If you are a luddite hermit who has just been revived from a coma then you might have missed the tech news story of the week: Steve Jobs is back!
From all accounts Mr. Jobs may still look thin, but he appears to be as vibrant as he was before taking a 6-month medical leave of absence from his CEO duties at Apple.
Now, with a new (to him at least) liver and some much deserved rest behind him The Stevenator has retaken the reigns of Apple once again, and I, for one, am happy for it.
Not that Mr. Cook and Schiller did a bad job of running Apple in Steve's absence, on the contrary, they proved that Apple and Steve Jobs are really two separate entities and each can survive quite nicely without the other. Thank you very much. But, what neither Cook nor Schiller can duplicate is Steve's showmanship or exhibit the depth of love for Apple as Steve displays every time he gets up on that stage.
Can Apple survive without Steve Jobs?
Sure.
Should it?
Absolutely, but as long as he is around and willing to be the head-honcho, Steve Jobs should be at Apple's helm.
Welcome back Mr. Jobs. We are so very happy to see you up and about again.
The other bit of news this week is that Apple has released some new stuff. In a special media event, hosted by The Stevenator himself, Apple showed off an updated iPod Touch, new iPod nanos sporting built in video cameras, multicolored iPod Shuffles, an iPhone OS update, and a new version of iTunes.
The latter is the most immediately accessible update. Log onto the iTunes Store and you will see a dramatic difference in the way things look and the way you navigate.
Still, browser-like in function, the new iTunes Store makes better use of space and gives you nice, big views of content. All your favorite sections are there; movies, music, TV Shows, and, of course, Free on iTunes, but the real change is seen when you enter one of these sections.
Go into TV Shows, for instance, and you see a list of featured shows from all the major networks, but you'll also find a Free TV Episodes link. Click it and you get to see all the free episode available at the iTunes Store listed in one place. Why this feature isn't available in the movies and music section is beyond me. In fact, you can't view a list of freebies of any one section in the Free on iTunes section either. What's the sense in that?
That Apple included it in the TV section is a step in the right direction. There is so much stuff available in the TV section that I'm not going to point out anything specific this week other than the free TV episode section. There well over 100 shows available that offer free episodes on the iTunes Store, and that should keep you busy for atlas a week. (If not then you really do need to get out more.)
Sadly, the pilot and first episodes of Defying Gravity are no longer free, but there is a Behind The Scenes movie that's enjoyable to watch.
Yes, I know I'm pimping Defying Gravity like it was a 2-bit hooker, but I really like the show and would love to see it hang around for a few seasons. So check it out.
I will point out that the video for this week's Apple Special Event is now available for download at the iTunes Store, and it's worth watch if for no other reason than to see Steve Jobs doing his thing up on stage again.
All is right with the world once more.
OK folks, that's a wrap for this week. Next week I'll be back into doing what I do best, finding free stuff on the iTunes Store.
More freebies below:
