News tagged ‘job’

After Steve Jobs’ death, speculations arose on what would be done with his huge estate, estimated in $7 billion. The majority of his wealth is represented by the 138 million shares of the Walt Disney Co. that were placed in trust. Jobs acquired shares in 2006 having sold Pixar to the company for $7.4 billion. Tax experts suggest that Job’s family should sell all Apple and Disney share to avoid higher taxes. According to Bloomberg, the family could save $867 million in capital gains taxes.

Noteworthy, placing shares in a trust is also a method to avoid higher taxed, though it’s not clear what type of trust was set up in this case. According to Bloomberg, Jobs moved his assets into trusts toward the end of his life.

Now the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell, will manage a $4.6 billion trust. Some experts expect her to use a portion of the trust for charity and philanthropic work, as she is an active participant in the non-profit sector.

Last week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opened an exhibition devoted to Steve Jobs. The exhibition honoring Apple’s co-founder includes 30 giant iPhone-like display panels that demonstrate the front pages from over 300 patents that bear Jobs' name as inventor or co-inventor.

“This exhibit commemorates the far-reaching impact of Steve Jobs’ entrepreneurship and innovation on our daily lives,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “His patents and trademarks provide a striking example of the importance intellectual property plays in the global marketplace.”

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Jefferies analyst Peter Misek claims that commercial production of Apple's anticipated television set is expected to begin in February. Sharp was chosen as a manufacturer of TFT-LCD panels. Other TV makers, of course, want to find out as soon as possible what features of the product may be.

"They hope to avoid the fate of other industries and manufacturers who were caught flat footed by Apple," Misek wrote. "Having said that, it appears that mainstream TV manufacturers are likely to be at least 6 to 12 months behind in a best-case scenario."

TV makers believe in Android potential that may compete with Apple’s television set and add cloud capabilities to thier TVs. The other reason for TV makers to worry about the launch of Apple’s TV is that Apple is rumored to implement its unique voice recognition service, Siri, in the device. According to Steve Job’s biography by Walter Isaacson, he wanted Apple’ TV to be a completely new product that would feature "the simplest user interface you could imagine," as he believed that there was "no reason" for televisions to be as difficult to use as they currently are.

Misek expects the Apple television will be launched in the middle of 2012.

Last month rumors have it that Sony Pictures was persuading producer, playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to write the script for the movie about Steve Jobs based on authorized biography from Walter Isaacson. Sorkin has gained fame for his work on Moneyball, The West Wing,  A Few Good Men and The Social Network.

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Lord Sacks, the Chief Rabbi in the U.K., made a comment in the presence of the Queen at an interfaith reception last week about Apple and its product, noting that the company produces an “egocentric society” and that “i” in Apple's popular naming scheme is a clear indicator of such totally selfish society. He even compared the iPad with Moses' stone tablets that bore the Ten Commandments.

“The consumer society was laid down by the late Steve Jobs coming down the mountain with two tablets, iPad one and iPad two, and the result is that we now have a culture of iPod, iPhone, iTune, i, i, i," he said. “When you’re an individualist, egocentric culture and you only care about 'i’, you don’t do terribly well.”

The rabbi claimed that such egocentric society makes people unhappy. Sacks called on the devout to observe the traditional Jewish day of rest, the Shabbat, and to thank God for everything they have not to be trapped by material culture.

Nevertheless, the Queen Elizabeth II is said to be a "big fan" of Apple's products and reportedly owns two iPods and she even knighted Jobs in 2009.

The famous author of Steve Jobs’ authorized biography, Walter Isaacson, has revealed in his recent interview that the passed away Apple’s co-founder had free things he wanted to reinvent: the television, textbooks and photography. The most difficult for him was television with its "complicated remote controls." Isaacson said that Jobs said he felt there was "no reason" for TVs to be so difficult to use and he claimed he had managed to “crack” the secret of a simple HDTV.

That has led to a new speculation and rumors that Apple is planning to release a television set at some point in the near future. The New York Times said last month that Apple is expected to release a TV with Siri voice recognition functionality by the year 2013.

Isaacson also noted that Jobs was interested in changing textbooks and photography. Apple has already started implementation of an iPad in schools to replace standard printed textbooks and offered to use the iPad as a device for taking pictures. Apple believes that digital textbooks are more convenient and the iPad will improve quality of pictures.

Last month, we reported that Sony Pictures acquired rights for a film adaptation of Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson. When the book went on sale later that month, it became an instant hit, and is already one of the top-selling titles of 2011. Two prominent actors - George Clooney and Noah Wyle - are both rumored to be in contention for the lead role. The U.K.'s NOW Magazine has reported that Clooney, 50, is battling with the 40-year-old Wyle for the right to play the Apple co-founder. As reported, work on the film will start in 2012.

Wyle already played Steve Jobs in the 1999 movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley." The movie tells about development of the personal computer, establishment of Apple, and the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft.

Earlier this week, Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger received more than $84,000 in stock for joining Apple's board of directors. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Iger received 75 shares of common stock and 142 restricted shares that will vest in February of 2012. It amounts $84,376 in cash.

This week Apple announced that Iger became member of Apple’s board of directors. He will serve on the company's audit committee. His compensation for joining Apple's board is comparable to what others who joined received in the past. For example, Andrea Jung, who joint Apple’s board in 2008, received 77 shares of common stocks.

Iger’s relationships with Apple have quite long history. In 2006 he was responsible for acquisition of Pixar. Moreover, he is a Disney CEO. He was one of the first people who expressed condolences to Jobs’ family after he passed away. "With his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend," Iger said.

The New York Times published an article by Nick Wingfield where Apple’s growth in enterprise sector of the market was revealed, noting that the current Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is "more at ease" meeting with enterprise customers, while Jobs disliked working with businesses.

"While corporate technology buyers say Apple does not try to hide the fact that consumers are still its top priority, they note that the company has gotten easier to work with in recent years, adding features to its devices that make them more palatable to business," author Nick Wingfield wrote.

Under Jobs guidance corporate customers were often rubbed the wrong way. Tim Cook, even before being appointed Apple’s CEO, was said to engage in more communication with the company's enterprise clients.

"(Cook) met more frequently with corporate customers and seemed to appreciate their needs, even if he did not deviate from Mr. Jobs's views about making consumers the priority when making Apple products," the report said.

Apple's new success in the enterprise belongs largely to the iPhone and iPad. According to the recent reports, 93 percent of Fortune 500 companies are deploying or testing the iPhone, while 90 percent are deploying or testing the iPad. Macs also have found its place in enterprises. Moreover, as it was found out, Mac business users are more productive than their PC counterparts.

Analyst Brian Marshall with International Strategy & Investment Group claims that apple may finally pay its shareholders dividends, despite the company’s long resistance. Most investors do not believe Apple will initiate a dividend policy in 2012, but if the company will, it may gain an additional $4 billion in investments.

At the moment the current Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is reorganizing the company, so he may probably make an effort to optimize capital structure and start paying dividends Apple’s shareholders. Brian Marshall believes that Apple could "easily" implement a dividend yield of 250 base points, amounting to about $2.40 per quarter.

Apple’s previous CEO, Steve Jobs, didn’t support the idea of dividend distribution and preferred to invest in strategic opportunities such as last year purchase of Siri (Apple paid about $200 million).

"We strongly believe one or more strategic opportunities will come along we're in a unique position to take advantage of," the late Apple CEO said in 2010. "We don't let the cash burn a hole in the pocket or make stupid acquisitions. We'd like to continue to keep our powder dry because we think there are one or more strategic opportunities in the future."

Typically geniuses staying behind Genius bars use MacBook Pros to provide customers with help and support, facilitate repairs, look up customer information, and order new parts. But last week some Apple retail stores replaced MacBook Pros with iPads that can mirror functionality of the laptops.

These iPads will obviously make the Genius’ job easier and provide a much better experience for Apple’s customers that are looking for repairs and/or help from the Genius Bar. At least one reason for the iPad is that Apple’s tablet is portable so that geniuses can help customers anywhere in a store. So use of the iPads may transform Genius bar from a place in a store where you may receive quality help to the service that you can get anywhere in a store.

Using MacBook Pros, Apple has been limited to fitting only a few the computers at Genius Bars. The iPad allows Apple to serve more people at one time at Genius bar. Moreover, Apple has already developed a system called MobileGenius, which runs on iOS devices and provides the same services as MacBook Pros.

The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was nominated by "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams for Time Magazine "Person of the Year", so he could become the first person to be posthumously awarded the distinction.

"One guy, who changed our world, and I said to Seth Meyers [Saturday Night Live head writer] as we walked across Sixth Avenue, 'Just look with me on this one block walk at how he changed the world around us. Look at how he changed the world,'" Williams said during his nomination speech. "So may he rest in peace, Steve Jobs, and the spirit he represents, are my nominee for Person of the Year."

Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to deny that “the iPhone has changed the world as much as the Bible has.” Jobs was already nominated for Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”, but Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg won last year. Will see who will be a winner this year. The award will be presented in December.

A new survey of 1,000 people working in the gaming industry that was conducted ahead of the London Games Conference 2011, has found that 26 percent of respondents consider  Steve Jobs as the most influential person in the industry, and 46 percent included him in their top five.

Steve Jobs, the iPhone’s driving force, was the ultimate independent developer -- uncompromising in his vision, with unquestionable influence, and hugely artistic and commercial results.

However, Apple’s influence on gaming industry extends beyond Jobs. 17 percent of respondents said that the iPhone is shaping the future of videogames.  53 percent of respondents included the iPhone in their list of top five most influential devices in the gaming industry.

"In just over three years the iPhone and the App Store have transformed what consumers expect of games, and how the industry makes and sells them - today, download games have come to the fore," said Michael French, editor in chief of gaming magazine MCV.

Construction crews spent the last few months revamping the 32-foot glass cube, which previously consisted of 90 glass panes. The new cube features 15 larger panes of glass, and it is almost “seemless” without nearly all of the hardware, which previously held glass panes together.

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Businessweek gives an interesting view on Apple’s supply chain and how the company managed to streamline operations in it to get a competitive advantage. According to many interviews with executives at suppliers, former employees, management experts who familiar with the Apple’s operations, the company has created a closed ecosystem where it exercises full control over nearly every operation of the supply chain. Apple is known for its management of operations and much of this credit going to company’s CEO Tim Cook.

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