Appletell

After the recent news of Apple acquiring PA Semi, there was a frenzy of thoughts that Apple may ditch Intel, and maybe their new mobile platform chip, Atom, and use a PA Semi chip in the next iPods and iPhones.  According to Jobs, this is not the case.  He goes on to add that the reason for the purchase was mainly for the company’s intelligence, not for their current products.  With this added expertise, Apple, who has been known to get involved in custom designing their iPod chips, could improve development of those devices.

As for Intel, Jobs says, “We have a great partnership with Intel.  We expect that to continue forever.” He continued by adding that there are no plans to introduce another PowerPC Mac and that, “I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over that.” So there you have it everyone, the real reason behind the purchase of PA Semi according to the man himself.  Now I can finally go get some sleep.

The Superior Court of California in Santa Clara is summoning your favorite CEO, Steve Jobs, as well as other Apple officials back to court for a new lawsuit from the Boston Retirement Board.  This group is claiming over $105 million was lost on backdated stock options granted to Mr. Jobs.  Technically speaking, backdating is legal, but can harm other shareholders involved with the company.  Also, it must be declared Securities and Exchange Commission beforehand, which is the part these officials are accused of disregarding.

The BRB also claims that is has specifics to back up the charges, but they have not released the details yet because the court has yet to figure out how to handle the confidential information.  These types of cases have been coming to various Apple officials for about two years now, but have been stalled or dismissed due to a lack of evidence and rulings that the backdating did not clearly affect Apple’s stock price.  What are all your thoughts on this?

The co-founder of your favorite company, Apple, will be on the Starz movie channel tonight along with other famous people such as Tom Hanks and George Lucas.  This show is a interview called “The Pixar Story” and will air at 10 PM local time.  Here’s an intro from the website:

Here’s the problem with this doc, which charts the birth, near-death, and explosion of the multiple-Oscar-winning animation studio: It will make you realize that your job sucks.

If you don’t remember, Mr. Jobs founded Pixar Animation Studios and was at one point its CEO.  However, he stepped down from that position when the company was acquired by the Walt Disney Company.  It should be a pretty interesting interview given how Steve actually got a hold of the company in the first place and how he also founded another hugely successful company, Apple.  Check it out and let us know how it is!

It seems that Maine will be getting it’s first Apple Store soon.  Although an Apple spokeswoman would not confirm or deny this, it is fairly obvious after seeing listings for jobs at the store on Monster.com as well as Apple’s official job listings page.  This is great for Apple lovers in Maine, butMacNN points out that this new Maine store opening could also, unfortunately, reduce sales from local Mac resellers such as Best Buy.

On top of this, there is a rumor that yet another Apple store may be opening in New York.  Located on either 15th Broad Street or 23 Wall Street, this will be New York’s 13th Apple Store.  Lastly, the Third Street Promenade in southern California may be closed for a while to undergo a remodeling, including a new glass spiral staircase.  Hopefully all of these new Apple stores help Apple’s market share raise even more in upcoming quarters, so keep up the good work Apple and thanks for providing a shopping experience like no other!

For you not brushed up on you Latin, carpe diem is a popular literary expression meaning, “Seize the day.” What do I mean by this?  If Apple wants to take control of the computer world that Microsoft has dominated for so long, now is the perfect time.  All the planets are aligned, so to speak, and Apple just needs to take advantage of the situation.  If they do it right, the tables could start to turn on Microsoft, leaving them wondering what happened.  Here are three reasons the time is perfect for Apple to take control.

1) Vista. I think it’s safe to say that the majority of the population is fairly disappointed with Vista.  After years of development and delays, it didn’t deliver.  For that reason, the time is right for Apple to really push the idea of switching to Mac OS X and learning how to use an easier, more responsive operating system.  The company needs to take advantage of the fact that Microsoft has been playing catch up with itself after Vista and really start hitting some nails into the coffin.  For example, one area that Apple is really doing a great job of pushing users to switch is in their Get a Mac ads.  Another strong point in this argument is the fact that Macs can run Vista and, in some cases, even better than a PC can.

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If interested send an email to jobs(at)dabbledoo(dot)com with your contact information, resume, and an appropriate writing sample (or links to past work). For more information visit our Appletell jobs page or our corporate Dabbledoo jobs page.

Ps. - We are also searching for additional contributors for Gadgetell and Gamertell.

Yes, this rumor has been spread and told a million times, but now Bloomberg’s confirming it. And when Bloomberg confirms it, you know that it’s a load of crap real.

The financial news giant reports that Jobs is unveiling a brand new, thin Mac. The sub-notebook will apparently cost more than a MacBook Pro, and will do ten times less. Now that’s good pricing structure. Bloomberg also reports that Apple will be putting out a 16 GB version of the iPhone, with 3G to come later. However, there is no mention of an SDK. The 16 GB model will retain the current $399 price.

Venturing into the media category, Apple will release a new, updated Apple TV, despite that most believe Jobs is tossing it into his fireplace o’ products. iTunes will get movie rentals, with more movies and TV shows added as well.

Via [Bloomberg]

Another rumor airing on the side of speculation come from Apple Jobs today. An Apple Job listing reveals that Apple is working on multi-touch user interfaces for Macs. That’s right, an iPhone-like UI on a full-fledged Macintosh. The ad shows they are specifically looking for someone who is a reliability engineer, and has experience supporting multi-touch panels. This almost confirms that Apple is working on some sort of touch-screen Mac, known by the rumor mills as the Mac Touch. Will we see the Mac Touch at Macworld 2008? 9to5mac and Macrumors believe that we will.

Via [Macrumors]

Many people have pointed out that Apple is working on multi-touch interaction between humans and computers, but it wasn’t until Apple put up a job description on their website that we knew for sure. Apple is looking for qualified software-engineers that are interested in developing new interactive interfaces much like the ones found on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

HID SW is responsible for delivering the firmware and software for Apple’s Input Devices, such as Multi-touch for iPhone, cameras, and remote controls. The team is a key part in driving an integrated customer experience involving new HW and SW designs, working with creative, smart people, world-class products and cutting edge technologies.

While the job description is very vague about future products, it gives us a good window into Apple’s mind. They are emphasizing that they want someone who has a “strong interest in human-computer interaction” and “a proven ability to bring new user interface concepts to life”. Apple has always prided themselves on having pristine and seamless GUI, and makes sense that they only want to hire the best for whatever future products and endeavors they have up their sleeves. Interestingly, Apple mentions remote controls and cameras in the job description. iCamera anyone?

Via [Macrumors]

In the Picture, Steve (Jobs or Woz) is working on a computer, we have been told this pays tribute to the developing on the modern computer.

The Apple CEO that we all follow and hear from has been featured in Disney’s Epcot’s Spaceship Earth Ride. The ride was recently refurbished and small groups of guests have been allowed the enter this ride.There is now new displays and features to this ride to help gain the excitement in the same ways it did when it originally opened in 1982. It is a 18 story sphere that stands at the front of the Epcot Park in Disney the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

In the ride, a replica garage that Steve Woz and Steve Jobs worked in when developing the Macintosh. It is not known which Steve is shown in the ride, but from the looks, I believe it is Jobs.

Via [LiftHill]