By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Sadly, I must reaffirm my position stated during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' last medical leave, in January 2009: His health situation isn't a private matter, and, frankly, it's even less so now. The seeming suddenness of Jobs' more recent medical leave, which this time is open-ended, raises reasonably disconcerting questions about how long he can continue as chief executive and whether Apple has in place an appropriate succession plan. I didn't expect to return to this topic again, and surely Macheads will beat me aside the head with snide and accusing comments or rebuttal blog posts. So be it.As leader of a public company, Jobs has no inherent right to privacy where his ability to act as CEO is concerned. Jobs' share in Apple was, last time I checked, well below 5 percent. He isn't principal owner of Apple, tens of thousands of shareholders are. If not Jobs, then at least Apple's board of directors has a responsibility to appraise shareholders about such an iconic CEO's realistic ability to continue in the role. Right now, Jobs has essentially abdicated the responsibility for undetermined amount of time. In a January 17 letter, Jobs explained that he had "asked [COO] Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations." Not some responsibility but all.The Securities and Exchange Commission doesn't explicitly require disclosure of executives' health-related issues, but it does encourage companies to disclose succession plans. From... Continue reading at 'Betanews'
[ Betanews | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 10:35 Granta has bought world rights in a book by psychoanalyst and Goldsmiths professor of literature Josh Cohen. Senior editor Bella Lacey signed the deal with Sarah Ballard at United Agents. Grant will publish The Private Life by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Today, AT&T announced that, starting March 6, it will carry Amazon's Kindle reader in its retail stores nationwide. Timing is interesting, given iPad 2's imminent launch and Apple App Store subscription changes that could compel Amazon to curtail or even stop... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews The Android Market has never had any specific ban on carrying and selling straight up text documents, and users could search through the market and find apps that were, in effect, standalone ebooks. Now, however, there is a section dedicated specifically to ebooks... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Late yesterday I asked: "Would you pay $600 for the Motorola XOOM tablet?" Whoa, did you respond. Reaction is mixed, but those of you who own Android phones, particularly Motorola models, are more likely to answer "Yes." However, plenty of readers still wouldn't pay $600... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews Yahoo on Thursday announced that it will soon debut a new magazine-style method of digital content delivery especially aimed at touchscreen mobile devices like tablets and smartphones called Livestand."Publishers and advertisers must expand their content to [phones and... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews Google on Thursday finally launched a renewed web-based Android Market that integrates with a user's Google account and lets him shop for applications and send them to the various Android-powered devices linked to the account. This new shop marks the industry-wide... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Apple's approach to magazine and newspaper subscriptions and third-party ebook sales stink of the kind of practices that got Microsoft into trouble with trustbusters on two continents during the late 1990s and early 2000s. A year ago, publishers embraced iPad as the... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Sadly, I must reaffirm my position stated during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' last medical leave, in January 2009: His health situation isn't a private matter, and, frankly, it's even less so now. The seeming suddenness of Jobs' more recent medical leave, which this time is... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews Responding to widespread civil unrest, the government of Egypt on Thursday evening ordered all private network operators to shut down their services, both wired and wireless.At around 12:30am local time, Egypt's outbound connections to the Internet hit a brick wall,... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews Wednesday, Web retailer Amazon launched its Kindle Singles line of literature designed specifically for consumption on e-readers. The works, priced between $1.00 and $3.00, include original works of prose, essays and theses, and the the first TEDBooks.Last October,... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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