The original iPhone's touch-centric user interface may have ushered in a new era in smartphone design, but it could have looked very different indeed.

Sonny Dickson, a well-known Apple leaker, has revealed early prototypes of the operating system that would become iOS - including one that used a virtual version of the iconic iPod click wheel for navigation. The news comes as part of the iPhone's ten-year anniversary, as tech fans and pundits reminisce about the reveal of iconic smartphone.

The video shows two early variants of the software running side by side - one using the click wheel and one using a much more familiar all-touch interface. Tony Fadell, ex-Nest CEO and one of the key engineers on the original iPhone, was in charge of the team developing the former. "The clickwheel was very iconic and we were trying to leverage that," he said.

Obviously, the design Fadell's team came up with didn't win out in the end, and he stated that they knew it was a bust from the outset.

However, he also stressed that it was the ideas that were competing, rather than the teams. "There were many variations as we co-evolved the designs, both [hardware] UI and [software] UIs," he said. "Good design process doesn't follow a straight line."

Russia has made the radical decision to remove a memorial of Steve Jobs after Apple's current CEO Tim Cook revealed he is gay.

The iPhone-shaped structure was placed outside St Petersburg college in January 2013 following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs from cancer, but now those who constructed the shrine said they had to remove it in accordance with the country's laws.

ZEFS, the group of companies that erected the statue said: "In Russia, gay propaganda and other sexual perversions among minors are prohibited by law.

"After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values."

Russia's law that prohibits the spread of gay propaganda was introduced last year and aims to stop young people being exposed to homosexuality.

Because the memorial was placed outside a university, Maxim Dolgopolov, the head of ZEFS asked for it to be taken down, saying he supported the protection of traditional values by law.

"Sin should not become the norm. There is nothing to do in Russia for those who intend to violate our laws," he said.

There have also been calls for Cook to be banned from entering Russia, led by Vitaly Milonov, a St Petersburg legislator and campaigner against gay rights.

Cook announced his sexuality last week in an article on Bloomberg Businessweek, saying he wanted to push forward civil rights, arguing that if by coming out as gay he can help young people come to terms with who they are, then that is a good thing.

"I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he wrote in the column.

Apple's SVP of design Jony Ive has shed light on life at Apple and how core principles of the firm remain the same despite the loss of its co-founder Steve Jobs.

Ive discussed the philsophy behind creating products, life under current chief Tim Cook and the pressure associated with developing hit products in a Q&A with The New York Times. The SVP also teased that new materials will shortly be introduced.

Apple's ethos

The need to focus on products is ingrained into Apple's DNA and isn't something which is going to change under the stewardship of Tim Cook, according to Ive.

"Steve [Jobs] established a set of values, and he established preoccupations and tones that are completely enduring and he established those principles with a small team of people. I've been ridiculously lucky to be part of it. But Tim was very much part of that team for that last 15 or 20 years," he said.

Life under Tim Cook

While Tim Cook may not be the showman that Steve Jobs was, the current CEO has a 93 per cent approval rating among Apple employees. Cook has delegated authority to senior members of the firm's leadership team including Ive and Craig Federighi, SVP of software engineering, who was a prominent figure at WWDC 2014.

"We meet on average three times a week. Sometimes those meetings are over in his space, sometimes here in the design studio," Ive explained.

"Heading on for two decades working with Tim, one of the things I have always admired is the quiet consideration he gives to trying to understand how he perceives something. He will take the time. I think that testifies to the fact that he knows it's important."

The pressure of developing the next big iThing'

With a streak of hit products under its belt, Apple has become a victim of its own success. Shareholders and consumers demand a 'wow' factor every 12 months, and this is something Ive believes will never change.

"People felt exactly the same way when we were working on iPhone. The iPhone was broadly dismissed. The iPod was broadly dismissed. The iPad was probably more copiously written off as a large iPod.

"When working on projects, you have this determination. You just keep going. If doing anything new, you're very used to having insurmountable obstacles. At some point you have to make a call at some point you have to say, 'We've stretched this and we've come up against laws of physics, which we cannot change.'"

What's on the horizon?

Apple has already released details aboutiOS 8 and OS X Yosemite (10.10) but so far any announcements about new hardware has been lacking. Cupertino is expected to release a redesigned iPhone, refresh the look of its MacBooks and possible even introduce an iWatch by the end of 2014.

Ive declined to share details on any forthcoming products in typical Apple fashion, but did note the firm will introduce new materials, one of which is expected to be a Sapphire Crystal display for the iPhone 6.

"I would love to talk about future stuff they're materials we haven't worked in before. I've been working on this stuff for a few years now. Tim is fundamentally involved in pushing into these new areas and into these materials," he teased.

Steve Jobs said there would be a 'Holy War' between Apple and Google in a letter he wrote to top Apple executives before he died in 2011.

The email was revealed during the latest court battle between Samsung and Apple about patent infringements. Apple is demanding $2 billion (1.2 billion) in damages for five patents it claims Samsung infringed, while the South Korean tech giant has responded by claiming $6.9 million (4.15 million) from Apple for two alleged patent infringements.

Jobs told 100 Apple employees the company needed, "to catch up to Android where we are behind."

He wanted his team of engineers to include better notifications, tethering and speech as three priorities.

"Apple is in danger of hanging on to old paradigm for too long," he said. "Google and Microsoft are further along on the technology, but haven't quite figured it out yet."

Jobs believed Apple could overtake Google's Android operating system by just improving a few features and making Siri a big focus on its iDevices.

The Apple chief, who died in October 2011, told his senior executives in the same memo the PC industry was dying so the company needed to lock customers into its ecosystem, ensuring they want the full set of Apple products.

Jobs also spoke about the need for a better Apple TV, which originally launched in 2007. The second version of Apple TV was announced the month before Jobs wrote the letter to his executives. It said the vendor needed to improve the product to, "stay in the living room game and make a great 'must have' accessory for iOS devices."

Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing chief, said the points exposed in the memo were a general outline of strategies and not "set in stone."

Apple CEO Tim Cook has rubbished a newly-released book called "Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs", which claims that the iPhone maker is past its best.

"This nonsense belongs with some of the other books I've read about Apple. It fails to capture Apple, Steve, or anyone else in the company," the Apple CEO said in a statement to CNBC.

"Apple has over 85,000 employees that come to work each day to do their best work, to create the world's best products, to put their mark in the universe and leave it better than they found it.

"This has been the heart of Apple from day one and will remain at the heart for decades to come. I am very confident about our future. We've always had many doubters in our history. They only make us stronger."

The book was penned by former Wall Street Journal technology reporter Yukari Iwatani Kane, who claims to have conducted more thn 200 interviews with current and former Apple executives, business partners and market watchers.

Kane's most outlandish claim was that Steve Jobs told executives he didn't want Apple to enter the TV market because the "margins suck".

This contradicts statements Jobs made to his official biographer, Walter Isaacson.

"I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," Jobs told Isaacson in one of his final interviews.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the original Macintosh - a seminal device in the world of computing, which helped to push the industry forward and heralded a loyal fan base.

The first generation device ran Mac OS 1.0 on a 9in monitor and was powered by an 8MHz processor with 128KB of RAM. There were two serial ports, space for a 3.5in Floppy drive and a handle on top.

As Apple describes in a tribute on its website: "It was designed to be so easy to use that people could actually use it."

A range of products have spawned from this initial creation. We take a look at the evolution the first fruit-themed computer has gone through over the last three decades.

1984 - The original Macintosh Apple's first effort at a personal computer was aimed at making computing easy, greeting users with a smiley face.

"At the time, most people didn't even know how to use [a PC]. But thanks to the simple graphical interface of the Macintosh, they didn't have to," Apple noted in a tribute.

The $2495 Macintosh was introduced to the world via Ridley Scott's famous "1984" commercial, which debuted at the Super Bowl and is still one of the world's most talked about adverts.

1985 - Macintosh XL Apple reworked an older machine, the Lisa, to run Mac OS on 1 MB of RAM beneath a 12in monochrome screen. It was the last computer Apple released before firing Steve Jobs.

1986 - Macintosh Plus The Macintosh Plus introduced the SCSI port, allowing the computer to use external printers and hard drives. It remained in production until 1990, making it the longest-produced Mac ever built.

1987 - Macintosh II The sequel to Apple's desktop PC arrived three years later, bringing support for colour displays. It was also the first personal computer that didn't need extra upgrades to display true colour photorealistic images.

1988 - Macintosh IIx The confusingly named Macintosh IIx was an incremental upgrade to the II with improved specs.

1990 - Macintosh LC The Macintosh LC (for low-cost color) introduced affordable color screens and built-in audio input to the masses.

1991 - Powerbook Apple calls the Powerbook "the first truly portable Macintosh." It shifted the keyboard toward the screen, allowing users to rest their palms on the computer while typing. The original Powerbooks were a massive hit with users, capturing 40 per cent of the laptop market.

1992 - Macintosh Quadra 950 The first Macintosh designed with a tower.

1993 - Macintosh TV The Macintosh TV was a basic PC with a TV tuner card built into it, allowing the computer to pick up cable television. Only 10,000 were ever produced. Nearly 20 years later and rumours persist that Apple will imminently launch another TV-based product.

1994 - PowerBook 540c The PowerBook 540c was the first laptop to use a trackpad instead of a trackball, setting the course for every other laptop.

1995 - Macintosh 8500 Introducing import and export capacities for audio and video at near broadcast quality, Apple cites the Macintosh 8500 as "jump starting the popularity of the Mac with video professionals."

1997 - 20th Anniversary Macintosh Retailing at $7,500, the 20th Anniversary Macintosh was designed for those with Swiss bank accounts. The luxury machine came with leather palm rests, a TV tuner card, special start-up tune, and direct-to-door concierge delivery.

This model of Mac also bears the dubious honour of being one of the first devices killed off by Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple in 1997.

1998 - iMac With Apple close to folding, Jobs wasted no time upending the applecart. He started by redesigning the original iMac. It abandoned floppy disks for USBs and managed to fit the whole machine inside the monitor's eye-catching blue case.

The iMac's all-in-one egg shape was the first design from Apple's current VP, Jonathan Ive. The Englishman went on to design the iPod, iPhone, and iPad and his contributions to the technology world have led to him receiving a knighthood.

1999 - Power Mac G4 The software that came with the Power Mac G4 is better known today than the computer itself. This model introduced Final Cut Pro, a popular video-editing tool used by professionals.

2000 - iBook Apple's clamshell notebook offered a clean white case with bright, iMac-style plastics. The laptop also was the first mainstream computer sold with integrated wireless internet.

2001 - PowerBook G4 (revised) The titanium-cased PowerBook G4 was the first laptop resemble current Apple laptops. Its silver shell enclosed the first widescreen notebook running Mac OS X and iTunes.

2002 - iMac G4 The new iMac perched an LCD screen on a metal rod above its hemispherical base. The design later featured in a short film by Pixar.

2003 - Power Mac G5 This was the first desktop computer with a 64-bit processor inside a towering aluminium chassis. Ever the salesman, Jobs was quick capitalise on the fact that this was "the fastest computer ever built" at the time.

2004 - iBook G4 The iBook G4 included a slot-loading optical drive, GarageBand, iPhoto, and iMovie.

2005 - iMac G5 The new version of the iMac built a camera into the top of the frame for easy video chatting. It was also the last iMac to use PowerPC chips before Apple switched to Intel.

2006 - MacBook Pro Apple used Intel Core chips to power its new line of laptops, which also included a built-in webcam and the MagSafe power connector.

2007 - iMac (revised) In 2007, Apple introduced an iMac with the iconic aluminum unibody design to Apple's desktop machine. Only one screw is visible on the entire computer.

2008 - MacBook Air Apple reinvented the laptop with the MacBook Air. However, the beautiful design came at a price. It had no removable battery, no upgradeable RAM, no disc drive, and no ethernet port. Apple sacrificed everything to make a computer so thin and light that Steve Jobs famously pulled it from a manilla envelope on stage.

2009 - iMac (revised) The latest iMac came with improved specs and a touch-enabled Magic Mouse, bringing gestures to the desktop.

2010 - MacBook Air (revised) Apple continued to slice off weight on the already paper thin machine. The 2010 version weighed in at 1.32kg lightest computer to date - and also came in a smaller 11in version.

2011 - MacBook Pro (revised) The 2011 MacBook Pro introduced Thunderbolt, Apple's speedy new port, as well as the Mac App Store and an HD webcam.

2012 - MacBook Pro with Retina display Apple proved the rumours true in 2012 with the release of a Retina-quality MacBook Pro. Its 2880 x 1800 display arrived well before high-res display were introduced in Windows Ultrabooks.

2013 - iMac (revised) The latest version of the iMac simplified its design, removing the disc drive and slimming its frame.

2014 - Mac Pro The new Mac Pro marks a radical redesign for the desktop workstation - with a general consensus that it looks like a space-age trash can. It's 10ins tall chassis has an Intel Xeon processor and two AMD FirePro graphics cards built into its tri-core design, making it ideal for video editing.

Apple's late CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs threatened the head of Palm with a patent suit if he did not agree to an arrangement banning the two firms from poaching each other's staff.

The revelation came as part of an on-going US civil court case, in which seven tech companies, including Apple, Adobe systems and Intel, are accused of colluding to keep wages artificially low by agreeing not to recruit people from their companies.

If you choose the litigation route, we can respond with our own claims

The threat was allegedly made by Jobs to Edward Colligan, who was CEO of Palm at the time, in 2007.

According to a sworn statement from Colligan, Jobs "also suggested that if Palm did not agree to such an arrangement, Palm could face lawsuits alleging infringement of Apple's many patents."

Colligan claims he told Jobs the plan was likely to be illegal and that Palm was not intimidated by the threat.

"If you choose the litigation route, we can respond with our own claims based on patent assets, but I do not think litigation is the answer," Colligan told Jobs.

The current civil suit is being brought by employees of the companies, who claim to have been adversely affected by these no-poaching agreements.

It follows a 2010 antitrust case brought by the US justice department against Google, Apple, Adobe Systems, Intel, Intuit and Pixar, which also centred on an alleged no-call policies.

The case was settled, but the companies are now prohibited from agreeing not to recruit each others' employees.

Last week, US district judge Lucy Koh, who is hearing the case in San Jose, ordered current CEO Tim Cook to give a deposition in the case.

Cook, Google chairman Eric Schmidt and Intel CEO Paul Otellini will all be deposed before the end of February, before Koh decides whether or not the case will be heard as a class action suit.

Amazon.com has asked a federal judge to throw out Apple's false advertising claim in a lawsuit challenging the online retailer's use of the "app store" name.

The claim is part of a March 2011 trademark lawsuit in which Apple, which this year became the world's largest company ever by market value, accused Amazon of misusing its "App Store" name to solicit developers for a mobile software download service.

Use of the 'app store' term to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry.

Apple added the trademark claim last November, soon after Amazon announced the launch of the Kindle Fire tablet and, according to the complaint, began to call its app store "Amazon Appstore" rather than "Amazon Appstore for Android." It said this change could have contributed to confusion among consumers.

But in a filing on Wednesday with the US District Court in Oakland, California, Amazon said the term "app store" has become so generic that its use could not constitute false advertising.

Amazon added that even Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and his predecessor Steve Jobs have used the term to discuss rivals, with Cook having commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referring to the "four app stores on Android."

"Apple presumably does not contend that its past and current CEOs made false statements regarding to those other app stores to thousands of investors in earnings calls," Amazon said.

"To the contrary, the use of the term 'app store' to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry."

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Amazon in Seattle. A hearing on Amazon's motion is scheduled for October 31, and a trial is scheduled for August 19, 2013.

True innovators share a number of core characteristics and ones that businesses should pay attention to if they wish to succeed.

The ultimate lesson of being a great innovator is that you're part of something larger than yourself.

So claims the man who wrote the biographies of both Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs among others.

"All of you know a lot of smart people. Smart people are generally a dime a dozen and don't amount to much. It's the innovative people, the imaginative people, the people who think different, they're the ones who change the world," Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, told delegates during the opening keynote of IBM Impact today in Las Vegas.

"Steve Jobs had a passion for his product. It started when he was seven years old. He was building a fence with his dad around the back yard of their house. His father said to him We have to make the back of the fence just as beautiful as the front.' Steve said Why? Nobody will ever see it. Nobody will ever know.' And his father said But you will know.' Jobs said that was one of the lessons of his life. If you care for your product, make sure that even the parts unseen, the code that will never be noticed all of that is just as beautiful so you can be an artist."

Isaacson referenced comments made by Benjamin Franklin, who reasoned that the person next to someone who disagrees might have a relevant point and they should be listened to as others might learn something from them.

The ability to think differently is a common theme in all of the biographies Isaacson has written and he reiterated that's also the theme of Impact 2012. The great innovators he's covered also had a thirst for knowledge, were extremely curious and were persistent in their aims.

"The ultimate lesson of being a great innovator is that you're part of something larger than yourself," he said.

"You're not just there to twiddle with something or to try and maximise a profit tweaking a little something. You're there to make something innovative, imaginative and new."

Jobs helped create one of the most successful companies in history with products that will long be remembered. He was notorious for telling employees not to be afraid, encouraging them to push themselves further aiming for design brilliance or shaving time off boot ups by saying "You can do it," Isaacson detailed.

"Steve Jobs once told me the most important thing was not to make a great product, but to make a great company that would continue to make great products and continue to innovate. And, really, from the calculator, to the computer to the cloud, that's what IBM has done," Isaacson said.

"I so respect IBM. I'm doing my next book on the history of the computing age," Isaacson told the audience. "IBM is 100 years old, but still a young company and still innovative."

It has been a momentous year. The past 12 months have seen uprisings against oppressive regimes, a royal wedding, Bin Laden killed, Kim Jong-Il dead, the Iraq war officially over, panic on the streets of London and all other kinds of pandemonium. It's been manic to say the least.

The tech sector has been no exception. Industry big guns have fallen, CEOs have been thrown out of board rooms, there's been bitching and mega-buck acquisitions, and one of the most significant deaths the industry has ever seen.

We take a look back at what went down in the IT industry in 2011

A lotta litigation

Let's start with the most insufferably depressing theme of the year: the never-ending patent wars. Recent charts resembling many-tentacled sea creatures have appeared online highlighting who is suing who and the utter absurdity of it all.

The main target appears to be Android. It's rather obvious why, considering the operating system's stratospheric growth in 2011. The OS became too popular for its own good in 2011, attracting litigation after litigation, leaving Android looking like the bullied school child.

Yet Google wasn't involved in the most serious legal war threatening Android. Apple and Samsung spent all of 2011 trying to ban each others' products, with the iPhone maker even gaining some success along the way with a number of Galaxy products banned in Europe.

The OS became too popular for its own good in 2011, attracting litigation after litigation, leaving Android looking like the bullied school child.

Microsoft took a different route to targeting Android, deciding to sign license agreements with manufacturers using the OS. By the middle of the year it claimed to have agreements with companies responsible for producing half of all Android devices.

That hasn't stopped it suing others though, and it recently won a little skirmish with Motorola Mobility. No doubt it is hoping Windows 8 will take tablet market share away from others, meanwhile, and it would love Windows Phone 7 to have the same levels of popularity as Android.

BT even joined the mass of companies claiming Android has infringed on its IP, which also includes Oracle who are seeking billions from their court case. So much for festive cheer and good will to all men then

Google retaliated with a surprising public outburst earlier in the year, which amounted to the internet giant essentially having a whinge that the bigger boys had ganged up on Android.

As 2011 comes to a close, hundreds of patent cases are still raging on and, even though they have provided us with a modicum of mirth, they've left a bitter taste too. Not only are the cases nightmarishly complex in their scope and detail, as if Kafka had rewritten Bleak House and it had magically become reality, but ultimately they only lead to harm for businesses and consumers alike.

Amongst the consequences of these costly legal battles are lost innovation and less competition if products are banned. So thanks guys for damaging the tech industry with all your petty squabbling.

Bickering was rife in the UK telecoms sector too, again preventing people from accessing genuinely necessary technologies.

Even though plenty of other nations are enjoying 4G right now, the UK won't get decent coverage until around 2017. This sluggish progress has come about partly thanks to operators squabbling over the 4G auction, which was due to take place at the start of next year, but has been delayed until the end of the 2012.

All this industry in-fighting only means rural areas will have to wait longer for superfast speeds.

O2 even went so far as to claim Ofcom's proposed auction was illegal under EU law, saying the floors designed to ensure at least four providers got some spectrum amounted to "state aid." Vodafone also raised issues with Ofcom's proposals, claiming the regulator was inadvertently guaranteeing 800MHz spectrum for Everything Everywhere in its desire to protect 3.

In the wonderful world of fibre, BT was accused by practically every other important ISP of charging too much for its wholesale infrastructure. Even after BT cut its prices, Geo Networks went ballistic, claiming the pricing of Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) had helped create a "non contestable" market.

All this industry in-fighting only means rural areas will have to wait longer for superfast speeds. Again, thanks guys.

Acquisition action

Rather than buck the trend and spend billions on research and development of fresh products, tech giants continued to acquire others for megalithic sums of money.

Google sealed the biggest deal of the year with its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, although many suspected the purpose of the deal was to gain a rather expensive patent war chest rather than mark any positive move into actually producing phones.

Many eyebrows were raised to the heavens when Microsoft confirmed the $8.5 billion purchase of Skype. Some saw it as another Ballmer balls-up, others a handy way for the Redmond giant to gain plenty of user data, whilst owning a rather popular product. Nothing will hide the fact that it bought a company with astronomic debt, however.

HP, in the midst of major turmoil, decided to splash a whopping $12 billion on British firm Autonomy. It formed part of major changes announced by Leo Apotheker which would have seen HP move away from the PC, tablet and smartphone space if the chief hadn't been shown the door just months later. With Meg Whitman now in charge, things are looking a little steadier, but 2011's been a chaotic one for HP.

As for Autonomy, we had to wave goodbye to one of Britain's finest IT vendors. In the face of vast sums of money, it seems UK firms are willing to sacrifice control over their businesses to Silicon Valley. Sad, really.

Nokia nightmare?

Another company staring endgame right in the face this year was Nokia. With sales dropping like Eddy the Eagle off an Alpine cliff, the proverbial excrement hit the fan when the Finnish phone maker said it just wasn't going to provide a full-year outlook as things had gotten so shaky.

In February, the company announced its partnership with Microsoft and in November the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 device appeared. The Lumia 800 received positive reviews, but one phone will not save Nokia's bacon. 2012 will really be the sink or swim year for the once-mighty mobile maker.

Not that Nokia was the only mobile firm standing on quicksand. RIM has had a torrid time too, posting a sharp drop in profit in December and delaying shipments of its QNX OS devices to late 2012. The company is also sitting on a tonne of unwanted PlayBooks, praying someone somewhere will make it cool. The iPad 2's popularity didn't do it many favours either.

RIM could only look on green with jealousy at Samsung, which became the number one smartphone seller on the planet, with Apple in second.

The social revolution

Few saw how much of an impact social networks would have on the world in 2011. The Arab Spring showed what could be done through cooperation and conviction, supported by collaborative web platforms.

That was something apparently lost on Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff, however, who spent much of his company's Dreamforce event proselytising about how businesses should take inspiration from the Arab Spring. He warned CEOs of a Corporate Spring, where workers might depose their leaders, although didn't seem worried about such an uprising in Salesforce.com.

Government goods

Whilst having to deal with the Leveson inquiry, strikes, riots and various Vince Cable gaffes, the Government also had to sort out its IT.

The G-Cloud was here, then it wasn't, then it was, then it was kind of there and now it definitely, definitely is real. For whatever reason, HP's MD told IT Pro[i/] the G-Cloud was being killed off, which the Government denied, although refused to use the name G-Cloud. It left us with a cloud strategy as clear as mud, although it appears plans are now finally moving on.

Francis Maude produced the official IT strategy, in which cloud and open source were key. Overall, it received a positive response but given the way in which Government plans tend to go rapidly downhill after they're announced, don't expect the slickest IT to appear in Whitehall anytime soon.

Security scares

A year wouldn't be complete without some major security scares. There were some massive breaches this year, with Sony and RSA suffering the worst.

After hackers hit the PlayStation Network and other Sony services, over 100 million customers saw their data compromised. The company finally got round to employing a chief information security officer this summer.

RSA had data on one of its security products put in danger after a nasty attack believed to come from a nation state. The SecureID information was later used to hit Government contractors, really proving how big a data breach fallout can be.

Goodbye, Steve

Despite the whirlwind of the past 12 months, in the tech world 2011 will be remembered largely as the last year of Steve Jobs' life. It should have been a chance for the community to drop their petty quarrels and look back at the life of one of the industry's most fascinating men. That opportunity was taken by some.

But many chose instead to polemicise, to make myopic claims about Jobs and his work. This was not limited to the anti-Apple brigade either.

That's chiefly why we will miss him. He was the biggest character the tech world has ever seen.

Some labeled the ex-Apple CEO as 'just a great marketer.' Others suggested he was a visionary, the creator of iconic products like the iPhone. Neither was right.

Jobs was evidently more than 'just' something. He was a complex man. Testament to this can be found in the sizable biography released just weeks after his death.

Yes, Jobs was a man who knew fine marketing. Sure, he led the company that produced great technology. But he was also a hugely capable CEO, a ruthless chief, a man who knew to surround himself with immensely talented people, an obsessive, disturbingly competitive, often seemingly heartless, often gloriously rude about competitors, and many, many more things.

That's chiefly why we will miss him. He was the biggest character the tech world has ever seen. And he leaves not just a gaping hole where his big personality once was, but one of the most important legacies left by any businessman in the past 50 years. Goodbye, Steve.

Apple has announced Arthur Levinson as the tech giant's chairman of the board, following the death of Steve Jobs.

Levinson is chairman of drug manufacturer Genentech and was co-lead director of Apple's board from 2005. He was also once on the board at Google.

"Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000," said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. "He has been our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders."

I am confident they have the leadership and vision to ensure Apple's continued momentum and success.

Levinson said he was "honoured" to be named chairman. "Apple is always focused on out-innovating itself through the delivery of truly innovative products that simplify and improve our lives, and that is something I am very proud to be a part of," he added.

Apple also confirmed the appointment of Bob Iger, president and CEO of Walt Disney, as a new Apple board member. Steve Jobs was also on the board of Walt Disney.

"Apple has achieved unprecedented success by consistently creating high quality, truly innovative products, and I am extremely pleased to join the board of such a wonderful company," Iger said.

"Over the years, I have come to know and admire the management team, now ably led by Tim Cook, and I am confident they have the leadership and vision to ensure Apple's continued momentum and success."

Never let it be said that IT Pro is afraid to combine Japanese haiku with rhyming couplets.

Jobs may be gone

His words live on

MPs conspire

Microsoft throws more money onto the fire

Let's start a war, start a nuclear war!

Steve Jobs may no longer be with us, but his actions and words still cast a long shadow. Snippets of his upcoming authorised biography continue to leak out. Apparently Jobs thought Bill Gates was "unimaginative" and that Barack Obama is heading towards a one-term presidency.

Most interesting of all for the tech industry is his thoughts on Android that he wasn't interested in a financial settlement with Google but wanted the search company to stop using what he saw as stolen Apple ideas in Android. These comments only confirm what we here at IT Pro suspected all along and means the patent war between Apple and Android licensees will only get even more bitter than it is already.

With all these juicy tidbits leaking out, will there be any point in buying the actual book?

Yes Minister

There are plenty of short-sighted, knee jerk reactionaries in this world, but none more so than politicians. We have nothing but thinly-veiled disdain for proposals that would crack down on anonymous online comments.

There are plenty of obnoxious, spam comments online, but this is going too far. Apart from a supposedly business-friendly government imposing more work on ISPs. Imposing restrictions on online communication in an era where that same communication has emboldened corporate whistleblowers, exposed political corruption and helped foster an Arab Spring seems erroneous at best and hopelessly corrupt and self-interested at worst. Well done guys, you deserve a slow handclap. Good job.

Courting is a tricky game

Either Yahoo is even more desperate than we thought, or there's a rumour-mongering analyst out there with a quirky sense of humour. First there was the news that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was relieved Microsoft didn't acquire Yahoo at the height of the credit crunch. Now there are rumours Microsoft could be doing the slow dance of love again, by forming a consortium to buy out the troubled internet company.

We're not sure which would be the least worst corporate buyout partner for Yahoo. Microsoft, a company losing vast sums of money in the hope of gaining market share in online services, or AOL, another struggling internet company.

Bring back Carol Bartz we say. She may not have fared too well during her reign at Yahoo, but at least she could put together a foul mouthed tirade at the drop of a hat. We'd pay good money to see Bartz and Ballmer duke it out. The confrontation would be like asking a gaggle of chimps to write Shakespeare noisy, smelly and ultimately futile.

The late Steve Jobs truly had it in for Google's Android operating system, saying he wanted to "destroy" the OS.

The Apple co-founder's biography, due out on Monday 24 October, has revealed how much Jobs hated Android, claiming it stole from iOS.

"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," Jobs said, according to extracts seen by the Associated Press.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Jobs even held meetings with Google's chairman Eric Schmidt, who was CEO at the time, with the Apple man saying he was not concerned about a financial settlement.

I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product.

"I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want," Jobs was believed to have told Schmidt.

Apple has been fighting numerous lawsuits with Google, mainly fighting Android through the latter's OEM partners.

The iPhone creator is involved in a particularly fierce patent war with Samsung, which has seen a number of the South Korean's products banned in certain countries.

Ballmer bashing

Microsoft chief executive (CEO) Steve Ballmer has done hit bit of Android bashing this week as well, according to reports.

Ballmer said Android was too complicated and quipped people needed to be "computer scientists" to figure out how to work the Google OS.

"You don't need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows phone and you do to use and Android phone," the CEO said, talking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

"It is hard for me to be excited about the Android phones."

Earlier this year, Google claimed a "hostile, organised campaign" was being waged against Android by firms including Microsoft and Apple.

Google is involved in numerous court cases involving Android, the most significant being with Oracle over use of Java in the mobile operating system's code.

Oracle reportedly wants to put a total block on Android sales, not just royalties. It would be a massive hit to Google if Oracle wins the case, due to take place later this year.

The death of Steve Jobs reminded us of the influence the man has had on the tech industry.

The announcement of the iPhone 4S was closely followed around the world and the news that some of Apple's smartphone rivals could be reorganising themselves is a reminder of just how much Jobs and his company have changed mobile phones.

Goodbye Mr Jobs

Even though Steve Jobs' battle with cancer has been public knowledge for years now, the news of his passing still caught all of us here at IT Pro off-guard. Even if you disagree with Apple's policies and have never bought an Apple product, Jobs' wide-ranging influence on the tech industry, and therefore society in general, is indisputable.

Jobs has received plaudits from rivals, such as Bill Gates, and admirers as well-known as President Obama. It's therefore difficult to pay tribute to the man without sounding repetitive. The words of John Perry Barlow sum up our feelings best: "the world just became a less interesting place."

Jobs is survived by his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children.

iPhone 4hisssssss

There's an old saying that you can't please everyone all of the time. Apple must know this more than most. Following fever-pitched speculation, the company unveiled its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S. As its name suggests the iPhone 4S is a revamped version of its predecessor, but with more powerful specifications and new software features such as the Siri voice recognition capabilities.

All of this wasn't enough to stem an unholy howl of moaning across the internet, presumably from people expecting a totally new iPhone 5. We don't have much sympathy for this whining and neither should Apple it isn't the job of any company to satisfy rumours and unfounded speculation.

Putting aside the easily discernable pattern of previous releases indicating that a new design would have to wait until 2012 and the fact that no company can bring out radically new versions of products every year, a user of China's Weibo microblogging service put it best: "If we can't show off with it, what's the point of buying one? Vain people don't care about features, they care about how it looks."

Shady deals in smoky back rooms

The success of upstarts like Apple and HTC in the smartphone market was always going to lead to consolidation amongst the also-rans at some point and that time may finally have arrived.

There's speculation that Vodafone is in talks to buy Blackberry maker RIM. Given the trend in recent years of power moving away from network operators to phone manufacturers, benefiting customers, the potential of this deal to halt that trend leaves us uneasy. Would a Vodafone-owned RIM would do anything to discourage the use of Blackberries amongst rioters and drug dealers? Not as long as they continue topping up, innit?

Meanwhile, there are reports that Sony could buy out Ericsson, effectively ending the Sony-Ericsson joint venture. Although this would be the end of an era for Ericsson which used to be a major manufacturer of phones in its own right, it makes sense for Sony to have more control in a critical and burgeoning market. Sony may already have signalled that it no longer has faith in the partnership as its Android tablets bear the Sony name, not Sony Ericsson.

It's all a bit like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. I wonder if the band music is still playing on their Zunes?

It's a sad day for the tech industry and world at large. Inspirational leader and tech visionary Steve Jobs has passed away, following a long battle with ill health.

He was only 56 but packed so much into his years, during his time at Apple and before. Tributes have poured in from around the world, with colleagues, peers and even competitors looking back on his career and honoring him.

He is a man who will be remembered by many for years to come and whose ideas will live on in those he worked with and the products he helped bring to fruition.

Here is a roundup of some of those tributes.

"No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve's death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much."

Tim Cook, Apple CEO

"May Steve rest in peace...He changed the worldmy world, your world, the entire world. His words to live by: "There must be a better way." You changed our lives, Steve, and you showed us that there is a better waywe will miss you."

Former chief Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki

"I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work."

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft

"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... For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

Bill Gates

"Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesnt just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement."

Dick Costello, CEO of Twitter

"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

"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 world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

US president Barack Obama

"Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. Again and again over the last four decades, Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people could even see the horizon."

Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg

Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, has died at the age of 56.

Tributes have been pouring in from around the globe, with US President Barack Obama saying the world had lost "a visionary."

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said he would miss Jobs "immensely," adding the man who created Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 had a "profound impact on the tech world."

Apple's homepage simply contains a picture of Jobs, accompanied by his name and living years (1955-2011).

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the company said on a special page dedicated to Jobs.

"Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

The early years

Jobs did not have a typical American childhood. Born in 1955 to university students Joanne Schieble and Syrian-born Abdulfattah Jandali, Jobs was immediately put up for adoption and was subsequently taken in by a Californian couple.

He went on to enjoy a diverse adolescence, in which he had a summer job at HP and later went on to work at Atari, where his precocious talents matured.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.

After dropping out of college to travel to India where he would adopt Buddhism as his main religion something that would shape his philosophy for the rest of his life he founded Apple with school friend Wozniak in 1976. The first Apple computer was released that year.

The man who made Apple

Despite being thrown out of his own company in 1985, Jobs continued to influence the technological world. He established his own computer company NeXT, the technology of which would form the foundation of the Mac OS X. In 1986, he bought animation giant Pixar.

Ten years later, Apple welcomed him back amidst serious financial troubles and, in 1997, he became CEO. After that, he led Apple to become the hugely successful company it is now.

He oversaw the creation of now iconic devices, including the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, as well as the massively popular range of iMacs and MacBooks.

The company now has an estimated market value of 227 billion and is the world's most valuable technology company.

Jobs became the face of Apple, presenting all the company's major launch events in his charismatic style.

His management style epitomised control. Tales of Jobs walking out halfway through interviewing job candidates or telling employees their work was not good enough within minutes of seeing it have become the thing of legend.

He was criticised by some for enforcing the so-called "walled garden" approach at Apple, making it more difficult for developers to get their apps on the App Store.

Yet Apple has gained millions upon millions of fans, leading some to compare the company to a cult.

Ill health

Jobs has suffered from health problems since 2004, when he announced he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

In 2009, he had a liver transplant and took medical leave. He returned to the company only to take another leave at the start of 2011.

Although he was on hand to introduce the iPad 2 in March, he resigned as CEO in August, handing over the reins to the then COO Tim Cook.

August used to be the quiet season for journalists, where nothing of any great importance happened and only daft stories appeared on the scene making it the traditional 'silly season'. Someone forgot to tell Silicon Valley though, as this has been one of the most eventful Augusts that we can remember.

I'm a rocket man!

The big news of the week is that Steve Jobs is stepping down as CEO of Apple - the company he co-founded and helped save from oblivion.

Apart from the obvious ponderings on the challenges facing his successor, former Apple COO Tim Cook, we've been thinking over the coverage of Jobs' resignation by other media outlets.

Given Jobs' well-known health problems, many stories have assumed he is stepping down due to a worsening in his condition and therefore taken on almost obituary-like headlines and tones .We think it's morbidly unnecessary and lacking in compassion, consideration and sympathy which everyone deserves, whether you like them or not.

Commence waffling

Last week's big news was HP's announcement that it was shutting down its webOS hardware division and looking to spin off or sell its personal computer business, the Personal Systems Group. Paul Hunter, the head of HP's UK Personal Systems Group, issued a rather belated statement to the press almost a week later. Here are some excerpts with our own emphasis added.

"Let me be absolutely clear in saying that at no stage has HP said it is quitting the PC business. Three options are being investigated, and whether the company is spun off, sold or kept in the HP portfolio, the team in the UK remains committed to creating and supporting great products and services...

...Obviously the announcement has raised a number of questions outside those mentioned above. We are still working through some of these, but I wanted to try and address as many as I could."

I feel rather sorry for Mr. Hunter, who is a rather nice chap, since his hands must be tied by his American overlords. '...raised a number of questions' must be one of the understatements of the year and surely answers need to be forthcoming pretty sharpish when HP's share price is now almost 32 per cent lower compared to a month ago.

Especially when not even Samsung, which barely has a desktop PC business, doesn't want to buy you.

There will be no whitewash in Whitehall

In the wake of the recent riots that blighted London and other major cities which were organised in part using social networks and Blackberry Messenger, the Coalition Government considered passing laws to enable it to shut down social networks in emergencies. The plans were rightly condemned by civil liberties groups over how such powers could be abused.

Thankfully, after meeting with Facebook, Twitter and RIM representatives, the Government has decided not to pursue its initial plans. Good thing too, otherwise it would have had to ban other subversive forms of communication that could be used to spread disorder, such as talking, winking and giving someone a dirty look.

COMMENT For those of us accustomed to Apple as it now - one of the world's largest, most profitable and most influential technology companies - it's hard to imagine what it was like immediately before Steve Jobs returned to the company in late 1996.

The company was suffering severe financial losses as its muddled line of beige Macs was reduced to single digit market share of a personal computer market dominated by Windows PCs. Attempts at new products, such as the Newton, were ill-conceived and poorly received. Rumours of a takeover were rampant involving suitors as diverse as Oracle, Sun, IBM and Sony.

It's a big mock turtleneck jumper to fill.

In retrospect, the key to Apple's recovery lay in two things: Steve Jobs himself and the technology Apple acquired when it bought his failed computer company NeXT. The classic MacOS was antiquated and ill-equipped for modern computing, while Apple's own attempts to develop a replacement burned through money with little to show for it.

The NeXT OpenStep OS would be overhauled to become its replacement Mac OS X. In addition to being a critical component of all modern Macs, OS X would also form the basis of iOS the operating system behind the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and the current AppleTV.

The influence of Jobs himself is easy to exaggerate. But nor should it be cast aside. As a single person, Jobs obviously couldn't have worked on every single aspect of all of the key products released during his reign, from the various iPods and iPhones to the iTunes Store, yet each bear his unmistakable influence. None of them were innovations in themselves - MP3 players, smartphones and online music stores all existed before their arrival.

Each creation dramatically reinvented each of their respective product categories through better industrial design and ease of use with as much emphasis on what's missing as what is included. For example, unlike some competing MP3 players, the iPod doesn't allow users to edit ID3 tags or delete music. What it loses in flexibility, it makes up for in a much simpler and arguably more elegant user experience. One that continues to be copied to this day.

This is even more dramatically illustrated in the iMac, Apple's leading line of consumer desktop computers. The original iMac launched back in 1998 with a striking appearance. Just as importantly, it did away with floppy drives and all of the Mac's legacy ports at the time. This was merely the start of a pattern that continues now with the DVD-less MacBook Air - deliberately removing what is seen as obsolete technologies, even if the rest of the industry is reluctant to follow suit.

This minimalism is due in no small part to Jobs' own ideas and preferences on what technology should be like. It's no surprise that Apple's computers following Jobs' return look and work less like the classic Macs made before his second tenure and more like the NeXT Cube computers made by NeXT.

Apple obviously isn't just a collection of technologies and products it's also an organisation of people and processes. Jonathan Ives, now Apple's vice president of industrial design, was already a mid-level employee before Jobs' return but had relatively little influence. Upon his return, Jobs soon formed a close working relationship with the quiet Brit and the beige, boxy towers of the old Apple were soon phased out in favour of Ives' curvy and colourful - and later sleek - minimalist designs.

Throughout the 1990s Apple had trouble getting third-party retailers to stock and promote its products. Jobs circumvented this not only by concentrating on online sales, but also by opening Apple's own chain of retail stores.

The architecturally striking stores were masterminded not just by Jobs, but also by former Target retail chief Ron Johnson who apparently had been handpicked by Jobs. Initially derided by critics as an expensive experiment doomed to failure, the stores are not only financially successful, but a crucial component of Apple's attempts to control its public image. A major Apple product launch now isn't complete without images of customers lining up outside Apple Stores all over the world many of whom will return for the free Wi-Fi and technical support.

All of Apple's products may be marked as 'Designed by Apple in California', but they're also 'assembled in China'. Jobs' choice of Tim Cook as his chief operating officer, a former Compaq executive, turned out to be critically important. Indeed, Cook has been instrumental in securing favourable long-term contracts with component suppliers and outsourced manufacturers.

Apple now gets priority access to Asia's manufacturing lines and the world's supply of flash memory, LCD screens and other important parts, giving it huge economies of scale to the detriment of its competitors who are left scrabbling for alternatives. Compared to the handful of bespoke American factories Apple maintained before Jobs' return, it's a remarkable difference.

Tim Cook now steps up to take Jobs' role as Apple CEO and his allegedly cool, measured manner will stand in marked contrast to Jobs' famously fierce and mercurial temperament. Unlike his first departure back in 1985, Jobs is more or less stepping down on his own terms with his chosen successor in place. Cook will have to continue what Jobs started by maintaining and expanding Apple's strong positions in the smartphone and tablet markets. He'll also have the chance to make his own mark first of all by appointing a replacement for the recently departed Howard among others.

It's a big mock turtleneck jumper to fill.

ANALYSIS Taking over a company which is richer than the US Government must be a fairly daunting task.

It's one that Tim Cook is facing as of today. Now Steve Jobs has gone, Cook has some pretty big shoes/shiny white trainers to fill.

For those wondering whether Cook has the acumen to maintain Apple's place at the top of the consumer tech world, quite simply, he does.

Having been acting CEO during Jobs' previous time outs, Apple has continued to grow into even more of an indomitable behemoth. The company's recent results showed just how well the firm has done under the leadership of Cook. In what can only be described as a spectacular second quarter, Apple saw a 93 per cent rise in profits.

Steve Jobs has provided both strategic vision and personal leadership...Tim Cook will not step easily into either of these roles, as a safe pair of hands but hardly a visionary or a charismatic figure.

Even before those stellar results, Cook proved himself more than capable of leading the iPhone creator. The year he joined Apple, the company reported a $1 billion loss. By the following year, thanks to Cook's improvements to operational efficiencies amongst other factors, the company was in profit. He went on to become chief operating officer (COO) during the company's years of growth throughout the 2000s.

It would be unwise to suggest Jobs is completely out of the picture, even though he will step away from the limelight. His influence will no doubt be felt in the coming years until he completely resigns from his role as chairman.

Nevertheless, Cook will have to do a few things to ensure he isn't responsible for any mishaps. At Apple, being number one is the only option. Here's five ways Cook can help ensure it remains there...

1. Become the rockstar

PR is something Apple has become awfully adept at over the past decade. Steve Jobs was part of that PR beast, the figurehead and the rockstar who became synonymous with the company and what it stood for. Some believe Cook will find it hard to keep that part of Apple alive.

"Steve Jobs has provided both strategic vision and personal leadership at the top of the company, as arguably the most visible and well-known CEO of any technology company today," said Ovum chief analyst Jan Dawson.

"Tim Cook will not step easily into either of these roles, as a safe pair of hands but hardly a visionary or a charismatic figure."

Cook, who is known primarily as a supply chain master, would do well to become one of the rockstars of Silicon Valley. Although doing so in a non-cringing way will be harder to do than many would expect. Perhaps bringing in another one of Apple's star players, such as Jonathan Ives, to become the face of the company might be a better option.

2. Appear to be first to market

Despite what Apple may want you to believe, it hasn't always been the first to new markets. It didn't create the first smartphone, nor did it produce the first tablet.

What has done is create products that were of such high quality, and were advertised so well, that it seemed like Apple was first to market. Then the wannabes followed, as we now see with the abundance of iPhone and iPad look-alikes flooding the market. All that did was entrench Apple's position as leader.

Cook has to continue this form. With competitors starting to realise that following Apple rather than innovating isn't the best way to operate right now (look at Windows Phone 7 as an example of how to create a more unique mobile OS), Cook will want to ensure the iPad maker isn't left looking like a copycat itself.

One repeated criticism of Apple has been its lack of openness, its so-called "walled garden" approach. This manifested itself in the battle with Adobe and the lack of compatibility between Flash and iOS.

There are some areas where Cook would be wise to open up, however. In particular, Apple will have to keep developers interested.

"As they move forward, Apple will have to open up elements but not so they spoil what they've got," Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at Quocirca, told IT Pro.

"They have to define the layers where they allow open connections to stimulate the ecosystem. They don't want to make developers feel hamstrung. Perhaps they will want to look at APIs and how much they take from developers' share of sales."

4. Keep it simple, keep it quality

Apple's rise relied heavily on having a slim lineup of products, none of which were really aimed at the lower-end of the market. As time has gone on, Apple has entered new markets, most recently with the iCloud. Up until now, every move Apple has made into a new space has been an astute one.

Recent rumours of an entry-level iPhone will be cause for concern amongst some, however. If Apple does diversify into new areas, it will not only risk its image as a company which values quality over quantity, it will be pandering to the market something it has never openly done. Would it be a mistake to introduce a low-end phone?

"It would be a mistake if it was just regarded as a cheaper version of the iPhone," Bamforth said. "It would have to be a new category device, not a cheaper iPhone lookalike. Consumers can find those elsewhere."

Jobs was known as the man who took on Wintel and won with his own brand of simple, workable, classy technology. Cook will want to continue in that vein, otherwise Apple won't appear to be as unique or as powerful as it does.

5. Keep the A team together

Despite Jobs' evident impact on Apple and its success, Cook was proof having the right team in place is vital to any company wanting to become a real force.

There are some big names who will need to be kept on board, including Scott Forstall, the force behind iOS, and marketing man Phil Schiller.

Jonathan Ive will truly be key. The British designer behind some of Apple's most significant technologies the iPhone being one will be invaluable as the tech giant looks to keep ahead of the curve.

Cook will have to find a top quality COO too one with the same passion for operational efficiency and supply chain management that the new CEO has evinced since 1997.

If Cook can do all this and more, Apple will be just fine. More than that, it'll ensure the firm remains insanely profitable and a true innovator something Steve Jobs always wanted.

Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive of tech giant Apple, with former chief operating officer Tim Cook being named as his successor.

No reason was given for the departure of one of the most prominent figures in the tech industry. However, Jobs did say he wants to remain involved with Apple as a director and employee.

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' health has been much debated of late - he took a second leave of absence on medical grounds back in January this year. The resignation may once again stir up such discussion.

In a letter addressed to the Apple board and community, Jobs said: "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.

"I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."

What we say...

"Steve Jobs stepping down from Apple is akin to Sir Alex Ferguson quitting Manchester Utd. Jobs hasn't just created one of the world's biggest tech firms, he's led Apple to become richer than the US Government.

The 56-year-old hasn't always been the most popular CEO in the tech industry, however. Nevertheless, you get the feeling even the anti-Apple brigade will be sad to see the turtleneck and jean combo disappear from the limelight."

Tom Brewster, Senior Staff Writer

Cook - an Apple veteran with 13 years of service thus far - takes over the reins just as the company is rumoured to be readying the next generation versions of its flagship devices - like the iPhone 5 and iPad 3. He stood in for Jobs during his last period of time off.

"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, chairman of Genentech, on behalf of the Apple board of directors.

"Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

Apple's iPhone is a dominating force in the world of mobile. Arguably unrivalled, the handset has become the accessory of the decade and is loved by business users and consumers alike.

Today marks a year since the UK release of the most up-to-date of the handset family, the iPhone 4. Unveiled by Apple's chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs at 2010's WWDC event, it was touted as "the biggest leap since the original iPhone" along with claims of being the thinnest smartphone in the world.

The usual hoopla exploded on the streets of the UK when it launched 12 months ago, with hundreds queuing at London's flagship Regent Street store alone.

Apple claimed to have sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s globally in the first three days, forcing Jobs to apologise to customers who were turned away when stocks ran out.

But, despite the killer sales figures at the start, it has not been entirely smooth sailing for the device.

The iPhone 4 was plagued by the death grip' saga from the beginning. A large number of users experienced signal problems on their devices, which Apple initially claimed could be fixed by a firmware update it was prepared to rush out.

However, the Cupertino company changed its tune, claiming it was caused by the way people held their phones, blocking the antenna running around the edge of the smartphone.

Free bumper cases were offered to customers as a fix but it left a nasty taste in the mouths of those who had paid out significant money for what was meant to be a top of the range device.

Yet, even with its controversy, it is the best selling iPhone so far and, unlike its predecessors, has not yet been replaced with an updated model. How long will its reign continue?

Do you have an iPhone 4? How do you feel about the device a year on? Let us know at comments@itpro.co.uk.

Further reading on iPhone 4:

iPhone 4 review

Need to Know: iPhone 4

What makes the iPhone a business phone?

Head to Head: iPhone 4 vs Windows Phone 7 vs Android

Apple chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs has proposed plans for a giant new headquarters.

The iPhone maker has bought an old HP property and some adjacent land, overall measuring in at around 150 acres, Jobs revealed on Tuesday.

Apple's current HQ can cater for around 2,600 to 2,800 workers but the company has far more employees working in Cupertino, Jobs said.

"We've got almost 12,000 people in the area, so we're renting buildings, not very good buildings either, at an ever greater radius from our campus," Jobs told the Cupertino City Council.

"It's clear that we need to build a new campus. That doesn't mean we don't need the one we've got, we do need it, but we need another one to augment it."

The building forms a ring shape with a courtyard in the middle.

On showing the graphic for what the building would look like from the air, Jobs said it was "a little like a spaceship landed."

"There's not a straight piece of glass in this building," Jobs added.

"We want to break ground next year and we want to move in by 2015."

He told the council Apple planned to have the carpark based underground, meaning more tress could be planted.

Apple wants to almost double the number of trees on the site from 3,700 to 6,000.

The announcements came a day after Apple unveiled iOS 5, the iCloud and Mac OS X Lion.

Silicon investment

Outside of investing in property, Apple has also been spending heavily on silicon.

According to research released this week, in 2010 the Cupertino firm became the largest buyer of semiconductors among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for the first time ever.

Apple bought $17.5 billion (10.7 billion) worth of semiconductors, a 79.6 percent increase from $9.7 billion in 2009 in that year, HIS iSuppli said.

"Apple's surge to leadership in semiconductor spending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the iPhone and the iPad," said Wenlie Ye, analyst for IHS.

"These products consume enormous quantities of NAND flash memory, which is also found in the Apple iPod. Because of this, Apple in 2010 was the world's number one purchaser of NAND flash."

Apple has unveiled its iCloud service, constituting a total of nine apps, the iPhone and iPad maker said during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2011) today.

Users will be able to access the cloud service once they get their hands on iOS 5, due out in autumn, although developers can play around with it from today.

iCloud will be available for free on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 5 or a Mac running Mac OS X Lion, so users of previous operating systems will miss out. It will be turned on by default once users enter their Apple ID and password.

iCloud is essentially designed to help users sync their files across differing Apple devices, with plenty of automation.

This includes calendar and contact information, so the same data appears on different Apple devices. The same goes for Mail, as users' inbox and folders will all be kept up to date across devices.

"Some people think the cloud is a hard disk in the sky. We think it's way more than that. We call it iCloud," said Apple chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs.

App Store addition

Jobs returned from medical leave to uncloak more significant iCloud additions, including integration with the App Store.

A download from cloud' button lets users get hold of their apps across devices, meaning applications are not limited to one Apple product. The same goes for iBooks.

Jobs unveiled wireless backup to the cloud as well. Using the so-called iCloud Storage, Apple will backup users' important content to the cloud once every day.

As an example, if users get a new phone, perhaps having lost another, they can hook up to the cloud and get all their data back just by typing in their password.

Documents

In a move that will up the ante in its competitive battle with Google, Apple introduced Documents in the Cloud.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote files will now be automatically moved to the cloud. These documents will then be pushed to each device a user runs the productivity apps on.

"A lot of us have been working for 10 years to get rid of the file system so the user didn't have to worry about it," Jobs said.

"When teaching how to use a computer, everything goes fine until you hit the file system. So we made it so you don't have to think about it."

Users will receive 5GB of free cloud storage for Mail, document storage and backup.

A third data centre

To accommodate its cloudy needs, Jobs confirmed Apple has completed its third data centre.

"If you don't think we're serious about this, you're wrong. This is our third data centre that we just completed It's rather large," Jobs said, claiming it was an eco-friendly centre.

Apple has invested over $500 million (306 million) in the new data centre in Maiden, North Carolina.

Apple has uncloaked its iOS 5 operating system for iPhone and iPad users, with 1,500 new APIs and over 200 new features.

Developers can get their hands on iOS 5 in beta form from today to start creating apps, although general availability will not be until autumn, Apple revealed during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco today.

As many expected it would, Apple has made some changes to notifications on the OS. In particular it has introduced the Notification Centre, where users will find all of their notifications in one place.

Notifications no longer interrupt apps either, instead appearing at the top of the screen, meaning users can simply swipe down if they wish to view the note.

The lock screen also shows all missed notifications with icons. From that screen, users can slide a finger across a notification to go straight to the related app.

Single sign-on with Twitter means user just log in once and then tweet from all Twitter-enabled apps, such as Photos, Camera, Safari, YouTube and Maps.

The Newsstand addition, meanwhile, has placed subscription magazines in one place within the iBooks store. Once any of them are downloaded, they are placed in the Newsstand app.

Safari updates

Within Safari, Apple has introduced Reader, which takes out all advertisements and leaves the user with just the images and words they want to look at.

A Reading List in the browser syncs with all iOS devices as well as Safari on Mac and Windows, meaning users can go back save articles so they can be read later on different devices.

Tab browsing has arrived on iOS 5's Safari as well. Before tabs were seen only as minimised thumbnails, instead of traditional desktop-style tabs. That has now been rectified.

The new Reminders feature is basically like a to-do list, but with geolocation features. It can notify users of an event depending on their location.

"All of us are constantly creating list of things some have times, places associated with them. Let's get rid of all these scraps of paper and store on the phone," said Scott Forstall, senior vice president for iPhone software at Apple.

Getting visual

With the camera, iOS 5 now lets users go straight to taking snaps without having to fully unlock their device. Users can now pinch to zoom within their iPhone or iPad camera as well, whilst the volume up button can be used to take a photo.

iOS 5 includes an updated Mail app too with improved security, in particular support for S/MIME services. As an example, if an e-mail is encrypted over S/MIME, a lock icon will show next to the recipient's name in the to' bar.

A split keyboard can be initiated by a user if they wish to type with their thumbs rather than fingers. Whenever you change to this option, it will remain across apps.

Post-PC world

There is now no need to hook up iPads and iPhones to computers anymore, as Apple has made software upgrades all over the internet.

"We're living in a post-PC world. We're ushering it in. People want iPads and iPhones as their only devices," Forstall said.

"Now you take the iPhone out of the box and you just see a giant Welcome."

The new iMessage app supplements the old SMS/MMS app and now works on iPads and iPod Touches, meaning Apple users can communicate with one another across devices, rather than just being limited to their iPhones.

Messages can be sent either over 3G or Wi-Fi, with all data transmitted being encrypted.

Apple fans around the world wait for this week with bated breath, as the company gathers developers at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco and unveils its latest technology.

With iOS 5 and the iCloud sure bets, what other tricks will Steve Jobs have up his sleeve during his keynote?

19:59 And that is all you are getting guys! Are you pleased with what you have heard? Anything you hoped for but didn't get? Let us know at comments@itpro.co.uk. Have a good evening!

19:57 But where are you going to store all this data Mr Jobs? Well, he reminds us Apple has just built a whopping great data centre and it is ready for the iCloud.

19:56 The selling point, says Jobs, is how quickly it will happen - "minutes, not weeks."

19:54 iTunes Match: It will scan your music, match it with those in the iTunes store and offer you what you get with bought music. As ace as this may sound, it will charge you $24.99 a year though. Worth it guys?

19:53 So, what is the 'ONE MORE THING!'

19:51 By entering your Apple ID and password once you have downloaded iOS 5, iCloud will be be switched on. 5GB free for mail, documents and backup. Developers again can get their hands on the beta today.

19:49 All the apps in the iCloud are free ladies and gents! Yes, our freebie excitement is kicking off again.

19:44 Any songs downloaded from iTunes can be swapped between your devices for free and Automatic Downloads will send every song you download to all the Apple devices you own.

19:43And what all the music buffs were waiting for - iTunes in the cloud.

19:42 Right, Apple will store the last 1,000 photos you take for 30 days until you move them into an album. Not sounding quite so swish now.

19:39 Photo Stream will save your pics up in the cloud and allow you to view them anywhere. Hmmm. Does Facebook maybe have that covered? However, it does have Apple TV built-in. Remember how excited we all were about Apple TV a few months ago?

19:36 Here comes some iCloud Storage APIs. Developers are getting a little overexcited now. As well as working on iOS devices, it will also work on Macs and PCs.

19:32 Now for us business types, Documents in the Cloud... Pages, Numbers and Keynote all stored into the cloud and accessible by any devices with Pages installed. Roger Rosner takes to the stage for a quick demo.

19:31 We know that you know the importance of back=up. Seems Apple does too now. iCloud will enable your device to wirelessly back-up once a day and a password will allow you to access all your info if you upgrade to a new device.

19:29 Some more apps for the cloud? Ok then! First off in the app store, there will be a "download from cloud" option allowing all previous apps to move onto any future Apple purchases you buy.

19:28 MobileMe drops from $99 to... Free! Sorry for the '!' we just like freebies...

19:27 The phrase Jobs keeps using is 'it just works.' Funny that more will believe him than all the existing cloud providers...

19:26He claims all the applications Apple uses have been built from scratch with the cloud in mind, with calendars and contacts synced automatically from creation.

19:25 MobileMe is mentioned in passing but Jobs claims the company has learned from its mistakes.

19:24 The iCloud has landed. Jobs claims the key is everything happening automatically and integrated with all the apps.

19:23 He admits the ongoing syncing is frustrating and "driving us crazy" so, how do we solve it? Use the iPhone, iPad et al as a device and push everything else into the cloud.

19:22 Here comes the iCloud: "PC will be the digital hub fo your digital life."

19:21 Yay! Jobsy is back onstage!

19:18 iPad users can now use AirPlay to transmit to their TVs wirelessly. Nice. These are the headline features of iOS5 but much more in the batch of 200! Developers get a seed today, but what about consumers? Autumn. For 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 & 2 and iPod Touch 3rd generation onwards.

19:14 iMessages to take on BlackBerry Messenger! Everything encrypted and everything sendable over Wi-Fi or 3G!

19:12Achievement points to compare you to your gaming buddies (PS3 trophy anyone?), addition of photos and friend recommendations.

19:11 There is some of the work, now how about the play? Games Center. First off a dig at Microsoft, comparing its 30 million users in eight years to Games Center's 50 million in nine months. Ouch.

19:10 Updates can be done over the air now rather than lots of faffing with wires. This gets a big tick from us.

19:09 Apple is pushing for a PC free world. Ummm...

19:07 We all liked the look of a split keyboard on the upcoming Windows 8 OS. Seems iOS got there first with its own version.

19:06 Yay, a built-in dictionary for mail! Now we can understand what the hell Tom Brewster is talking about...

19:03 iOS 5 Mail will bring rich text, new search features and S/MIME support for encrypted business email.

19:02 You can use the volume buttons to take snaps and then edit them straight from your mobile device.

19:00 Now for camera improvements... Much faster is the claim, along with a lock screen shortcut, even bypassing passcodes (albeit only for a few snaps).

18:59 Our scatterbrain staff writer could do with this. Reminders! Storing needed dates, shopping lists etc in one easy place.

18:57 Wow, they have finally brought tab browsing to the iOS version of Safari. Again, Opera has been doing this for how long? Oh well, better late than never...

18:55 Safari new features now. First up is Reader, pulling in all the pages of a story you are reading online and stopping you having to click through.

18:54 Pleased with the Twitter integration but can't help but think it is present in a lot of other OS' already. How does Apple make their users feel so spoilt when it has fallen behind with this one?

18:53 You can also sync up your contacts with friend's @names.

18:51 So, we were waiting for improved Twitter and now we have got it. It is finally included into all the apps with location brought in as well.

18:49 Next is a feature called "News Stand." With all the subscriptions Apple houses for news outlets, it seems sensible to bring

them together. Not only as an app on your phone, but to help you locate new ones to download in the App Store. Not thrilling but useful.

18:46 Our Reviews Editor now has a smile on his face, he got it right that Apple would change Notifications! Rather than interrupting you as they do now, a graphic will come down from the top of the screen (hints of Android here) and let you know, then all Notifications will be stored on the lock screen. No missing a Twitter mention again!

18:45 200 new features for iOS including 1,500 new APIs for developers. Obviously that big cheque isn't enough to satisfy!

18:43 Developers want to be shown the money? Well, Apple brings up a cheque on screen claiming it has given out $2.5 billion to them.

18:42 You can't deny the impressive app download figures though, 14 billion in under three years.

18:40 Now onto the mobile version, iOS 5. As ever, we start with some figures. Scott Forstall tells us 200 million iOS based devices sold so far, including 25 million iPads.

Also the iOS claims to have 44 per cent market share... We have not had a collective "hmmmmmmm" in the office...

18:39 The file will only be a 4GB download. Developers can get their mitts on it today but customers will have to hold out until July.

18:38 Collective wow in the office. Mac OS X: Lion only $29!

18:37 Other Mac OS X: Lion features will also include built in FaceTime and 3,000 APIs. ONLY available in the Mac App Store. No wonder it is so popular...

18:35 Oh, only 10 features being focused on in the keynote *breathes sigh of relief* but don't worry, we will bring you more as we discover them.

18:33 Along with better search functionality, it allows for "conversation view" to track the back and forth in one consecutive line. Again, much more similar to a mobile OS mail system.

18:32 New mail now looking incredibly like the iPad mail app. Plenty of ooos and aaaahs.

18:29 AirDrop plans on ending the reliance on USB sticks with a P2P network to transfer files. Little pictures of other users appear on your screen. You can then drag the file over the picture, drop it and if you click you are sure to send it, it will arrive in the user's downloads folder.

18:28 Ah, auto-saving does seem to be working a treat on the demo. Everything stays the same as when you exit. Nifty.

18:25 Oooo Twitter fans, Craig is on stage talking about Twitter! Integration coming up?

18:23 Next up, Versions. Common sense really. The OS only stores the changes you make to a document, rather than the whole file over again. Much more streamlined technology.

18:22 Feature seven goes to auto-save. Does what it says on the tin. Everyone seems more interested in whether Schiller will go through the whole 250 features!

18:21 Launchpad making Lion look more and more like the mobile iOS with folders and gesturing. Well, if you get it right with one...

18:20[/]In-app purchasing now available. I see those credit card bills mounting...

18:18 Now Schiller talks about the Mac App Store, launched back in January. He claims it has become the number one PC channel for software purchasing, beating Best Buy, Walmart and Office Depot. What, no PC World?

18:17 Spaces in Mission Control allow you to drag apps and rearrange the how you see fit, or delete them off your screen. Great control.

18:16 Face detection for Photo Booth? Definitely a nice toy to play with.

18:14 The swiping feature is pretty cool, very smooth...

18:12 The idea of Mission Control is to show you everything you are working on and that you have open "with one swipe."

18:11 Everything has gone a bit space age with the announcement of Mission Control...

18:10Full screen apps will become available which can be swiped off the screen.

18:09 Oh, and don't forget the new scroll bar too!

18:08 First key feature, new multi-touch gesture capabilities with the pinch and zoom familiar from Apple's mobile products.

18:07 This is Phil Schiller talking now. He says there are 250 new features in Mac OS X: Lion.

18:05 Wow, Jobs claims there are 54 million active Mac users globally. How about them Apples!

18:04 Confirmation from Jobs that he will be talking about iOS 5, Lion for Macs and "some interesting cloud stuff"

18:03 Awww, a nice apology from Jobs for all those who couldn't be there. Well, if 5,200 tickets sell out in less than two hours it is no surprise!

18:02 Steve Jobs is onstage!

18:01 James Brown "I feel good" theme music, hope Jobs is!

17:59 The warnings ring out the event is about to start and to turn devices to silent. Wonder how many people are hiding Android handsets in their pockets...

17:53 We are told 4,000 can get into the keynote theatre, although 5,000 have tickets for WWDC. Also, the first developer was queuing since 1:30am! Apple dedication right there...

17:48 Good evening guys! So, the moment is almost here. Steve Jobs returns from sick leave to make a stream of Apple announcements at the WWDC conference in San Francisco. What are you hoping to hear about?

Apple has sold a massive 15 million iPads in just nine months, according to the company's chief executive (CEO).

At a launch event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs revealed the massive sales figure as a preamble to the launch of the second version, the iPad 2 - follow our live blog here.

He also claimed this was over 90 per cent of tablet market share and had generated $9.5 billion in revenue for the company.

The money is in the apps though and Jobs' figures didn't disappoint.

Along with the vast amount of hardware sold, he claimed there were now 65,000 iPad apps available to download.

Overall, Jobs said there were 200 million iTunes accounts now active and devlopers had been paid a massive $2 billion for their efforts.

Despite rumours of delays, Apple will release the iPad 2 on 2 March.

So claims a report by Reuters, which - citing sources close to the matter - said Apple will hold an event on that date to show off the second iteration of the world's best-selling tablet, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source rubbished suggestions the device release had been pushed back to June.

The news comes just days after a Taiwanese brokerage firm claimed the iPad 2 would be delayed due to manufacturing issues.

Subsequently, Apple shares fell by three per cent.

Tim Cook, chief operating office of Apple, will most likely take to the stage in Steve Jobs' absence to introduce the next iPad.

Jobs recently announced he would be taking medical leave, saying he hoped to be back as soon as possible.

This year will see a host of tablets hit the market, including Samsung's new Galaxy tab, which some analysts believe will offer genuine competition to the iPad.

"Taken as a whole, shipments of Samsung's Android tablets look set to give the iPad a strong run in terms of overall volumes over the course of 2011 and will help cement the Korean vendor's status as the second-ranked supplier of "lite OS" mobile internet devices moving forward unless another vendor proves itself capable of delivering similar devices to multiple segments," said Tony Cripps, principal analyst at Ovum.

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1's high specification and larger size should see it tapping into different market segments to both the original Galaxy Tab and Apple's iPad."

Read on for our look at what the iPad 2 could offer business users.

Apple has appointed former National Security Agency analyst and notable author David Rice as the company's global director of security, according to various reports.

Rice will make the move across from the US Cyber Consequences Unit, a technology policy think tank, where he was director of policy reform.

He made a name for himself in the wider security community when his book Geekonomics was released, focusing on securing software infrastructure.

Rice is also an executive director of consulting organisation the Monterey Group, whilst being a member of IT security research body IANS.

Furthermore, he is a master's degree graduate in information warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Rice is expected to take on the role as soon as March.

Apple no doubt wants to improve the security on both software and devices.

The company has seen a raft of security software vendors introduce apps for the iPhone, helping the device gain a foothold in the corporate environment, according to a recent report.

Meanwhile, Mac threats were seen increasing again in 2010, a recent report from Intego discovered.

In particular, a Mac version of the Koobface worm was spotted last year, as well as a piece of malware called HellRTS, which opened a backdoor to allow remote users to take control of infected Macs.

Elsewhere, Apple will be looking to ensure it has a solid team-base after chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs revealed he was to take a leave of absence to look after his health.

The past week has been full of intrigue as a pair of big-name Silicon Valley companies experience a slight changing of the guard in the corridors of power. On the other side of the world, new revelations emerge about the Stuxnet virus that struck the Iranian nuclear program.

Trouble at the top!

Last week AMD CEO Dirk Meyer left the processor and graphics card company under a cloud. This week it's the turn of both Apple and Google to tinker about with senior management.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has taken another medical leave of absence from the company he helped found. The reasons behind Jobs' latest sabbatical are unclear, but he has survived pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

Although most pundits agree that Jobs has left an experienced and seasoned team of senior executives in charge, the ITPRO office is divided between those who believe a sick man deserves his privacy and those who think that a corporate executive who rescued his company from oblivion should be as upfront as possible with his shareholders.

Meanwhile, Google CEO Eric Schmidt surprised just about everyone by announcing he's stepping aside in favour of company co-founder Larry Page. Schmidt says he's staying on to advise the company as executive chairman, but we wouldn't be surprised if he's already headed off to Thailand to 'find himself' (use Bing Maps, it's quicker) or started punting for job offers on Twitter.

Netbooks are great. Please believe us.

Good news everyone! Netbooks are still very, very important! Taiwanese computer giant Acer was eager to let the world know that it will carry on making netbooks even as it plans to release a smrgsbord of tablets.

In other news, McDonald's announces that it will continue producing Big Macs as sales of Chicken McNuggets and salads take off, while Nike reassures investors that it will continue producing chavvy tracksuit bottoms while it makes lots of trainers.

It's all a big conspiracy man!

The low-brow crowd who don't keep track of the news are missing some cracking stuff in the world of foreign affairs. A report in the New York Times claims that the Stuxnet virus that targeted Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program was developed jointly by the Israelis and the Americans.

The malware is apparently even more sophisticated than previously thought by tricking the Iranians into thinking everything was fine while it ruined their uranium. Not only did the Israelis and our Yankee cousins apparently go to great lengths to test their cyberweapon before deployment and avoid harming other computers, it was even developed at Israel's own undeclared nuclear facility.

Irony is alive and well and for that we are grateful.

Apple's future has become the subject of varied speculation, after Steve Jobs' announcement he will take medical leave for the second time in two years, this time for an indefinite period.

The situation may well be a learning experience for the industry as a whole. It raises questions about just how much technology companies should allow themselves to become dependant on the unique abilities of individuals.

There are, no doubt, lessons to be learnt for businesses in other sectors too.

On 17 January 2011, Jobs sent a heartfelt email to all Apple employees, confirming the board had granted him medical leave to focus on his health. But he maintained that he would remain as chief executive (CEO) and be involved in associated strategic decision making.

"I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011," he wrote.

"I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy," Jobs added.

While it may look like Jobs is just taking some time out on health grounds as he's done before, there are marked differences between the email he recently sent and the one that preceded his last leave of absence. Back in January 2009, for example, he clearly stated that he was taking six months off and the date of his return had already been set.

This time around, things have been left somewhat open, leaving in many to ponder what will happen next.

There's also the question, of course, of whether or not it's even possible to appoint an interim CEO when it's unclear whether they'll need to lead the company in just a temporary or permanent capacity.

reported

Apple's products create mixed emotions among users. Fan bois will seemingly do and say anything to protect their beloved gadgets and gizmos, while the haters' will do seize any opportunity to be dismissive. Of course, many will simply sit on the fence, too. The unarguable point being that the company makes some pretty sexy kit.

Rob Bamforth, industry analyst for Quocirca, recognises Jobs' "rockstar" CEO status as symptomatic and describes it as a "double edged sword."

"There have been other high profile CEO's such as Scott McNealy and Bill Gates. They're useful because they're often very good at presenting a media image and they can represent a company ethos summed up by an individual," he said.

Conversely, having such large personalities as figureheads can also be problematic, according to Bamforth. This becomes particularly difficult when these people attempt to "pass the baton" for any reason.

"It's a problem companies face as they go through growth cycles from one person's baby to a successful organisation," Bamforth added.

Tech industry blog Technicism summed the confidence problem up neatly, saying "To many people Apple is Steve Jobs," describing him as having a "crucial role in vetting the company's forward-looking designs."

Others take a different view. Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Shaw Wu, analyst for Kaufman Bros, said: "The way Steve thinks, his methodology, his sense of style: frankly, a lot of it has been ingrained into the Apple culture."

Likewise Ben Wood, head of research at CSS Insight, told the London Evening Standard: "Apple is clearly a much bigger company than one person."

"Microsoft went through it when Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates. The transition definitely took a long time and it's a problem Apple will face," he said.

"Jobs will be a tough act to follow. It won't be like Ballmer and Gates. I don't see a single individual stepping in and having the same impact," he added.

Perhaps the best thing any successor can do whether Tim Cook in the short term or someone else entirely is to avoid attempting to copycat Jobs.

"Is he [Tim Cook] the next Steve Jobs?' No. there is no next Steve Jobs' just as there is no new Bob Dylan'," said Mike McGuire, a research vice president at analyst firm Gartner when IT PRO first pondered what would happen if Jobs stepped out of the limelight.

Jobs' uniquely hands-on approach is arguably both the strongest point of the brand and its most vulnerable in this context. Normally, CEO replacement concerns focus on whether the successor can carry on skilled management.

Such fears have already been tested by Tim Cook's stewardship of the company during Jobs' previous hiatus and his successful overhaul of Apple's manufacturing and production. Furthermore, Apple's latest set of bumper results showed things continue to go well for the company, with growth and output above and beyond investor expectations.

Set against the above backdrop, the argument that the company isn't in capable hands doesn't carry that much weight.

Jobs' magic touch, and the area in which some doubt a replacement can be found, is in his close involvement and vision for the entire product catalogue at every level.

"Apple will have to work hard to dispel that fear," Bamforth said.

"Multiple people will have to step up to the mark and work in concert. Perhaps Tim Cook, Jonathan Ive and others between them."

"Whatever they do they have to do it consistently," he added.

Bamforth acknowledged there was the potential for a power vacuum if disagreements occur between a small group of successors.

At this stage, Bamforth suggested, Apple should be more forthcoming about succession plans in the face of dropping share prices and lowering market confidence.

"Sometimes its better to feed the information out - it doesn't have to be done as a big bang," he said.

"A feeding out into the market approach might be better for Apple and it should be sooner rather than later."

What can other companies observe and learn from the challenges currently facing Apple?

"The biggest thing they can learn is clear culture and clear direction. That can come from an individual, though it doesn't have to. But it does have to be consistent," Bamforth said.

"That sort of thing does typically come from individuals top down, but potentially it could be initiated by a small group."

Bamforth said several companies both in the tech industry and other sectors, do well in maintaining a corporate identity and a "strong innovation culture" without tying it too tightly to a single person. Such notable organisations include search giant Google and flat-pack furniture heavyweight Ikea.

"Organisations that are most successful in the long term are those who are most adaptable," he said.

Many organisations make it their business to ensure employees are aware that no-one is indispensable. That's generally so people don't get too big for their boots, but also to make sure things can and do carry on as normal if someone leaves.

However, in Apple's case, adopting a business as usual approach while some pretty big question marks hover over the man responsible for so much of the company's character, could prove much easier said than done.

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system got a boost this week as it was released to developers.

The first beta and SDK of iOS 4.3 is doing the rounds in the developer community and showed a number of new features soon to be made available on Apple products.

Reports suggested the new version would include personal hotspot capabilities, support for AirPlay streaming video and multi-touch gesturing for the iPad.

However, iOS 4.3 will only be available on the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4, the iPad and Apple TV 2G, meaning original iPhone users will miss out.

The general release date of iOS 4.3 has yet to be confirmed by Apple.

Jobs takes medical leave

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, has also announced he was to take another leave of absence to focus on his health.

In an email sent out to Apple employees, he confirmed chief operating officer (COO) Tim Cook would take on the responsibility for day-today tasks. However, it also said Jobs would remain as CEO and would be "involved in major strategic decisions for the company."

This is the second bout of leave Jobs has had to take due to illness in two years. He previously admitted to having a hormone imbalance, which caused him to lose weight, but during his six months leave he also had a liver transplant.

The HTML5 standard has been described as not being ready for production by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the body responsible for developing it.

Ever since the new standard for browser webpage design was first formulated, it has been surrounded by hype and controversy.

Much of the excitement around HTML5 derived from expectations it would be able to to embed video playing capabilities across various browsers in the near future.

Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs was a great proponent of HTML5, allegedly because of his dislike of Adobe's Flash video browser add-in. His resistance to the Adobe software was only recently eroded when he decided to give way to customer pressure and allow for Flash to work on Apple products.

Maybe that's just as well because it appears that both Flash and the Microsoft Internet Explorer technology Silverlight will be with us for a few more years.

The W3C said that it will be two or three years before HTML5 is ready for full deployment. Philippe Le Hegaret, leader of the W3C Interaction Domain and responsible for HTML5 development, has been extensively quoted this week for admitting to video interoperability issues between browsers causing delays.

"I don't think it's ready for production yet. The real problem is: can we make it work across browsers? And, at the moment, that is not the case," said Hegaret.

Remy Sharp, developer and owner of Left Logic in Brighton, has his doubts about full compatibility at any point in the future.

"How many times do we have to go over this? For the specification to be ready', it needs to be implemented fully in two browsers. I don't think this is going to happen either soon or otherwise," he wrote in his blog.

To support his doubts about cross-browser compatibility, he cited the case of the widely adopted Cascading Style Sheets (CCS) 2.1.

"This specification is not ready'. It's not implemented fully in any one browser. IE8 is missing one property and Opera (last I checked, so I could be wrong) is missing two properties. That's the closest we get," he stated.

Sharp went on to point out that HTML5 is similarly a toolkit and that some tools will never get used but others can be employed now.

"I'm asking you, the developer, to look at the technology that's available to you and choose the solution that suits your problem best. If that happens to be an HTML5 technology, or a non-HTML5 API, or even Flash, you've chosen the individual, specific technology, not a ... buzzword," he added.

Apple will cease offering free cases for iPhone 4 devices sold after 30 September, as the antenna issue is not now deemed as serious as the company first believed.

Just a small percentage of iPhone 4 owners actually need a case, Apple has claimed, and they will still be able to get a free one after the deadline.

"For everyone else, we are discontinuing the free case programme on all iPhone 4s sold after 30 September 2010," the Cupertino company said.

"Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case."

Anyone wanting to get their hands on a free case will need to download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the Apple App store, sign in and then select the product they want.

Apple announced the free case initiative back in July, even though chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs was adamant the iPhone 4's design was not flawed.

Jobs accused the media of trying to "tear down" the company following reports that some users experienced drastically reduced signal strength when they held the phone in a certain way what became known as the infamous "death grip."

It appears Apple is now looking to bring an end to the Antennagate saga.

The next version of Apple's mobile operating system iOS 4.1 is set to launch next week.

The release, for devices like the iPhone, was confirmed during an Apple press conference last night, hosted by Steve Jobs.

He claimed the new iOS fixed all the bugs found in the last iteration, along with adding high dynamic range photo and HD video upload capabilities, the ability to rent TV programmes and the debut of Games Centre for online multiplayer gaming.

Jobs also confirmed the next version iOS 4.2 would be coming in November this year to bring more functionality to iPads.

Along with smaller functions, such as enabling folders, iOS 4.2 will incorporate wireless printing and streaming of content over Wi-Fi.

Both iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2 will be available as free downloads from iTunes.

Apple boss Steve Jobs has been named top of Fortune magazine's list of the "50 smartest people in technology".

Jobs headed the list, which included which included chief executives (CEOs), designers and analysts among others, with Fortune labelling him a "visionary, a micromanager, and a showman who creates such anticipation around new products that their releases are veritable holidays".

Apple's fortunes have turned around from a company struggling for survival at the turn of the century to one of the most successful businesses around right now and not just in the technology world, either. Jobs' leadership is given much of the credit, and has made him "a pop culture icon like no other business executive", according to Fortune.

The company's astounding revival has been built on the foundations of a nearly unbroken run of celebrated products over the past ten years or so, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone and most recently the iPad.

And one of the figures inside Apple widely credited with playing a key part in shaping those products is senior vice president of industrial design Jonathan Ive the top-placed designer on Fortune's list.

"Steve Jobs dreamed up the iPhone, but Jonathan Ive created it. As Apple's senior vice president of industrial design, Ive, 43, is an expert at manufacturing lust," Fortune writes.

"From the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, his contributions have set the course not just for Apple but for design more broadly."

Other well-known company figureheads making the list include Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Twitter mastermind Jack Dorsey.

As Apple's star has waxed, Jobs' own influence has increasingly been seen in his sometimes-vocal criticism of rival technology firms whether erstwhile Apple partners or otherwise.

"His dictator-like control can cause havoc for partners: Jobs, 55, has decided, for example, that Apple products won't support Adobe Flash, the code most video-heavy websites depend on, leading designers to switch to new tools," Fortune reports. "But Jobs' vision is also what gives these devices their elegance, causing consumers' hearts to flutter."

Jobs was outspoken in his criticism of Adobe for failing to address an unreliable, resource-heavy Flash in explaining the decision to continue to ignore the platform when developing the iPad, which launched in January.

Barely a month later, Jobs took on search giant Google, questioning its "don't be evil" mantra.

"We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business," he reportedly told employees at a town hall meeting. "Make no mistake, Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won't let them."

Google's Page named alongside Brin in third place in Fortune's "founders" category has now responded to Jobs' criticism, claiming the Apple front man is trying to rewrite history.

"We had been working on Android a very long time, with the notion of producing phones that are Internet enabled and have good browsers and all that because that did not exist in the marketplace," Brin said at a conference last week.

"I think that characterisation of us entering after [the iPhone was introduced] is not really reasonable."

It's been more than two decades since Ridley Scott's iconic advert introduced the idea of the Apple Macintosh computer to the world for the first time. Said advert ultimately kicked off a line of branded computers that's still reaping significant business all this time later. And long after the Apple Mac theoretically should have gone the way of machines from the likes of Amstrad, Commodore, Apricot and many more, it's very much live and kicking.

Refresh

Apple has, of course, been savvy about injecting fresh life into its computer business over the years, most notably from the late 90s onwards when the likes of the iMac kick-started a striking range of designs whose influences are still being felt now. That ability to refresh its line has kept the Mac platform going where every other manufacturer has leapt over to the PC or gone out of business altogether. And far beyond being limited just to creative industries, the Mac has spent the last few years enjoying more success than it's used to in consumer circles too.

Apple deserves credit for this. Through the likes of the MacBook, and the shift to Intel processors, as well as the way that the firm has managed to position Mac OS against Microsoft and the Windows operating system, the company has managed to successfully keep its computer line fresh for some time.

And, right now, Mac OS market share is a not-unimpressive 5.16 per cent according to Net Applications. When you consider that the vast majority of those Mac OS installations are on Apple's hardware (the exceptions being some illegal Hackintosh' installations), which itself comes with a premium price, then it goes some way to explaining why the firm is valued in some quarters more than Microsoft.

Questions

However, while Apple was churning over billions of dollars of revenue in these sectors, questions began to be asked regarding its treatment of its computer line, specifically its range of Mac computers and the MacOS operating system. That's not to say that Macs weren't still a significant part of the company's business. In its second quarter results, as reported in April 2010, the firm announced that it had sold 2.94 million Apple Macintosh computers in three months, an increase in sales of 33 per cent over the quarter.

Yet that level of growth has been dwarfed by the 131 per cent rocket in iPhone sales, and it's the app market too that's been drawing many of the firm's resources. Such is the level of the importance of these apps that it was back in 2008 that Mac OS X Leopard was delayed due to resources being deployed elsewhere.

And since then, there have been accusations that the firm has been neglecting its line of Macintosh machines. Granted, there have been some updates here and there, but arguably since the switch to Intel processors, the rate of innovation and interest the firm has shown in its Mac line has slowed. To be fair, there's an argument that there's only so much you can do with a computer specification. But we've seen in recent times the introduction of consumer solid state hard drives, and more recently the unveiling of USB 3.0 technology.

However, could the newly launched refresh of the Mac Mini line be an indication that Apple is going to spend more time at its roots? For after rumours had persisted for some months that stocks of certain Mac products were becoming scarce, leading to the inevitable speculation that new products were on the way, Apple announced at its most recent Worldwide Developers' Conference last month that there was fire to this particular smoke.

As such, it unveiled its latest Mac Mini machine, giving the product the kind of overhaul it hadn't enjoyed for a couple of years (save for some minor specification revisions). Apple introduced new casing, greater power efficiency and more powerful specifications, and it proved the most immediate way to address criticisms that desktop computers were of decreasing interest to the firm.

Granted, the new machine has already come in for criticism for the sheer amount of money that it costs, but there's always been a premium for enjoying Apple's computer products, and always will be. However, that Apple is refocusing on its computer line has generated speculation that it's going a little back to basics, and addressing what remains a very sizeable segment of its business.

The proof of whether that it true or not, of course, will come in the months ahead. There's no new MacOS X version due soon, after Snow Leopard was launched in the middle of last year. Yet rumours persist that we'll be getting new iMacs and Mac Pros shortly. However, while both lines haven't enjoyed a full update in some time, Apple is remaining customarily mum on the topic.

That's not to say that computers don't remain important to Apple: clearly they do. But their vitality to the company has nonetheless diluted somewhat, and given the success that the firm has enjoyed with its refreshes of its desktop and portable computer line over the past decade, there's little need to reinvent the proverbial wheel.

However, with Mac sales increasing, and the desktop Mac machine being one of Apple's more profitable products, it's still surprising that the company is giving across the perception that it's been neglecting its computer line-up somewhat. Perhaps the iMac and Mac Pro overhaul will reverse said perception, and perhaps Apple will reconnect with the roots of its business as a result.

Yet given that its new product lines are proving, almost without exception, extremely popular, there's no guarantee of that at all

Adobe has come clean about a critical flaw affecting its Flash player, which is capable of crashing a machine or allowing it to be taken over.

The vulnerability has been found in the 10.0.45.2 version, as well as earlier editions across Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris operating systems (OS), but is missing in the latest version, 10.1.

It was also found in the authplay.dll component within Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x for Windows, Mac and UNIX.

"There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat," admitted Adobe in its latest security bulletin.

The company has yet to announce when it will be releasing a fix for the flaw but said it will update the security advisory with a timetable once it is established.

The timing of this flaw is sure to please Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs.

There has been an ongoing war of words between the two companies due to the continued lack of support for Flash on the iPad and iPhone.

Jobs claimed Flash was the number one reason Macs crashed and that the program "fell short" for both power consumption and open web standards.

Adobe's chief executive Shantanu Narayen hit back with claims that Jobs' insults were a "smokescreen" for the company wanting to keep everything to themselves, but this latest security upset won't do anything to help his company's cause.

The PC still has a lot of life left in it, according to the chief executive (CEO) of Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer defended the style of computer during the D8 conference in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

He was responding to comments from Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, who claimed earlier in the week at the conference that PCs had passed their sell by date.

"I think people are going to be using PCs in greater and greater number for many years to come," said Ballmer.

He admitted there would be a "shift in form factor" but added: "PCs will look different next year, year after, year after that."

It has been a tough few weeks for Microsoft, with Apple overtaking the company in revenue terms and Google catching up fast. Add to that Google reportedly banning Windows from its worker's machines and it can't be all smiles down in the Redmond HQ.

Ballmer admitted his company is "dealing with the fact that we're no longer at the front of that pack," but added: "It's our job to out-work them, out-innovate them [and] out-hustle them."

Details of this Friday's UK iPad launch and next week's expected iPhone launch are starting to be revealed.

The Apple iPad is set to finally make its way to the UK on Friday. While it's been available for preorder since earlier this month and will obviously be selling through Apple's 27 UK shops, the Californian firm hasn't made it clear where else Britons will be able to queue for the device.

According to a memo seen by the Times, Apple has cut a deal with DGSi to put the iPad exclusively on the shelves of 139 its Currys and PC World stores, as well as stocking it at the recently opened Best Buy store in Thurrock.

"Demand is expected to be high, mirroring what happened in the US," the Times quoted the memo as saying.

The report suggested DGSi shops will be the only ones with the iPad at launch, with rivals forced to wait 60 days to stock the device.

A DGSi spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that the information in The Times article is correct and Apple will be announcing their distribution plans in the next few days."

Apple's spokeswoman also pointed us to a link with a list of available stores, which do include Currys and PC World.

iPhone news

Meanwhile, Apple has confirmed that chief executive Steve Jobs will be delivering the keynote at the sold-out Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks of on 7 June.

It is widely expected Jobs will use the keynote to unveil the next generation iPhone, which the world had a sneak peek of last month when a prototype device was leaked to tech website Gizmodo.

The 5,000 attendees of the conference are likely in for an entertaining keynote, as Jobs seems to be in a talkative mood.

In a series of short emails, he told one Apple fan that he "won't be disappointed" by WWDC and another that there's "not a chance" Google has leapfrogged his own firm on all things mobile.

Read on for our review of the Apple iPad and the iPhone.

Just when you thought the dispute between Apple and Adobe might be cooling off, an open letter from Adobe's founders has criticised the Cupertino company for its lack of transparency.

In the letter, Chuck Geschke and John Warnock expressed their advocacy for freedom of choice on the web, saying that the beauty of the internet is "its almost infinite openness to innovation".

They warned: "If the web fragments into closed systems, if companies put content and applications behind walls, some indeed may thrive - but their success will come at the expense of the very creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a revolutionary force."

Then the pair moved onto Apple: "We publish the specifications for Flash - meaning anyone can make their own Flash player."

"We believe that Apple, by taking the opposite approach, has taken a step that could undermine this next chapter of the web - the chapter in which mobile devices outnumber computers, any individual can be a publisher, and content is accessed anywhere and at any time," they added.

The letter, which is accompanied with a picture of the two founders positively beaming (below), concludes with a thinly-veiled attack: "In the end, we believe the question is really this: Who controls the world wide web? And we believe the answer is: nobody - and everybody, but certainly not a single company."

Adobe has also chosen to launch a campaign promoting its support for an open market, with one slogan claiming that the company loves, or "hearts", choice.

The moves indicate that Geschke and Warnock were somewhat angered by Steve Jobs' recent blog that criticised Adobe's claims on openness and noted that all Flash products are entirely proprietary.

"We strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open," Jobs said.

Who is going to come out on top in this open battle, if anyone? Have a look at IT PRO's analysis of the war of words here.

Adobe has responded to the attack from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs by calling the comments a "smokescreen."

Yesterday Steve Jobs wrote a blog throwing a number of allegations at Adobe and its Flash product, claiming iPhone and iPad users were better off without it.

However, Shantanu Narayen, chief executive of Adobe, believes it is just about Apple wanting to keep its users under control.

In a video interview with the Wall Street Journal, Narayen said: "The technology aspects of this article are really a smokescreen."

"We have demonstrated that through Adobe tools you could build content and applications [and] over 100 were accepted onto [Apple's] store so when you resort to this licensing language it is clear that it has nothing to do with technology."

Instead he believes their "business models" differ too much with Adobe wanting to stick to its "vision of multiplatform open systems" and Apple wanting everything done under its own supervision.

Narayen called Jobs' attack on Adobe's openness "amusing" and slammed his accusation of all of itsr products being 100 per cent proprietary as "patently false."

When questioned on whether Flash was the main reason Macs crashed, he said: "If Flash is the number one reason Macs crash, which I am not aware of, then it has as much to do with the Apple operating system."

He added: "The technology is not the issue."

After taking a quick dig at the iPhone, saying he used a Google Nexus One handset, and the iPad, referring to it as a "good first generation device," Narayen concluded that is was time for customers to decide what tools they wanted to use, not for the likes of Apple.

Steve Jobs has slammed Adobe in a rare public letter, claiming the company should stop criticising Apple "for leaving the past behind".

Jobs is known for his concise responses to customer emails, but in a blog post on the Apple website, called "Thoughts on Flash", he spent a lengthy 1,600 words attacking Flash, describing the framework as closed, unreliable, insecure and a hindrance to web development.

"Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open," Jobs affirmed.

"Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript all open standards. Apple's mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash)."

As evidence of Apple's commitment to openness, Jobs pointed to the adoption of WebKit - the open-source rendering engine that powers Safari, Chrome and Palm's webOS browser.

The letter made several specific criticisms of Adobe's technology. "Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash," Jobs wrote.

"In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it," the blog concludes.

Jobs claimed that banning apps developed in Flash from its products was a necessary step to discourage a flood of "sub-standard apps" that would "hinder the enhancement and progress of the platform."

He saved his most damning indictment for the conclusion, in which Flash is dismissed a web relic. "The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards all areas where Flash falls short."

Apple supremo Steve Jobs has slammed Adobe's Flash video platform as being a CPU hog, and claims Flash support would reduce the iPad's battery life by as much as 80 per cent.

The two companies have been trading verbal blows over the Apple tablet's inability to work with Flash since the device was launched last month.

New details are now emerging of a meeting between Jobs and the Wall Street Journal that saw Jobs wasting no time in making feelings about Flash known.

Meeting the newspaper as part of a media tour to promote the iPad shortly after its launch, industry gossip blog Valleywag claims that Jobs again said Flash was responsible for the majority of Mac crashes, and dismissed it as "a dying technology".

Furthermore, during the meeting Jobs allegedly called Flash "a CPU hog", "a source of security holes" and said support for the resource-hungry Flash would reduce the iPad's 10-hour battery life to as little as 90 minutes.

Trying to sell the appeal of the iPad to the WSJ, Jobs reportedly said dropping Flash as its video delivery method in favour of the iPad-supported H.264 or HTML5 would be a "trivial" matter, and compared Flash to other systems Apple had outlasted, such as floppy disks, FireWire 400 and CDs. "We don't spend a lot of time on old technology," he was quoted as saying.

A lack of Flash support is believed by many to be the only serious flaw with the iPhone, given that 85 per cent of top websites deliver video content using Flash.

However, the launch of the video-friendly iPad pushed the debate into the public eye, with Adobe blaming a lack of cooperation from Apple for the standoff, and Jobs responding by calling Adobe lazy for producing unreliable, resource-hungry software.

And it seems neither side is willing to let the argument go. An Adobe blog post last week claimed that a dedicated page telling iPhone users that their phones didn't support Flash had seven million hits in December, implying that seven million iPhone owners had tried to download Flash, not knowing it wasn't supported.

"We were amazed by the numbers of hits received from iPhone OS devices, from users seeking the Flash Player to play back rich content from their favourite sites," Adobe's Mark Doherty wrote. "Users that, before we created the special page, had no idea that Apple do not want them viewing the internet as they see it today."

Steve Jobs has reportedly lashed out at Google for making its move into the smartphone market.

The Apple boss took the opportunity to degrade the company during a town hall meeting with employees at the company's One Infinite Loop headquarters.

An insider at the meeting told Wired that Jobs laid into both the smartphone move and Google's famous catchphrase.

"We did not enter the search business," said Jobs. "They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won't let them."

Although another question was asked, Jobs added: "I want to go back to that other question first and say one more thing. This don't be evil' mantra? It's bull***t."

This last comment reportedly received rapturous applause from the Apple employees.

The comments have come out just days after a mixed reaction to Apple's latest product, the iPad tablet computer. Jobs launched the device at an event in San Francisco last week but it wont be available in the UK until March.

We contacted Apple to confirm Jobs' alleged comments, but it had not responded to our request at the time of publication.

More rumours are surfacing across the internet that Apple will be launching a tablet in the near future.

The device is likely to be launched in January next year, according to iLounge, who cited a reliable source apparently correct on other predictions such as the iPhone 3GS and Chinese iPhone 3G in the past.

The source suggests that there are at least three prototypes of the tablet and that Apple is just waiting the OK from chief executive Steve Jobs before the release.

The latest version is believed to have a 10.7in screen with five to six times the resolution of the iPhone. However, it is designed as a media player running the iPhone operating system rather than a competitor for netbooks.

It had been thought that a tablet device would be announced at Apple's September event in San Francisco when Jobs made his first public appearance since October 2008 but it all came to nothing.

We contacted Apple for comment on the launch rumours, but it had not responded to our request at the time of publication.

Tonight, Apple is set to make an announcement - and as always the rumours are flying. Come back at 6pm UK time tonight for all the news as it happens, whether it comes from the mouth of Steve Jobs or not. You'll know as soon as we do if Apple is sneaking out a tablet PC, killing off the iPod Classic, or unleashing the Beatles on iTunes.

Apple iPod Announcement September 2009

Strong sales of Macs and iPhones helped push Apple's quarterly profit past Wall Street forecasts.

The company continued to defy the global recession with a solid 13 per cent jump in fiscal third-quarter net profit. It sold more than seven times as many iPhones - 5.2 million units of its latest signature device - as the year-ago period.

"The numbers are great. Their gross profits continue to surprise people and there is a return to product momentum ... a return to growth in the Mac business," said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. "And then the iPhone is doing tremendously well and that is a potent combination."

Apple reported a net profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended June 27, up from $1.07 billion, or $1.19 a share, in the year-ago period.

Strong sales

Sales of Macs and iPhones both beat analysts' expectations, helped by product refreshes and lower prices, while iPod shipments were toward the low end of forecasts.

Apple said it sold 2.6 million Macs, up four per cent from a year ago, and 5.2 million iPhones in the June quarter, during which the company launched its third-generation iPhone 3GS and cut the price on the second-generation model to $99.

The iPhone is often thought of as more of a consumer device, but Apple said nearly 20 per cent of Fortune 100 companies have bought at least 10,000 units and it is unable to make enough iPhone 3GSes to meet demand - a shortfall the company said it is working to address.

Although the smartphone segment continues to grow more crowded with competitors, chief operating officer Tim Cook said on a conference call the company is "years ahead of other people" in its competitive position.

But iPods were a chink in its armor. Apple shipped 10.2 million iPods in the quarter, down seven per cent on the year. As iPod sales slow down, analysts see alternative catalysts on the horizon, with the expected launch of an iPhone in China and a rumored tablet PC or internet device in the works.

iPhone boost

The install base for the iPhone and the iPod Touch - which share operating systems - is now 45 million, Apple said.

"We're making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, in a statement. "We're thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year."

Yet there had been some concern about margin pressure heading into the results, given the product price cuts and the trend of higher component costs.

Although Mac units rose, revenue in the segment fell eight per cent from a year ago as average selling prices came down, a trend seen throughout the PC industry.

But Apple posted a gross margin of 36.3 per cent, above the 34 per cent some analysts predicted. That compared with 36.4 per cent in the last quarter and 34.8 per cent a year ago. The company saw margins at 34 per cent in the September quarter.

Apple said component costs rose, but not as much as expected and it spent less than it planned in several areas.

"The overall takeaway is that Apple continues to execute in this tough environment," said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu.

"They do the hardware, software and service, and that really allows them to have a leg up against competitors."

Investors have pushed Apple's stock about 75 per cent higher this year, well ahead of other big technology issues.

Conservative outlook

Apple issued a typically conservative outlook for the current quarter, forecasting earnings of $1.18 to $1.23 a share on revenue of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion.

While that was below the average analyst estimate of $1.30 in earnings per share and $9.1 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, it had little impact on investors.

Revenue rose 12 per cent to $8.3 billion in the June quarter, versus analysts' average estimate of $8.2 billion.

Cash and marketable securities totaled more than $31 billion, one of the biggest cash hoards in all of technology.

Chief executive Steve Jobs did not make an appearance on the company's conference call, despite rumors that he might. Jobs recently returned from a nearly six-month medical leave, where he underwent an a liver transplant.

COMMENT: Poor Steve Jobs really seems to have been going through the mill recently.

The man, just 54, survived pancreatic cancer diagnosed in 2004 but then in January this year a hormone imbalance became a bigger issue than he first thought, leading him to sign off work for six months.

Now the Wall Street Journal has reported he also had a liver transplant two months ago and is currently recovering.

So did the loss of the guy at the top make Apple's success fall from the tree?

At the times when his illnesses came to light the stock markets looked more like a roller coaster. Prices soared and fell in an uneasy fashion showing Jobs had quite an effect on his investors. The underlying assumption was without him around something might go wrong and speculation grew that someone else would take over.

However, it really does seem like the Apple just won't go rotten and can take anything that is thrown at it. Even without the main man on board, it is continuing to dominate the market.

Don't get me wrong, I feel for Steve Jobs, going through all these health problems and having the eagle eye of the media following his every move, but it must be some consolation to him that during his absence Apple has continued to provide tasty treats for its consumers.

This week, the company announced it had sold one million next-gen iPhones in just three days. This must have brought a smile to the executive's face, as it did for many customers across the UK, US and six other countries. A further six million downloads of the much anticipated iPhone 3.0 software may have turned that smile into a Cheshire cat-esque grin.

The latest rumour circling this morning is that reporters saw the Apple chief at work, chatting with colleagues and looking like he was back at the office, though the company has not confirmed this as yet.

Most are assuming he will go back on a part-time basis but I think the message here is clear: Mr Jobs, don't push yourself. The company is in good health and ticking along nicely, make sure you do the same.

Apple has sold more than one million iPhone 3G S handsets, just three days after its launch.

The company also said in a statement that over six million people have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software for their iPhones, only five days after its release.

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said: "Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning."

Referring to the App Store, he added: "iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."

O2 also released a statement saying that on its first day the latest version was expected to sell an extra 50 per cent than when the 3G was released last year.

The iPhone 3G S was sold for the first time to queues of people on Friday in the UK, US and six other countries. It features voice control, a new camera and is significantly faster than its predecessor.

The positive news from Apple comes shortly after the less rosy article in the Wall Street Journal report, revealing Jobs was given a liver transplant just two months ago.

Jobs announced in January that he was taking six months of medical leave after he discovered his health problems were "more complex" that originally thought.

The Journal, and many reports since, claims he is in recovery but expected to go back to work soon on a part time basis.

IT PRO contacted Apple regarding these reports but it hadn't responded to our request for comment at the time of publication.

Today could herald a revamped iPhone from Apple, at its Worldwide Developer's Conference. In the two years since the phone's launch, it has changed the world of mobile, bringing about a new age of smartphones with touchscreens, proper mobile browsing, decent music players and third-party applications.

There isn't a mobile manufacturer out there that hasn't been forced to acknowledge the Apple iPhone touchscreens are now ubiquitous while everyone from Microsoft to Nokia have launched application stores.

For Apple, its iconic phone has helped boost profits even in the face of a recession.

Ahead of the possible launch of the third-generation iPhone, we look back at the short history of the gadget.

The rumours

Ahead of the arrival of the first generation iPhone, rumours abounded about how successful the device would be and what it would be called. The iPod Phone just doesn't have the same ring to it

Hard as it may be to believe these days, back in 2006 people couldn't wrap their minds around the wonder that would be the iPhone. A survey by Entertainment Media Research showed how wrong predictions could be, suggesting the British public wouldn't want such a device, but would prefer to keep their phones, iPods and browsing separate.

The first generation

The first ever iPhone was unveiled in January 2007. At the time, Steve Jobs described it as "a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years' ahead of any other mobile phone."

Cisco wasn't so amazed by the name as that firm had already registered it as a trademark. The usual legal fireworks ensued, but they have obviously since been sorted. The iPhone hit the US in June, while the UK had to wait until November.

Lucky O2 won exclusivity for the shiny new phone, and on 9 November 2007 it went on sale in O2 shops, in addition to the Apple Store and in Carphone Warehouse.

Despite the phone's widespread availability, people queued through the night to be the first to get their hands on one.

Click here for our review of the first-generation iPhone.

The second generation: 3G

Ahead of the launch of the next iPhone, Apple unveiled its third-party application plans which eventually evolved into the major success that is the App Store.

A year-and-half after the first iPhone, Apple added 3G and refreshed the hardware.

Before the iPhone 3G even hit stores in July, it was selling out online.

The handset had a few problems, with its charger and security, but overall, it managed to follow its older sibling's success.

Click here for our review of the 3G iPhone.

The next generation: iPhone 3.0?

In March this year, Apple announced it would upgrade its firmware finally adding the ability to cut and paste.

And today, many expect Apple to unveil a 32GB version although we'll have to wait until tonight to see exactly what Apple plans for its next iPhone.

Click here for our three-way mobile OS battle is Android, Windows or the iPhone's Safari best?