Is Apple’s success in the computing market a by-product of Steve Jobs’ insight and uncanny knowledge of what people want? Or is it pure luck, thanks to questionable moves by competitors and being in the right place at the right time?
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In exclusive interviews, we find out why the creator of Pandora might have to shut down if it wants to make a point to labels whose best interests are playing out in Washington
—and whether Apple or Microsoft might have to bail out the Web’s favorite personalized music service, even as they unveil their own.
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If you’re a Nike+iPod Sport Kit fan, you may eventually find yourself being restricted to using it with Nike-branded sportswear, thanks to a recently-published Apple patent.
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What’s the easiest way to get ahold of Steve Jobs? Don’t bother calling Apple PR or looking for a quote in the business press. Just email him, apparently: Apple’s super-secretive boss appears to be increasingly responding to individuals’ notes, which then inevitably get leaked to the Mac/gadget sites and made public.
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Microsoft are poised to launch a new $USD 300 million advertising campaign this week, starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld among others. The marketing types responsible are intending to counter Apple
’s successful “I’m a Mac” line, but the slogan picked out is simply on the wrong foot from the start and is thwarted by Linux immediately.
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It’s all true, almost. Bloomberg ran an obituary Wednesday for the man who made the computer as easy to use as the telephone, remade animated films, hooked the world on digital music and turned the phone into a truly smart, pocketable computer. There’s just one tiny detail Bloomberg’s write-up got wrong: Apple Chief Executive Steve [...]

Apple has staked its reputation on tight control of a few carefully-designed, faultlessly-executed products. Now, as Apple expands its reach from computers into music, video, consumer electronics and phones, it’s getting harder and harder for the company to make sure all of its products “just work,” as its marketing slogan goes.
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Steve Jobs is not a manager who suffers fools, gladly or otherwise. In the early days of Apple, he was famous for categorizing employees by their “bozo bit,” set at either 0 or 1, and for flipping his assessment from one to the other in the space of an elevator ride.
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Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday issued a company-wide memo outlining his battle plan for the new fiscal year in which he singled out the Apple experience as a benchmark for future success.
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During his quarterly financial results call, Apple’s chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer revealed that the company will make a key “product transition” that cuts back on its profit margins to help shut out rivals.
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