Comedian Louis C.K. told Forbes that the next technology pioneer would be female. While his reasoning is typical C.K. comedy, there is plenty of merit to the sentiment, and to be frank, it would be good for the technology industry.

Totally be a chick

Speaking to Fast Company’s Nancy Miller, Louis C.K. explained that the world is transforming, and that women have more opportunities than ever before, even though there are still challenges. He says: ‘The next Steve Jobs will totally be a chick, because girls are No. 2 – and No. 2 always wins in America. Apple was a No. 2 company for years, and Apple embodies a lot of what have been defined as feminine traits: an emphasis on intuitive design, intellect, a strong sense of creativity, and that striving to always make the greatest version of something.’

Men are like Microsoft

He prefaced that statement by saying that the world loves underdogs, and women are the underdog in this situation. Unsurprisingly, comedian Louis C.K. didn’t think as highly of men – and he clearly doesn’t think highly of the house Bill Gates built, neither. He says: ‘Traditionally, men are more like Microsoft, where they’ll just make a fake version of what that chick made, then beat the shit out of her and try to intimidate everybody into using their product.’ Ouch.

It’s time

Ironically, C.K.’s sentiment comes at a time when a massive debate has broken out in Silicon Valley – the epicentre of the tech world – about whether the Valley is a pure meritocracy or if minorities have a harder time making it there than the usual suspects, namely white males. Having said that, though, the CEO of HP and the CEO of IBM are both females, and these are two of the biggest technology companies in the world. Perhaps comedian Louis C.K. is not all that prophetic, and is just calling a trend that’s already in motion.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has had the position for just shy of two months, and reports are already emerging that his leadership style – one that is quite different from that of Steve Jobs’ –  is having an impact on the company.

Hard at work

Under immense scrutiny, early feedback on the still-new Apple CEO Tim Cook has been very favourable. The Wall Street Journal wrote a piece about the differences between his leadership style and that of his predecessor, Steve Jobs. The publication writes: ‘In recent weeks, Mr. Cook has tended to administrative matters that never interested Mr. Jobs, such as promotions and corporate reporting structures, according to people familiar with the matter.’

The publication continued, writing: ‘The new chief executive, 50 years old, has also been more communicative with employees than his predecessor, sending a variety of company-wide emails while addressing Apple employees as “Team,”’

The switch up

When Apple CEO Tim Cook took over the reins from Steve Jobs, there were immediate questions about his ability to help Apple remain industry leaders built on relentless innovation now that their iconic leader and visionary Steve Jobs had resigned – and soon thereafter passed away. What Cook lacks in vision, he makes up for in his immense operational skills and his willingness to share victories with everyone else at Apple – the implication being more so than Steve Jobs did (knowingly or unknowingly).

Apple has never been known for being an open company to the public, and, by the sounds of things, while it was innovative internally, it is not nearly as open as Cook is looking to make it. How this will benefit the company over time remains to be seen, but on early signs, all the doubts many had about a post Steve Jobs Apple future may have been premature, if not completely unfounded.

Having shot straight to the number one best sellers list after being moved forward since the death of Apple’s iconic leader, the official Steve Jobs autobiography is now available.

Mass build up

The build up to the books release has been growing steadily since Jobs’ death, and went into overdrive this weekend, culminating in author Walter Isaacson appearing on 60 Minutes this past weekend to discuss Jobs and the book.

Numerous excerpts from the book have been leaked recently, including how Jobs really felt about Erich Schmidt and what he considered a betrayal with Google Android, as well as how Jobs saw himself as something of an elder statesman to the Silicon Valley technology community.

Required reading

The book is likely to be a colossal hit, considering Steve Jobs’ legacy as one of the greatest CEOs of all time, and the huge legions of fans Apple has. Even people moderately curious about technology will likely give the book a look, given how Apple has transcended into a full blown cultural icon, irrespective of whether one is a fan of the company’s work.

The juicy bits

One of the most interesting interactions between author Walter Isaacson and Steve Jobs is what the Apple leader felt about Google’s Android platform, and what he felt was betrayal on the part of then Apple board member Eric Schmidt. In an expletive-laden interaction, he told Isaacson that ‘I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this’ He likened Android to ‘grand theft’.

The Steve Jobs autobiography is available right now on Kindle and iBooks, with physical retailers around the world receiving the books over the next few weeks.

One of the most vulgar sayings in all of entertainment is that ‘there is no better carrier move than dying young’. And as awful as the sentiment is, the soaring sales of albums by the likes of Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Elvis ‘The King’ Presley in the wake of their deaths is sort of proof of this. Walter Issacson’s publishing team seems to have seen this memo, too, deciding to move the release date for the highly anticipated Steve Jobs autobiography a month forward in the wake of the death of the iconic Apple leader.

Get it now!

Simon & Schuster, the publisher, have moved the release date for the autobiography simply titled ‘Steve Jobs’ to 24 October, from its previous release date of 21 November.

And, in keeping with the analogy I outlined about musicians who die young seeing their CD sales climb through the roof, the Steve Jobs autobiography has skyrocketed up the charts, with pre-orders being high enough to have the book topping the bestseller list for both Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s book store.

Why you should care

What makes this Steve Jobs autobiography particularly unique is that it is the first of its kind to have actual input from Steve himself. It also comes out at a time where corporate America – and the world at large – are trying to understand how Mr. Jobs managed to build the titanic company he did before his passing, with an unofficial ‘Inside Apple’ book scheduled for release in the same Window period as Jobs’ official autobiography.

Celebrating his life

I, like many I know and many who read this site, have full intentions of buying the book and learning about Steve Jobs beyond what the media has painted him as. For Simon and Schuster, though, the publisher has gone from having a sure-fire hit on its hand to having a potential megahit instead in the wake of the passing of the iconic Apple leader.

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday, 5 October 2011, aged 56. Apple stores worldwide have seen customers and fans flock to them to mourn the loss of the the iconic leader. The world media has had nothing but good things to say about him, with Bill Gates, arguably Steve Jobs’ greatest rival, leading the charge for the tech media.

Obama on Jobs

US president, Barack Obama, who incidentally received an iPad 2 before the rest of the world directly from Steve Jobs himself had a few words to say on the tech leader. Obama’s statement read: ‘Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it…’ The president continued, saying: ‘he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

The world has lost a visionary.’

Gates on Jobs

Bill Gates was one of the first tech leaders to issue a statement on the news of the passing of the iconic Steve Jobs, saying: ‘Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.’

He continued, saying: The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.’ Gates concluded, saying he ‘will miss Steve immensely.’

Zuckeburg and Page on Jobs

Mark Zuckerberg wrote a very brief send off for Steve Jobs, thanking Jobs for being a good friend and ‘for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.’ Google CEO Larry Page sentiment echoed those of others on how Jobs was a visionary who shaped the world we live in. He called Jobs ‘a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance’.

It’s safe to expect an outpouring of love and plaudits for the Apple co-founder over the next few days. Perhaps the greatest testament to Jobs’ work is the device this article was written on is a Mac, just as millions of people will conduct meetings, perform work tasks, communicate with and share memories with friends and families on devices the iconic Steve Jobs helped conceive and deliver.

The iconic Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and former CEO who orchestrated the greatest turnaround in corporate American history, has passed away at the age of 56. He will be remembered for revolutionizing not only the personal computing industry, but the media industry, too.

The legacy

Steve Jobs life and times is well documented on various sites online, so if you want to get a timeline of his life, you can look there. What’s foremost in our minds is the areas where Jobs has had an ever-lasting impact, where the ramifications are still felt today.

Steve Jobs helped revolutionise the personal computing industry, bringing the first GUI computers to market way back in the day, with Apple’s current Mac lineup the fastest growing in all of computing.

Steve Jobs changed the media industry with his company’s deployment of the iTunes digital retail platform, which serves as a commerce store, media manager and a central hub for all Apple devices in one place. iTunes today is the biggest music store in the world today.
The iconic Steve Jobs helped shape what we expect of smartphones and tablet PCs today, launching the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2011. The iPhone and iPad are the best selling smartphone and tablet PCs in the world, respectfully.

Oh, and during his time away from Apple when he was first ousted, Steve Jobs purchased a motion graphics company from Star Wars creator George Lucas that he would later turn into a film production company called Pixar. Pixar is responsible for hits like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and numerous others. Pixar is also the most critically acclaimed film production studio in the world, bar none, and by far the highest grossing animation studio, too

On mortality

Perhaps what was most remarkable about the iconic Steve Jobs – the person, not the leader – was his self-awareness of his own mortality. He used it to inform how he lead his life, and urged students at his 2005 Stanford commencement to live life knowing time was limited. He said [via Daring Fireball]: ‘Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.’

What a life.

While the tech world reflects on Steve Jobs’ resignation as Apple CEO – and his career prior – some companies have got some respite on news as the iconic leader is taking a step back. Samsung was a particularly big winner since, on the very day the now-former Apple CEO resigned, a Dutch court handed them a pretty significant victory in their legal standoff with Apple. Incidentally Sammy’s stock climbed while Apple’s declined.

Losing their way

The long-term bet is that Apple, without Steve Jobs, could lose its way, leaving an opportunity for Samsung, who are best placed in the mobile devices battle, to replace them as the leader in the space.

Jeon Nam-joon, a Consus Asset Management fund manager said that: ‘Jobs’ resignation has a positive impact on market sentiment toward Samsung,’ explaining that ‘investors were concerned about whether Samsung will be able to continue to fare well in the smartphone market as Apple is growing market share.’ The assumption here is that without Steve Jobs, Apple is not the same old Apple.

Thanks, your honour

A more immediate victory for Samsung was won when a court in the Netherlands ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy S, S2 and Ace had broken only one of three patents it is accused by Apple of breaking. The court added that it found no infringement on the part of Samsung’s tablet PCs when compared to Apple’s iPad. Maybe the whole Stanley Kubrick invented the tablet argument did the trick for Samsung.

For the remainder of the week, it’s highly likely the Samsung Apple legal battle will take a back seat to talks on iconic Apple CEO Steve Jobs. But once the nostalgia wears thin, and the world comes to accept the change, that’s when it’s back to business, and this court case, as well as the iPhone maker’s long term viability, will be under the spotlight.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resigned with immediate effect. The company’s longtime COO – and most likely successor candidate – Tim Cook has been promoted to Steve’s roll with immediate effect.

Health declining further

It’s well documented that Steve Jobs has been fighting a long-term battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which has seen him go on medical leave no less than three times. In the succinct, very well-written announcement of his resignation, Jobs writes: ‘I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.’

Jobs goes on to endorse Apple COO Tim Cook for the job – which the board accepted – as well requesting he is allowed to remain Chairman of the board and an Apple employee, all wishes Jobs is granted.

Things will be as they have been

While Apple’s stock has – unsurprisingly – taken a knock on this news, I think it’s premature to think things at the company will change any time soon. Renowned Apple watcher John Gruber of Daring Fireball explains it best, writing: ‘The thing to keep in mind is this: Apple tomorrow, a week from now, and next month is the exact same Apple from yesterday, a week ago, and last month.’ He continues, saying: ‘Tim Cook wasn’t named “CEO” until today, but he’s been the chief executive at the company since Jobs started this — his third — medical leave back in January,’ he writes.

The effects of Jobs’ departure – if there will be any – will only start creeping into products in three to five years, and into the company’s culture further down the line still. It will be interesting watching how everything unfolds at the biggest technology company on the planet, and the second biggest company in the world overall. I guess this is a farewell, then, to long-time Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

EA founder Trip Hawkins says Apple’s decline is imminent due to the company’s success simply being too reliant on the genius that is Steve Jobs and, given his ailing health, the increasing likelihood he will not be around for much longer.

Apple to decline soon

Speaking to Industry Gamers, EA founder Trip Hawkins said: ‘The thing is, it may take another year or two before it starts to decline, but it has to – everything does.’ He continued, saying ‘Everything revolves so much around Steve, and no matter how good his lieutenants are, they’re not Steve. None of us is going to live forever, though I hope he lives for a really long time.’

What is unsurprising about his claim is the fact that Apple will start declining. Everything in time declines, giving way to something new, or demanding a recovery of sorts. What is surprising, however, is hearing Trip Hawkins say that Apple will start declining so soon – he effectively says it will happen in ‘another year or two’.

Open it up

Trip Hawkins is currently the founder and CEO of Digital Chocolate, a mobile gaming company that has titles in Apple’s App Store, among other places. Even with his guess that Apple will soon start declining, he said that his firm will continue to distribute games in the App Store, even though he wished it were more ‘open’. Or, more specifically, he wished Apple would deliver a superior browser for playing games in.

He said: ‘I think it would be an incredibly positive thing for the industry if Apple decided to support all of the web standards.’ He continued, saying: ‘Right now they make a conscious choice. They want you to be in the App Store rather than the browser, so they cripple the browser.’

The rise and fall and rise… and fall?

With Apple once being a tech giant throughout the 80s, declining rapidly and then beginning its revival in the late 90s to the giant it is today, falling again won’t be an unfamiliar place for the company. Yet with device sales – especially the iPhone and iPad – going through the roof and the Apple App Store continually doing this well, it’s quite difficult to see EA founder Trip Hawkin’s assessment that Apple will fall so soon true. We’ll have to wait and see, and revisit the issue in two years’ time, then.

While Apple continues to sell products hand over fist, there remains concern about the company’s leadership, more specifically iconic CEO Steve Jobs’ health. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has been talking to recruiters to help bring a new Apple CEO into the company.

Advanced stages

WSJ reports that several Apple Inc board members had been discussing a successor to CEO Steve Jobs since as far back as January, when Apple’s leader went on his third medical leave in short order. Discussions were advanced enough that these directors have actually sat down with an unnamed tech leader about picking up the job. The publication did report that these discussions were not necessarily to recruit a new Apple CEO with immediacy, but rather an exercise in exploring Apple’s options.

Internal?

It’s very surprising that the company is not looking exclusively at promoting from within. COO Tim Cook has done an incredible job running Apple in Jobs’ absence on previous occasions. Many thought Scott Forstall, who is the senior vice president of iPhone Software at Apple, could get the nod, too, with him having been by Jobs’ side since Next computers.

Other high profile Apple executives and outliers include Jonathan Ive, who is the senior vice president of Industrial Design for Apple. Though he wouldn’t make sense from an executive position, given how Apple is a design-driven company, it could also be an interesting appointment. Unlikely, but interesting nevertheless.

Changing faces

Apple’s Q3 record absolutely demolished industry estimates, with sales of iPhones and iPads absolutely soaring. While the company’s continually unbelievable performance will no doubt be the big news in the tech industry for the remainder of the week, the Wall Street Journal’s report that the search for a new Apple CEO is this far along comes as a surprise – though, given Jobs health, it shouldn’t be surprising.

Whoever the new Apple CEO turns out to be, he will have the unenviable job of taking over from the greatest ‘comeback kid’ the technology industry has ever seen.