steve jobs

Accuracy, schmaccuracy: 'iSteve' props go hilariously wrong

Comedy site Funny or Die beat out the competition in getting "iSteve," the first Steve Jobs biopic, out for viewing. Take that, Ashton Kutcher. In all that haste, Funny of Die may have cut a few corners as far as accuracy goes. That's left the film open for evisceration by Apple fans on high alert for anachronistic images.

The film is full of tripping Steve Jobs scenes, Bill Gates beating computer components with a hammer, and Steve Wozniak looking like he just wandered off the set of "Lost." It's also full of computer parts that just don't fit the time period. It's the sort of thing that will either make Apple fanboys giggle, or send them up in arms to the Internet to complain.… Read more

Satirical Steve Jobs movie now available for viewing on Web

If you have eagerly awaited the release of a Steve Jobs movie -- any movie -- your patience has paid off.

"iSteve," a 79-minute satirical movie based on the life of the iconic Apple co-founder, was released today by comedy site Funny or Die. The comedy site was previously known for "The Landlord," a two-minute clip featuring actor Will Ferrell and co-creator Adam McKay's 2-year-old daughter that's since tallied more than 80 million views.

The movie stars Justin Long, the same actor Apple tapped for its famous switch ads featuring Long and John Hodgman as personifications of Apple's Mac and Microsoft's Windows PCs. Jorge Garcia of "Lost" fame will play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and James Urbaniak and Michaela Watkins will play Bill and Melinda Gates. … Read more

Report: Apple's 30-year ban at California resort lifted

Thirty years is a long time to suffer for the bad behavior of a few young and boisterous tech workers. But after being permanently banned from the posh La Playa Carmel resort in 1983 for an evening of skinny-dipping and other misdeeds, Apple executives appear to be back in the fold.

According to SFGate, the new ownership of the La Playa Carmel has decided to extend an olive branch, and Apple seemingly has booked an event there.

Welcome back, Apple: All is forgiven.

That was the message from the new owner of the recently restored La Playa Carmel, where Cupertino'… Read more

Leap Motion strikes bundling, embedding deal with HP

Leap Motion has struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard to bundle and embed its 3D motion control technology in some of the computer giant's devices.

The San Francisco startup's gesture-control system measures users' movements to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter. It plans to release the technology in mid-May, charging $80 for a small thumb drive-size device that plugs into a computer's USB port.

Already, Leap Motion had cemented deals to bundle its controller with Asus PCs, and to sell it in Best Buy stores and at Bestbuy.com, as well as on its own Web … Read more

Apple's iPad, 3 years in: Magical? Some beg to differ

Apple released "the magical and revolutionary iPad" three years ago today.

So, what's trending on its anniversary? Well, there's the iPad Death Watch, which highlights what non-believers have said through the years.

Here are some of the comments:

Unnecessary: "It seems like a high priced, unnecessary trinket to me." Paul Thurrott, SuperSite for Windows, January 2010. (Note: this kind of comment wasn't that unusual in 2010. Though I quickly became a heavy user, I dismissed it initially as inadequate in some respects. And, even today, while some might consider excessive dumping on the … Read more

The untold story behind Apple's $13,000 operating system

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, Calif. -- In the common retelling of Apple's history, it was Steve Jobs' and Steve Wozniak's second computer, the Apple II, that launched their fledgling company toward stratospheric growth and financial success. The machine's triumph as a single platform for business software, games, artistic tools -- and more -- set the stage for the later debut of the first Mac, and later OS X and iDevices.

What many forget -- or may not even know -- is that when the Apple II was introduced at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire in April, 1977, it suffered from what, in retrospect, was a glaring shortcoming: It had no disk drive. … Read more

The weirdly minimalist trailer for 'Funny Or Die' Steve Jobs movie

Steve Jobs was always a fine salesman.

The people at Funny Or Die involved in making "iSteve" -- a movie of his life -- are similarly inventive.

I was breathlessly sent a link this morning to the teaser trailer for this movie. It promised: "The trailer for iSteve, Funny or Die's Steve Jobs movie with Justin Long is finally here."

That, it is. But it's quite a minimalist trailer.

There are few real, well, pictures.

There are words, however.

"Genius left unchecked can lead to ruin," says someone.

"You gotta ride … Read more

Next two iPhones may have been designed under Steve Jobs

The Steve Jobs era may not quite be over at Apple.

The late co-founder may have been involved in the development of the next two versions of iPhone, according to a report in the San Francisco Examiner. That information was supposedly imparted to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón by Apple's government liaison, Michael Foulkes, during discussions with Apple regarding the growing problem of mobile phone theft.

Gascón described his hour-long discussion with Foulkes as "very underwhelming," saying that Foulkes did most of the talking.

"It was incredible. He would just go … Read more

Rare Apple photos: Cook in high school, Jobs back on the job

OK, fanboys and -girls, it's time once again to haul out your digital scrapbooking materials and add to your collection of Apple-related odds and ends.

It's been a fun month for Apple miscellanea. We saw the surfacing of a rare video of Woz circa 1984, which was digitized from a videotape found in a basement. And earlier there was the Fast Company interview with Ying Hang "Hannah" Zhang, the young Starbucks employee who took the "prank" call Steve Jobs made during the unveiling of the iPhone in 2007 ("I'd like to order 4,000 lattes to go, please. … Read more