design,' Jobs, cancer, more
CBS' news magazine show 60 Minutes has run an interview hosted by Charlie Rose with longtime design guru and close friend of Steve Jobs, David Kelley. Kelley, who started the design firm IDEO, was the man behind Apple's original mouse and many other designs over the years. He is now head of his own school of "human-centric" design principles and recounted his friendship with Jobs, his struggle with cancer and other challenges in the interview.
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01/03, 5:19pm
Ashton Kutcher Jobs biopic set for April 2013 release
The filmmakers behind jOBS, the independent biopic on late Apple founder Steve Jobs, have announced that the film will be released in cinemas in April of this year. As MovieWeb reported today, the film will screen on the final night of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and open with Open Road Films handling distribution in the United States, with Inferno Entertainment handling international sales. A different Jobs biopic, with Aaron Sorkin adapting Walter Isaacson's Jobs biography, is still in development and does not yet have a release date.
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12/24, 7:00pm
Jobs family, designer Starck reach agreement on payment
An agreement between the Jobs family and designer Philippe Starck has resolved a dispute that saw one of the late Steve Jobs' final projects, a 263-foot custom-designed mega-yacht called "Venus," impounded in an Amsterdam dock. The argument stemmed from Starck's contention that he hadn't been fully paid for his work, with the Jobs family saying that his fee was contingent on the final cost of the yacht, which actually came in under budget.
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12/21, 10:03am
Jobs family insists designer owed less money
The Venus, a yacht commissioned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has been seized in Amsterdam at the behest of lawyers for its designer, Philippe Starck, Dutch reports say. Bailiffs boarded Venus last week with a court order; the boat is now chained to its dock, and port authorities have been informed that it can't depart. At issue is a dispute with Jobs' family over how much Starck is owed for his work.
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12/07, 5:20pm
Preliminary ruling first step to possibly invalidate the patent
In a ruling issued Monday and made public today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a preliminary ruling declaring a key Apple iPhone patent invalid. All 20 claims of US Patent Number 7,479,949, also known as "The Steve Jobs Patent" covering a "touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics" have been rejected.
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12/04, 1:58pm
Core designs of iPhone 4, iPad 2 secured
Apple has won the rights to several important design patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office. These include the look of the iPhone 4, which is credited in part to lead designer Jonathan Ive, as well as the company's co-founder, Steve Jobs. Ive is also cited in all the other new patents, such as one for the iPhone 4 "Bumper" case.
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12/03, 9:43pm
Stars Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs
The low-budget independent feature film jOBS, covering the early years of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' early adulthood, will premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, according to the Hollywood Reporter. While the film will not be in competition, it will have a prestigious spot as the closing movie of the festival. The film stars Ashton Kutcher as Jobs, with Book of Mormon star Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak. The festival is based out of Park City, Utah.
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11/15, 9:53pm
Each half-hour take place backstage prior to key product rollout?
Calling Apple co-founder Steve Jobs "atypical, a genius and extremely difficult," screenwriter Aaron Sorkin on Thursday dropped the first hints about his approach to the forthcoming Sony Pictures biopic on Jobs, which is still currently in the writing and pre-production stage. Discussing his work at a "Hero Summit" put on by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, Sorkin said that the film may consists of three 30-minute "scenes" that are set backstage before pivotal Jobs product launches.
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11/07, 7:04am
Building designed by Jobs bears his name
Pixar is renaming its main studio after Steve Jobs as a permanent tribute to the former Apple and Pixar CEO. An image of the entrance for what is now known as "The Steve Jobs Building" has appeared on Twitter, posted by Pixar employee Junn Lee, and follows the end credits of Brave in being the second public tribute to Jobs by the company, which he bought from Lucasfilm and helped turn into the world's foremost animation studio.
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10/29, 8:33pm
Project took years, features innovative look
An endeavour to design a world-class yacht for his family to use, one of the later projects of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs' life, has finally been completed after years of work and was christened by the Jobs family as "Venus" in a ceremony in Aalsmeer in the Netherlands. Various Dutch Mac sites have posted pictures and video of the ship (seen below), which uses seven 27-inch iMacs in the wheelhouse. It features a 260-foot long aluminum hull with a elegant, minimalist approach and lots of glass windows on the topside.
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10/23, 6:16am
Mid-80s film chronicles create of NeXT
A little-seen documentary focusing on Steve Jobs in the mid-80s, after his departure from Apple and during the period when he was building NeXT, has been posted to YouTube by the original filmmaker. The film (called Steve Jobs: Keeper of the Vision) covers the areas of building the company that Jobs thought important, including the creation of the NeXT logo, mission statement and how the company was run. The 20-minute film covers only the first six months of NeXT's existence, and shows the company in its formative stages.
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10/08, 10:55am
Apple, Google now spending more on patents than original research
At a 2006 meeting, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told people that the company was going to "patent it all" when it came to the iPhone, according to a former Apple executive reached by the New York Times. The decision was reportedly inspired by previous losses in intellectual property cases, mostly notably to Creative, which it ended up paying $100 million in order to settle a dispute over a "portable music playback device" patent. Following the meeting, Apple engineers are said to have been brought into monthly "invention disclosure sessions" where just about any idea was treated as patentable by lawyers.
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10/05, 9:49am
Company still sitting in shadow of iconic leader
On the first anniversary of his death, apple.com is hosting a short video tribute in memory of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The clip features black-and-white photos of Jobs, along with snippets of audio from various presentations he made. After the video is finished can people access links to the regular Apple website, but are also presented with a short message from current CEO Tim Cook.
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10/03, 2:18pm
Apple co-founder became vehemently anti-Google
Former CEO Steve Jobs was responsible for Apple's push away from Google content in iOS Maps, according to "Apple insiders" quoted by Bloomberg. By the time of his death Jobs is said to have come to hate Google, which he accused of copying iPhone features while at the same time withholding turn-by-turn directions, a key feature of the Android version of Google Maps. Sometime before then he put iOS chief Scott Forstall in charge of the project, creating a secret workgroup on the third floor of Building 2 at Apple's Cupertino headquarters.
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09/18, 9:34pm
Stock has risen 86 percent since co-founder Jobs died
When iconic co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs passed away from cancer in October of last year, many wondered if his company could continue the pace of innovation, popularity, high-quality products and record profits that had marked Apple's ascendency since the turn of the 21st century. While just shy of a year is perhaps too soon to say definitively, Apple has flourished in the 11 months since then, and has further cemented its "most valuable company" status by closing over $700 per share for the first time.
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09/05, 10:27pm
Graduated with MBA from school of business in 1991
Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and chair of the Emerson Collective as well as president of the board of College Track , has been elected to the Board of Trustees for Stanford University. Powell Jobs has been a strong advocate for education reform throughout her career, and sits on the boards of several organizations that promote opportunities for underprivileged youth, encourage science education in service to environmental causes and other areas.
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08/29, 3:24pm
Seen in white shirt, black vest outfit from 1990s
The independent biopic "jOBS" appears to have wrapped principle photography, with reports of several of the stars of the movie attending the traditional wrap party. Separately, a papparazzi site has published photos (seen below) of headliner Aston Kutcher in costume as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as he would have been dressed just before and during the return to Apple in 1996, favoring a white dress shirt with a v-neck black sweater and jeans.
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08/21, 10:14am
Apple allegedly citing 'business reasons' for firing
A former Apple worker -- Wayne Goodrich -- is suing the company over breach of contract and unfair business practices, claiming Apple co-founder Steve Jobs promised him he would always have a job, Bloomberg reports. In a complaint filed with the California state court in San Jose, Goodrich says he was fired in December for what Apple said were "business reasons" unrelated to his performance. Goodrich describes himself as a confidant and close adviser to Jobs, and someone who worked under him from 1998 until Jobs' retirement and death in late 2011.
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08/14, 11:12am
Suspect now in custody
Thieves last month stole over $60,000 worth of "computers and personal items" from the home of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The house, on the 2100 block of Waverley Street in Palo Alto, was actually broken into on July 17th. It took until August 2nd however for police to arrest Kariem McFarlin, a 35-year-old man from Alameda. On August 7th, he was arraigned on one count of residential burglary and selling stolen property.
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08/05, 3:15am
Describes 'Fight Club' type secrecy on iPhone project
The head of Apple's iOS division, Scott Forstall, took the stand in the Apple vs. Samsung trial in San Francisco Friday afternoon, where he answered questions about the operating system, Apple's procedures and inspirations, and described a serious commitment to development secrecy that goes further than even many analysts had expected. Forstall provided the court with a short history of his rise in the company, including an early encounter with Steve Jobs during his initial interview.
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07/31, 2:22am
Attorney for author says plaintiffs on a fishing expedition
Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson will not have to turn over notes as possible evidence in the case of a class-action lawsuit filed by lawyers allegedly representing unnamed "consumers" said to have been "harmed" by Apple's alleged e-book price-fixing conspiracy, a court has ruled. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP have had their attempt to force Isaacson to turn over notes related to a portion of a quote in Jobs' biography rebuffed by Judge Denise Cote.
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07/30, 11:16pm
Says quality products drive popularity, echoes Jobs
Apple's lead designer and Senior VP of Industrial Design, Sir Jonathan Ive, made comments at the British Embassy's Creative Summit on Monday that channeled those of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Ive said that the force driving the company -- and which distinguishes it from its competitors -- is that making money isn't the primary goal that shapes new products or ideas. Making great products, said Ive, is Apple's single-minded purpose.
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07/26, 12:21pm
Magazine ranks Jobs next to Einstein, Jefferson, MLK Jr.
Time Magazine is including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in a new ranking of who it considers the 20 most influential Americans of all time. Jobs' inclusion is unusual in some respects, since it also includes more historically famous people like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and the Wright brothers. It does however include other business magnates, namely Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.
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07/19, 12:33am
Multiple issues addressed; Apple must further winnow issues
US District Court Judge Lucy Koh spend her afternoon dealing with some details of the upcoming Samsung and Apple intellectual property patent trial. In rulings that most favored Apple, Koh ruled that Steve Jobs' statements to his biographer were an "inadmissible distraction," and likewise limited discussion of Apple's Chinese manufacturing efforts to exclude any reports of human rights issues.
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07/10, 9:58pm
Familiar faces to round out cast for indie film
There has been additional casting announced for roles in the story of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for the independent movie jOBS uncovered by the Hollywood Reporter. Joining stars Ashton Kutcher, Matthew Modine, Anna O'Reilly and Broadway star Josh Gad in the production will be Kevin Dunn (Transformers) as former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, and J.K. Simmons (best known for his recurring role on Law & Order) as early Apple investor Arthur Rock.
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