I love this one: some folks may not remember, but rumors started up in 1996 that Steve Jobs might team up with Oracle Larry Ellison to buy Apple, or maybe Mr. Ellison was simply going to buy Apple so his buddy could run it again.

Want to know what your phone is thinking about? Vern Seward points you to three free iOS app that should help you find out in this week's Free on iTunes. SysStats Lite, System Status Lite and System Utility.

Facebook continues to fascinate us with its ability to tap into the psychological mechanisms of human beings, the need for a human connection and the need to share -- even if what's shared is not so great.  FaceBook Home has refined that technique such that it has transitioned from worrisome to treacherous.

In a sign of both Apple's increasing clout in China and growing consumerism in that country, representations of Apple products have become a top offering to the dead. NBC reported that cardboard representations of iPhones, iPads, and iMacs have joined more traditional offerings of fake money, food, and bags of clothes as offerings to the dead at the annual Qingming Festival, or "Tomb Sweeping Day."

Fighting the good fight is a noble thing to do for a corporation. Americans love the underdog. And so, after Apple's successful apology to Chinese customers, does Apple have an opportunity to improve its image in the U.S.?

If you are feeling restless and looking for something to shake out the cobwebs and get a fresh perspective on things, then check out these three free apps Vern Seward offers in this week's Free on iTunes. Localscope, Airbnb, Takes.

In this week's Particle Debris, John Martellaro looks at two very critical articles about Apple's data services.  These are substantive articles that highlight what we've been suspecting all along. The good news is that this may be a giant opportunity for Tim Cook lay down the gauntlet and make his mark on Apple.

The HTC One earned a 1 out of 10 Repairability Score from iFixIt on Friday, the first time a device earned such a score. Will that result in legions of Apple critics leveling their wrath on HTC? Don't count on it.

Apple, since its inception, has always had computers that appealed to scientists and engineers, thanks to their ease of use, technical elegance, and, since 2001, UNIX. In turn, Apple embraced that market as a sign of Apple's dedication and professionalism in supporting their endeavors. Recently, Apple dropped its Web page that focuses on the use of Apple products in science. John Martellaro attempts to shed some light on this event.