Ballmer: Saving Apple in 1997 was 'craziest thing' Microsoft ever did | Cult of Mac

Ballmer: Saving Apple in 1997 was 'craziest thing' Microsoft ever did | Cult of Mac After saying Amazon is not a great place to work, the conversation drifted to Apple and Ballmer actually admitted that "they’ve done a great job."

Coming from the guy who laughed off the iPhone because he thought the Zune was killer, that’s a hell of a compliment.

Always exciting to read Zune in the same article as Apple.

Steve Ballmer: People don't want to work at Amazon, the only real competition for Apple is Microsoft | VentureBeat | Marketing | by Emil Protalinski

Steve Ballmer: People don't want to work at Amazon, the only real competition for Apple is Microsoft | VentureBeat | Marketing | by Emil Protalinski Steve Ballmer may no longer be CEO at Microsoft, but his love for the company he led for 14 years lives on. Indeed, after being in the news just last week for revealing he owns 4 percent of Twitter, Ballmer is now making headlines for his comments regarding Amazon and Apple.

Reading user comments (could they be the report from the field?) sounds like Google is winning the talent war, which is probably the only war that will matter in 10 years.

How Japanese tea culture influenced Steve Jobs and Apple

How Japanese tea culture influenced Steve Jobs and Apple A recent post on asia-centric blog Matcha Tea investigates the sway Japanese culture had over Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, and how that country's meditations on aesthetic beauty, mindfulness and life influenced what has become one of the world's largest companies.

And raking sand into patterns of insight.

Launch this sleek, stealthy drone from the palm of your hand [Deals] | Cult of Mac

Launch this sleek, stealthy drone from the palm of your hand [Deals] | Cult of Mac We’ve all got a jones for drones, but not all of us have the space or cash to hang up a 5-foot-wide quad-copter in our garage. The SKEYE Nano, now available in a Batwing-worthy shade of black, solves both problems, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and at $39.99 it’s cheap enough to keep cash in your pocket.

So many college students are going to be busted on campus by the new eye in the sky.

Dyson acquires Sakti3 for $90M to help commercialize 'breakthrough' solid-state battery tech | VentureBeat | Business | by Paul Sawers

Dyson acquires Sakti3 for $90M to help commercialize 'breakthrough' solid-state battery tech | VentureBeat | Business | by Paul Sawers Sakti3’s solid-state batteries are still based on lithium, similar to the batteries you find in your phone, except they contain solid lithium electrodes rather than flammable liquid. This means they have a higher energy density — more power in less space.

Tiiiight!

Meet the radical who wants the iPad banned! | Cult of Mac

Meet the radical who wants the iPad banned! | Cult of Mac Kyle Wiens thinks the iPad should be banned. It’s a "highly immoral" product, he says, because it can’t be opened and repaired when the battery dies. It’s a throwaway device, and he wants governments to prohibit it.

"It’s not designed to be long-lasting," said Wiens, who is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit. "It’s like selling a car that has to be replaced when the tires wear out."

Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn’t just want reform — he wants revolution!

Love this guy's web site: I've used it for many, many self-repairs of older Macs.

The rise and fall of AMD: A company on the ropes | Ars Technica

The rise and fall of AMD: A company on the ropes | Ars Technica It also didn't help that, just as Intel was churning out its best products in years, AMD was trying to swallow another company whole.

A terrific read. One just never knows what's going on from the marketing facade.

Very first Apple computer hits auction block at mind-blowing price | Cult of Mac

Very first Apple computer hits auction block at mind-blowing price | Cult of Mac Some of the most important scientific instruments of the past 700 years are hitting the auction block later this month, but one of the newest creations in the lot — one of the very first computers created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak — is expect to fetch the highest bid.

Yes, but the question is, can I use it to play LODERUNNER?

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces $862M in damages | VentureBeat | Business | by Reuters

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces $862M in damages | VentureBeat | Business | by Reuters NEW YORK (By Andrew Chung, Reuters) – Apple Inc could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices.

Well, I hope Apple just pays up. It's the least they could do for the campus that gave the world The Onion.