Apple

United Continental’s CFO has switched jobs to become a VP of Sales at Apple.

If you are lucky enough to live in the New York City area, Apple is sending out invites to their “Meet the Filmmakers” series in conjunction with the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Filmmakers like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hall, Morgan Spurlock and Will Arnett wil be on hand, talking about their latest projects.

The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 18th to the 29th.

Apple is allowed to intervene in cases where patent troll Lodsys has gone after App Store developers for violating its patents, which Lodsys says include in-app purchases.

Reached for comment, an Apple spokeswoman said the company is not working on a new product with Starck. If he was working on a project with Apple, he isn’t any more.

A class action lawsuit alleges Apple allowed “bait apps” in the App Store – apps that encouraged users to ring up large amounts of in-app purchases.

“The DOJ’s accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Since then customers have benefited from eBooks that are more interactive and engaging. Just as we’ve allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore.”

The New York Times:

The government’s decision to pursue major publishers on antitrust charges has put the Internet retailer Amazon in a powerful position: the nation’s largest bookseller may now get to decide how much an e-book will cost, and the book world is quaking over the potential consequences.Amazon, which already controls about 60 percent of the e-book market, can take a loss on every book it sells to gain market share for its Kindle devices. When it has enough competitive advantage, it can dictate its own terms, something publishers say is beginning to happen.

This is a story with a lot of different angles and repercussions depending on your point of view.

The Wall Street Journal:

At the heart of the U.S. government’s suit against Apple and some publishers over e-book pricing is something called “agency pricing.”It’s a term for a new way of setting e-book prices that came about as Apple prepared to introduce its iPad in 2010. Under the traditional “wholesale” pricing model, publishers had long charged booksellers around half the cover price of a book, leaving booksellers to discount the books if they wanted.When Apple entered the fray, it offered publishers the ability to set their own prices.

Good explanation of what the two different pricing models are and how the effect book prices.

Jeff John Roberts:

Now, state governments are seeking their own pound of flesh. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has just announced that his state and 15 others have filed an antitrust lawsuit again Apple and five publishers in Texas.

The states say it’s cost consumers $100 million.

Security firm Dr. Web is credited with understanding the scope of Flashback, the Mac botnet malware making the news. But Apple has gotten in the company’s way by blocking a monitoring server.

Trevor Gilbert:

In light of this increase of attention, it’s apparent that the record needs correcting and that someone needs to show that while jingoistic posts may be enticing, they aren’t based in reality.

I have said this before and agree with Trevor.

New York Times:

Apple’s rivals are quick to say how much better, faster, cheaper or more popular their smartphones, computers and tablets are.Yet when it comes to working conditions in the Chinese factories that build these competing products, Apple’s electronics rivals go silent.So why would these electronics makers be so reluctant? They won’t tell us, but Li Qiang, executive director of China Labor Watch had an idea: “Many companies, like H.P., Sony and Dell, don’t publish the full reports because they find violations and problems that are much worse than Apple, and they don’t want the media fallout from the reports.”

As the article says, while Apple may not be a “paragon of open communication”, they are certainly do more and doing it more openly than their competition.

CIO Journal:

About 46% of corporations now issue Macs to employees, up by half in just two years, according to a Forrester report. “The use of iPads and iPhones in the workplace is creating increased awareness and consideration of Macs,” said Frank Gillett, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester.Even though more companies are starting to issue Macs, the percent of workers using them is still fairly slim. About 7% of computers companies give to employees are Macs, he said.Macs are the de facto choice of many Silicon Valley startups, and many larger companies now let workers choose a Mac. For example, Cisco CIO Rebecca Jacoby told CIO Journal that about 25% of Cisco’s 63,870 employees use Macs.

Walter Isaacson:

Even though he will not be around to see them to fruition, his rules for success helped him build a company that not only will create these and other disruptive products, but will stand at the intersection of creativity and technology as long as Jobs’s DNA persists at its core.

“as long as Jobs’s DNA persists” may be the key to the future success or failure of Apple.