Apple - Jobless?

I have returned from my hiatus for this day that bound to go down in tech history. Just moments ago, it was announced that Steve Jobs has resigns from the position of Apple's CEO. 

Aug. 24, 2011-- To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: 

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. 

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. 

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. 

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. 

Steve

Ever since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, each medical leave that Jobs has taken over the years posed the question of "Will Apple Survive without Steve Jobs?" Well it's time for us to find out. If you know anything about Apple's history, you'll know that in Jobs has not always been a part of Apple. In 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple and later hired John Sculley to be the company's CEO. By the end of May 1985, Jobs left the company and moved on to found NeXT Computers and buy the company we now know as Pixar. These were dark days for Apple until Jobs returned in 1997, saving them from bankruptcy. 

Based on Apple history and Apple's stocks (which have dropped 7% since the announcement and each time Steve has been absent) it seems as if Steve Jobs is Apple's key to success. With Steve Jobs and his black turtleneck being as iconic as the Apple logo itself now, there is no doubt that Apple won't be the same without him. 

Apple and its fan boys have lost a true visionary of a leader. I highly doubt that Tim Cook will be able to fill those shoes. However I'd like to believe that the Apple staff has learnt enough from Steve and their past mistakes to keep the legacy going. As brilliant as Steve Jobs is, no company's faith should depend on one man. It also helps that he's not completely leaving Apple just yet, he's simply downgrading to Chairman of the Board and director.

What’s your take on it? Can Apple carry on its success without Steve Jobs’ magic? 

Jamaica's Paving the Road to the Information Highway

Photo Credit: LuckyLuque

So in local news, on April 6th, 2011, Lime (Cable and Wireless) and Flow (Columbus Communications) signed an agreement with the government of Jamaica to build a broadband island-wide network which will provide internet access to schools, libraries, post offices and other locations across Jamaica. The toll to get onto this highway? $543 million!

Middle Eastern Revolts…Angry Birds Style

New Firefox 4 You

With the release of new versions for both Internet Explorer and Firefox plus a new beta for Chrome, that has been a lot of talk about browsers this month. However, Firefox is definitely the hot topic at the moment. With the release of Firefox 4 yesterday, both old and new users have a lot to be impressed by.

Ooooh Ching Chong Ling Long Ting Tong

Only 3 days into this week and already we have a new YouTube star. Jimmy Wong has received over 1.6 million views and tremendously reviews on YouTube and iTunes after posting his video Ching Chong (It Means I Love You) online on March 15th. Wong’s video is a response to a UCLA student, Alexandra Wallace’s anti-Asian rant.

Who's ARK?

Today is Friday (Friday. We-we-we so excited ♫). As expected, Rebecca Black is still a trending topic & the lyrics to Friday are plaguing lips, tweets and statuses everywhere. Also, questions are being asked like  who that random black guy in the video is. Well, that would be  Patrice Wilson, the producer at ARK Music Factory. More questions, who/what is ARK Music Factory? 

The War Has Ended (Digicel vs. Claro)

On March 11th, the tables turned in the telcom industry when America Móvil (AMX) announced that they have entered into an agreement with Digicel to sell its local operations (Claro) to them while they take over Digicel's operations in Honduras and El Salvador. The feud between Carlos Slim Helú (owner of AMX and the richest man in the world) and Dennis O’Brien (owner of Digicel) finally seems to be winding down. In case you didn’t know, Claro dived into the Jamaican market in 2008 as a result of Digicel invading AMX’s Central American territories. By 2009, Claro Jamaica secured its place as Digicel’s main rival by making a big splash in the market with their catchy advertisements, aggressive promotions and competitive rates but this was not enough for them to cruise along comfortably. 

So…What does this merger mean?

Headphones Out, World In

Yes, I do realize that it has been well over a week since my last post and I'm sure all of my (*cough* one) followers have missed me. Don't worry I'm back now! I apologize for my lack of updates but I decided to take some time off for Spring Break and of course as soon as it ended, reality slapped me in the face with mid-semester exams.


Speaking of slaps in the face, have you heard about Rebecca Black?


No? Well, do yourself a favour and skip this blog post and forget that I ever mentioned the name. 

Angry Birds To Attack Facebook

A little over a year ago, Angry Birds debuted in the Apple App Store and since then it has found its way onto the Android, Palm, Nokia and it continues its take-over on PCs, PSP/PS3 and Windows 7 Phone. The game has surpassed 75 million downloads and there is also talk of a movie, animated series and 3D version in development. But next month, the Angry Birds will knock down another barrier and conquer the most renowned empire of the Internet…Facebook.

Can the Internet handle Charlie Sheen?

Remember when I said we should sit back, grab some snacks and wait for the storm to hit? Apparently, its #TigerBlood tonight! @CharlieSheen has announced in a series of tweets that he will be live on UStream tonight at 10 Eastern (7 Pacific). All though we can only guess at the contents of Sheen’s Korner, Charlie did mention in one of his tweets that “(2-5) My lawyers asked that I stop talking with the press. So, if it's just me, how upset could they possibly be? #Sheen's-Korner” Well, I’m sure they still won’t be too happy.

Make sure to tune into http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sheen-s-korner tonight for Charlie, raw and uncensored!

London 2012: From Steel to Rainbows

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic have embraced the world of social media. Wenlock and Mandeville have their own Twitter accounts (@iamwedlock and @iammandeville).There is also a new feature on http://www.mylondon2012.com/mascots/ which allows users to create a custom Mascot then share it with their friends on Twitter and Facebook.


The whole theme of this London Olympics seems very “kiddish” to me. Everything from their jigsaw puzzle like logo to the one eyed, alien looking Wenlock and Mandeville seem like it belongs more at Pixar than at the Olympics. This new feature to customize Wenlock and Mandeville, a fun as it is, only makes me want to jump off the rainbow before Teletubbies and Care Bears start attacking me.

2011: Year of the iPad 2?

On Wednesday, the hearts of Apple fanboys everywhere fluttered as their leader, Steve Jobs took the stage once again and announced the iPad 2. After weeks of rumours and anticipation, it seems like the iPad has been working hard to prepare for its big day. You know the way girls would diet, gym and maybe slap on some bleaching cream, well the iPad did exactly that! The iPad 2 lost weight, got thinner, whiter, powered up & even has a whole new wardrobe and accessories.  

Blackberry Messenger Unites Us All

The pride and joy of RIM, Blackberry Messenger is ready to venture out and find some new homes this year. According to BGR, Blackberry Messenger will soon be both Android and iOS compatible and by soon I mean later in the year or possibly even later for iOS. Of course, nothing is ever as good as the original, RIM has said that the Android and iOS versions of messenger will be stripped down versions of the BBM experience but I still expect it to be better than the current third party apps that are out now. While Kik and WhatsApp can get the job done if you don’t mind some delays and a mediocre interface, it really is nothing like then BBM experience.

Finally, friends will not have to be separated by their platform choices! Team Blackberry, iPhone and Android unite! 

Charlie Sheen Wins!

Finally another celebrity goes crazy. Over the last few days, we have all gotten a dose of the drug that is Charlie Sheen. Although he is "sober" because he closed his eyes and made it so with the power of his mind, Charlie Sheen’s emotional sobriety is still in question.

Charlie’s breakdowns and absolutely psycho comments on Chuck Lorre, his ex-wife, his goddesses, the recent removal of his twin boys and life in general has acted as the well needed comic relief we all need in our lives. Charlie made witnessing his fall from grace much more effortless when he joined Twitter on March 1^st. Within minutes of his descent from Mars into the Twitterverse, @CharlieSheen had more than 60,000 followers! The hashtags #Winning and #TigerBlood hit the trending topics. Charlie has said, “It's perfect. It's awesome. Every day is just filled with just wins. All we do is put wins in the record books. We win so radically in our underwear before our first cup of coffee, it's scary." And surprisingly, Charlie was right! @CharlieSheen’s follower currently stands at 1,236,753 and he has won the Guinness World Record for the “Fastest Time to Reach 1 Million Followers.” He also holds the record for “Highest Paid TV Actor Per Episode-Current” at $1.25 million but...he's now unemployed.

So for now, the unemployed everywhere can have the self-proclaimed “Unemployed Winner” as their leader but how long can Charlie ride on his mercury surfboard? Where will this media tsunami take him? All we can do is sit back, grab some snacks, wait for the storm to hit and if we’re lucky we may get to see the spill of some tiger blood. 

Hello! Can Anybody Hear Me?

“We’re changing the world with technology.” – Bill Gates

The words, globalization, internet and social media/networking are no longer confined to the offices of large corporate companies and classrooms but they can be heard in casual conversations. Surely, you can realize the truth of this statement as you: hear about couples having dates via Skype, see people FaceTiming on their iPod Touch and MacBooks, walk pass the hundreds of people PINGing away on their Blackberries/iPhones and read the thousands of Twitter updates and Facebook updates. At a glance, technology has helped people to connect and closed the gap between nations but...Are we really closer?