This is a cool interview over at Cult of Mac -- you've heard of Steve Jobs of course, you know who Jonathan Ive is, you might have heard of Rob Janoff, but do you know Ken Segall's name? He's a former creative director from TBWA\Chiat\Day, and he has two claims to Apple fame: he worked on the "Think Different" campaign, and he's responsible for coming up with the one letter that may have defined the modern-day Apple as we know it. That's right, he named the iMac.

The writeup is fascinating, even if you get the sense that we're looking through the lens of history, and things may not happened quite as stylishly as they seem. Jobs apparently showed the Bondi Blue iMac to the ad team, and while he originally "hated" the name, he obviously came around -- though Segall apparently never got the satisfaction of official approval.

He closes with an interesting sentiment about the company, too: at Apple, it's always about moving forward to the next big thing, and everything is product-centered, not number-driven. Segall says he was around for a few Jobs "flare-ups," but if there was a fit thrown, it was always in trying to keep the company moving forward as quickly as possible.

Interesting stuff. It's quite a legacy, too -- the iMac was originally called so because it was a Mac that connected to the Internet, but obviously since then, the i has become symbolic of many other things, all the way up to iLife, the iPod, and the iPhone. You tend to forget, after all of the millions of dollars and the culture and promotion, that it all came from the head of a guy in a conference room looking at a computer Jobs just pulled the cloth off of.

Steve Jobs' Disney stocks aren't the only thing making him rich -- AAPL has hit an all time high, according to MacRumors, thanks to the big announcements earlier this week, both on the online store and during the conference call. Before opening this morning, it was at 204.72, but the high yesterday was a whopping 208.71, the best the company's ever seen, beating the previous high of 199.83, set in December of 2007. And it's been a heck of a year: the stock was trading in the mid 80s this past January, though that may have been more of a sign of the economy at large than Apple's fortunes specifically.

Boy, it would have been nice to buy back then, wouldn't it have? $5,000 of Apple's shares in January would be worth $13,000 yesterday. Just goes to show you can't keep a good fruit down.

You can track all the AAPL financial news on our sister sites Blogging Stocks and Daily Finance.

The New York Times has posted about a new project that our own Mr. Jobs has taken on: he's now helping out Disney Stores with their retail business. You have to hand it to Disney, no matter what you think of the Mouse House -- when they have a problem with part of the business, they bring in the experts. First they have Pixar's John Lasseter come in and take over animation (and they're about to release what looks like the best 2D movie in ages), and now they've got Steve Jobs himself sprucing up their retail spaces. Sounds like they're making the store more interactive (walking by some displays with certain products will create an audiovisual reaction), and taking some of the tech as well (employees will be able to check out items on mobile units, and control certain displays in the store with iPhones).

They also borrowed another page from Jobs' playbook: they've apparently created a prototype store (just like Apple did way back when), not only to test out what everything might look like, but to give a charge to executives and investors who get a tour. Sounds interesting, but then again, it makes sense. What else is an Apple Store, but a toy shop for big kids?

[via MacUser]

Think Apple's products are "really great," "incredible," "amazing," "really easy" to use, "awesome," "terrific," "incredible," "great," and "amazing"? If so, it's probably because Apple told you that's what they were in last week's presentation. The above video's been making the rounds -- it's all of the adjectives cut out of the recent Apple event, and compiled together into a machine-gun lineup of just how Apple sets up their products.

Now, just because these words kept showing up and being used doesn't mean there's some malicious brainwashing going on here -- it's probably true that Apple really does think that their products are "incredible," and "amazing," and "really great." And let's face it, they've never really been real up-to-date on the language anyway. They probably could use a thesaurus: maybe at the next event, the new MacBooks could be "marvelous," "extraordinary," or "glorious."

But it does show you just how much we're shaped by what we see at these events -- Steve's and Apple's enthusiasm for these things is infectious. Apple's products really are amazing, but it doesn't hurt that most of us sit down to watch, read, or listen to an hour or two of them telling us just how "amazing," "incredible," and "really great" they are.

This might be obvious to most of us, but the WSJ feels it's fit to print: while Steve Jobs' reimbursed budget for his private jet has been fairly considerable over the past year or so -- $580,000 for a six-month period a year ago and $30,000 during a quarter period, the past few reports have seen the budget much, much lower. For the first three months of this year they didn't pay him at all, and for the previous six months before that they've only reimbursed him for $4,000.

What does this mean? Nothing, really -- while the WSJ points to it as evidence Jobs hasn't been traveling overseas to help bring the iPhone to China and carry out other big Apple deals, we've already known that Jobs wasn't involved much in the day-to-day business anyway; besides, it's hard to recuperate at home and fly around the world simultaneously. There are lots of other reasons for the budget to be down -- that $580,000 period would have been right around the manufacturing point of the iPhone 3G, and since most of the focus lately is on software, it's not like Jobs needs to be jetsetting off exotic plants to make sure production is on schedule.

And of course gas prices are back down quite a bit, and companies are under a little more scrutiny and pressure in this economy, so teleconferencing may be just as good as a plane ticket these days. Apple is still saying Jobs is expected back in June, and though these plane figures are interesting, the fact that Apple is still confident of his return says more about the company's future.

Today is Easter for those of you celebrating around the world, and what better way to celebrate than with Peeps? Specifically Peeps attending an Apple event -- these guys were made by Sarah Kohari and Erin Mastrangelo of Washington, and are part of the Washington Post's yearly Peeps diorama contest. This one is number 38, and they also made number 39 as well.

We like it, obviously, especially the little Steve Jobs peep, as well as the iPeep nanos (in, apparently, all of the different colors Peeps come in). Happy Easter to everyone -- may you have candy and chocolate of all kinds (if that's what you're looking for today), and may all of your egg finding go well.

Good afternoon, and welcome to your daily brainload from TUAW, a division of Weblogs, Inc. owned by Comcast Online. Please make sure the neural connector is clicked in all the way, and then think "Start" when you are ready.

Steve Jobs returns to Apple's Board of Directors after stint at GM
Steve Jobs announced his return to Apple today after a government-mandated stint as CEO of General Motors. Obama White House spokesperson Ruth Christopher stated that since Jobs had saved the American auto company with the introduction of the extremely popular flyCar, he could return to his usual duties. Apple executives released a statement saying they were "overjoyed" to have Jobs back on the job.

New MacBooks and Mac mini appear on Apple Store site
Apple has quietly updated its legacy line of personal computers, adding exabyte molecular hard drives and gigacore nanoprocessors without raising the prices. Fans, unfortunately, were unimpressed with the updates -- "my implants can move faster than that," John Gruber transmitted to his brainload feed, along with a TwitFeeling of disappointment and anger. But Apple defended the updates, stating that the new computers were "perfect for the older member of your family who still need their hardware in the box, rather than out of it." Anyone who has purchased one of the older units in the past six months (if there are any of you out there still buying hardware) can be eligible for an exchange at any Apple center.

MobileMe announces record number of subscribers
Over three billion people have subscribed to Apple's MobileMe service since its reintroduction two years ago, according to a new study transmitted by analysts NPD. Apparently people love the fact that they no longer have to carry an iPhone, a laptop, or any hardware at all, as MobileMe now works directly with tiny processors implanted into your head to bring you brainloads, news, TwitFeelings, and the Webview over the cloud directly into your visual and memory cortexes.

"People really love not having to deal with devices or pesky buttons," said an NPD analyst. "MobileMe allows them to connect directly into the ethersphere, leaving them open to do or think or feel anything while anywhere." The price of the system was also lauded as one of the reasons it's so popular. Apparently after the big economic meltdown in 2010, Apple's customers are thrilled to get a full-service communication package for just over a billion dollars a year. "MobileMe has never been so worth it," said longtime user Dave Caolo.

Apple announces event next Tuesday: "Go ahead. Take a guess, suckers."
Press outlets around the brainsphere have recieved invites from Apple for an event next Tuesday in Chicago's Willis Tower (up until two years ago, events like this were held in San Franscisco at the Moscone Center, but of course the unfortunate earthquakes and flooding in 2014 mean that all of California is currently underwater). Rumors are flying about what might be announced at the event, but Apple hasn't given any indication of what there might be -- in fact, the invite itself features a question mark, and the text: "Take a guess, suckers. You still haven't gotten it right."

Most brainloaders have speculated that the event may finally feature the debut of the long-awaited iTablet, or maybe, finally, the reveal of The Beatles unenhanced audio recordings into the iCollective. Either way, TUAW won't be there: we still haven't gotten an invite. But we will, as usual, be providing Mike Schramm's unfiltered thoughts on the event live as it happens. Remember to make sure your children are unplugged at the time.

ZLOK has re-posted an article (originally meant for the defunct Sync Magazine) about Rob Janoff, a designer who's credited with coming up with the iconic-as-they-come Apple logo. It's actually a really short piece, but he does talk pretty candidly about where he got the idea: by buying a bag of apples and slicing them up in different ways.

And the original design was just a single color Apple (which, of course, Apple has used versions of since), but Jobs thought the design should be more colorful, so the logo got its familiar colored bands. Janoff says he just threw the colors in where he thought they might fit, which makes sense -- they don't match up with the physical spectrum at all, they're just sort of in there.

Cool to see that something now so well known started off so simply. Janoff did the work for a design firm, and says that nowadays, he gets "not even a holiday card" for his invention. Apple does take their time recognizing inventors, though -- maybe the card's in the mail.

[via Cult of Mac]

Bloomberg is reporting that Steve Jobs will not attend this week's Apple shareholder meeting. That's not a big surprise -- Jobs' health has kept him from attending recent usual events, including Macworld earlier this year. But it is the first time in the over 10 years since he rejoined the company that he won't be appearing at the annual meeting.

Additionally, at this week's meeting, as usual, shareholders will vote on whether or not to re-elect Apple's directors to their one-year terms, including Jobs, though nothing is expected to change -- the company has remained strongly in support of Jobs as leader, even if they haven't talked about his health as much as some investors may have liked. COO Tim Cook will likely run most of the planned activities during the meeting.

We'll keep an eye on any news that comes out of the closed meeting (streams and transcripts won't be available, but there will be reporters in attendance), and let you know what we hear. As always, we wish Jobs and his company and family the best of health, and hope he is able to feel better soon.

[via CNET]

This is very interesting -- while investors and consumers alike are panicking every time someone says "Jobs" and "sick" in the same sentence, MacLife has decided to take a more optimistic view of the prospect of His Steveness leaving the company, by compiling a nice list of ten Apple products they say Jobs had nothing at all to do with. As you probably already know, Steve left the company once before, from 1985 to 1996, and during that time, while Steve was working on NeXTstep (which would eventually become OS X), Apple didn't exactly sit on its laurels.

The Newton is first and foremost, and while some may laugh at the handwriting recognition, let's not forget that it can still do things the iPhone can't. And while many of Apple's products were finalized under Jobs' watch, their beginnings come from before his return: the Powerbook, Macintosh TV (which could definitely be seen as a precursor for the AppleTV), and the Power Macintosh were all released without Jobs. Even among the most faithful Apple fans, you have to agree that Apple is willing to get wacky without Jobs to squelch some really crazy ideas: the Twentieth Anniversary Mac, the eMate, and the adjustable keyboard are all examples of that.

Of course, you could definitely argue that Apple's most popular products (iPods, the iPhone, the MacBook lines) wouldn't have happened without Jobs. But there's something to be said for Apple sans Jobs, too. "The Power to Be Your Best" might not be quite as memorable as "Think Different," but it's got its own charm.

Just the other day I was wondering on this very site just where Blu-Ray has been on Macs, and yesterday's big Apple event gave us the answer: Blu-Ray, according to Steve Jobs, is just "a big bag of hurt." Apple says they haven't settled on an HD format yet because no one else has either: "the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting until things settle down and Blu-Ray takes off in the marketplace," said Jobs. He might as well have added an "if it does" on the end of there -- Sony, spurned by the Betamax loss, wants to make sure they get credit when Blu-ray gets popular, and for that very reason it may never be.

In fact, if Apple has their way, there may not be a physical media of choice for high-definition content -- Phil Schiller pointed out that iTunes has plenty of HD TV and movie options without ever tying Apple down to licensing a specific format.

Which is exactly everything we said last week. And I'm drinking the kool-aid, actually -- a while back, I was one who would have said that people need their physical media, but nowadays, I'm not so sure. I haven't bought a DVD, HD or otherwise, in months and months, and yet I've purchased and seen plenty of HD content in iTunes and over my Xbox and cable connection. Blu-Ray may have won the HD disc format wars and claimed the country, but maybe there's nobody living there any more.

I'm a big fan of the Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing daily podcasts -- she does a terrific job, day in and day out, of breaking down major grammar gaffes in a very interesting and clear way. After the big "Let's Rock" event on Tuesday, Grammar Girl had to jump to the rescue on Apple's commercial use of the word "funnest" to describe the iPod touch -- as many language elitists noted, "funnest" isn't quite a real word.

Believe it or not, Grammar Girl is suprisingly forgiving -- she says that fun, while originally a noun ("we had fun"), has made a transition in the last century or so to an "attributive noun" which can be used as an adjective ("we had a fun party"). And while old-timers may flinch at the words "funner" and "funnest", the correct way to modify one-syllable adjectives is in fact by adding "-er" and "-est" to the ends. So technically, "funnest" is grammatically correct, even if it isn't exactly accepted; Grammar Girl calls it "grating and horrifying."

She finishes today's podcast, however, with a scary note for language traditionalists -- it could very well be that Apple's usage of the word is just what "funnest" needs to go over the edge into regular acceptance. Sure, we get that language evolves, but couldn't they just have said it was "the most fun iPod ever?" Or, even more traditionally, "the most fun you'll have with an iPod?"

A few weeks back on the Talkcast, we had an interesting little discussion about just where Apple's boundaries were on the App Store -- so far, you really only get kicked off if you charge too much, if your apps vibrate wrong, or if you steal someone's copyright. Oh, and there's that one more little exception: if you provide folks with the ability to tether the iPhone's networking ability to your own Mac.

But now the rumor mill says that last one might just have been removed because Apple is planning a tether solution of their own. Gizmodo claims that one of their readers is corresponding with His Steveness himself (a fact we find obviously dubious, but hey it's Friday of Labor Day weekend, so we'll give 'em a pass). You'd think that Steve Jobs would reveal the fact that AT&T and Apple were trying to offer a tether solution through a slightly better venue than a quickly jotted "Sent from my iPhone" email, but remember how we first heard about the SDK -- the man knows how to stick important pieces of news in strange places.

The original emailer mentioned tethering for the fee of an extra $30 a month (which seems exorbitant considering that Netshare did it for a one-time charge), but then again, AT&T's networks are going to get even more waterlogged should something like this come down. So odds are if Apple does work out a deal, it's not going to be cheap.

Is it even possible? Forbes does a little bit of speculating on just who might take over when Jobs takes his leave from Apple, and candidates aren't exactly jumping out of the woodwork. Jobs is about as visionary as they come -- only a guy like Steve could lead Apple from the iMac to the iPod to the iPhone, breaking records and status quo the whole time. Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall are tossed out as two names currently within Apple's ranks, but Jobs is almost as much of a company mascot as he is a CEO. As consultant Patrick Sweeney says in the article, anyone who steps into the turtleneck has to fit completely into the culture of the company, or it won't work.

And forget the day-to-day and design decisions -- who's going to stand on stage and say "boom" at WWDC and Macworld? Here at TUAW, we're pretty sure the rumors of Jobs' ill health are exaggerated; he's probably not going anywhere anytime fast. But at the same time, it's hard to imagine an Apple without him at all.

First you could stream the yesterday's keynote, then you could download it via iTunes, and now you can stream it in HD. Nothing beats seeing an Apple presentation in HD, you can almost smell the Old Spice on Phil Schiller.

Thanks, Jeff.