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- Apple Shareholder's Meeting Roundup
Yesterday Apple held its annual shareholder's meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. All the top brass were there to answer questions from the men and women to whom, let's face it, they must eventually answer. Of course, that didn't stop Steve Jobs from being his usual tactless self, quipping during a lengthy comment from one shareholder, "Do you have a question?"There's a lot of information to digest, so I've condensed the juiciest morsels into what I hope is a more accessible short-form. Here goes!
All seven board members were re-elected; there was an advisory vote on executive compensation and Apple's public accounting firm was chosen (it's Ernst & Young, by the way.) Votes also were cast on two shareholder proposals. The first called for a published "sustainability report" detailing the company's environmental policies and its contingency planning in the face of climate change. The second proposal was for the creation of a second board of directors, tasked with overseeing Apple's environmental policies and business strategy in the face of climate change. The board felt they were already doing a fine job in both these areas, and recommended voting against the new proposals. Votes were counted and, unsurprisingly, neither proposal was successful.
Green
According to Macworld, Jobs claimed that Apple is the first company to work directly with suppliers on issues ranging from environmental impact to worker protection and education. Macworld's Dan Frakes writes;
Taking a jab at other companies, as well as organizations such as Greenpeace, [Jobs] noted that "other companies just make promises" and attend conferences and events to "schmooze with [environmental groups], but the work ain't getting done," whereas Apple is actually taking steps to improve the company's real-world green credentials and treatment of workers.
Jobs also noted that the smaller packaging used across Apple's product line has reduced the number of annual cargo flights "by the hundreds";
"It's the right thing to do from an environmental point of view; it's the right thing to do from a business point of view."
Money
In its first quarter 2010 investor conference call, Apple announced it had $39.8 billion in the bank at the end of December 2009. The question now is, what on earth should it do with it? Spend it? Save it for the next recession? Perhaps pay dividends to shareholders — something BusinessWeek says the company has not done since 1995? Jobs said;
We know if we need to acquire something – a piece of the puzzle to make something big and bold – we can write a check for it and not borrow a lot of money and put our whole company at risk. The cash in the bank gives us tremendous security and flexibility.
You never know what opportunities are going to be around the next corner. We are a large enough business now that, in order to really move the needle, we have to be thinking pretty bold – pretty large.
New Role
On the matter of Apple's new role as a 'mobile devices' company (first announced by Jobs in January and reiterated by Tim Cook in last month's earnings call) Jobs said;
This is not something that we're ordaining from the top. This is something our customers are saying with their dollars, if you just look at the products that we're selling. They're telling us what they think is important and we're reflecting that.
But specifically, what does this mean about the future of Apple's desktop Macs, the iMac and Mac Pro? "We love desktop computers," El Jobso assured the shareholders, "And plan to continue making them.” So, that’s alright then.
Asia
When asked about Apple's efforts to increase international sales, Jobs turned to (VP of Retail) Ron Johnson, who announced that Apple is looking to open 24 more stores in China to join the existing store in Beijing. This is to be expected, given how important (and lucrative) China is to Apple. DigitalDaily's John Paczkowski writes, “Mac sales in China increased nearly 100 percent year over year in the first financial quarter of 2010… while iPhone sales [are] ramping up.”
Apple's Beijing Store
Beyond the Mac, Paczkowski quotes Tim Cook on Apple’s overall revenue in that market;
"…if you look at greater China last quarter, which is China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, our revenues tripled year-over-year… We have a tremendous focus on it."
I guess it's only right China should get a little Apple-love… after all, they make most of Apple's gear in the first place!
Stability
Finally, there was a moment of fun, Jobs-style; a shareholder wanted to know of Jobs, "What keeps you up at night?"
"Shareholder meetings," Jobs immediately shot back, before getting very serious and adding, thoughtfully;
"Apple requires stability in the world. People aren't going to worry about which laptop to buy if they can't afford dinner, can't afford to send their kids to school, can't afford textbooks. There are things much bigger than us that are out of our control. So we try to just do the best we can."
Bravo, Steve. And bravo, Apple.
Переслать - 8 Great iPhone Games for Kids (According to Kids)
My family is originally from Ecuador, and I recently got the opportunity to go back to the land of my birth and spend a few months living there. During that time I've been staying with my aunt and uncle and as a result have gotten to see a lot of their grandchildren. These four precocious girls, ranging in age from five to 11, were delighted by my iPhone the first time I showed it to them and now, each time they visit, my iPhone is appropriated for a while so they can play games on it.
Seeing how much they enjoyed the games I had on there, I went out and bought a bunch of additional games to give them some variety, and now have almost 40 on my iPhone, most of them aimed at a younger audience. Curious about which games they enjoyed the most, I asked each to list their favorites. I've decided to share the results with all of you in case you're wondering which games to go out and buy for kids.
Note: All links point to iTunes.
Animal Memory Match Kids
Endorsed by: 5-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
A matching game with adorable animals on the cards and cute sounds when you make a match. My 5-year-old cousin loves this game, and even challenges herself by switching between difficulty levels, which just increases and decreases the number of cards you have to match.
Brushes
Endorsed by: 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $4.99
Not strictly a game, I bought this as a curiosity after watching the demonstration of the iPad version during last January's keynote. I had no expectation of actually using it, as I have no talent for drawing or painting, but a couple of my more creative cousins picked it up and love it. If you believe you might have a budding painter on your hands giving them this app to play with might be one of the best things you could do for them.
Crazy Penguin Catapult
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: Free (99-cent paid version also available)
The idea is simple: Use a catapult to launch penguins and take out polar bears and other enemies. Launching a penguin involves just a simple swipe across the screen, you just have to time it right. The music is engaging and the noises the penguins make when you launch them are very fun. There's a second version of the game out now, with both free and paid versions.
Cro-Mag Rally
Endorsed by: 11-year-old
Cost: $2.99
One of a couple of racing games I have on my iPhone, this one definitely lends itself to kids with cartoonish characters, simple gameplay and a fun soundtrack and audio effects. Despite the simple controls, just tilt left/right to steer and use a couple of on-screen buttons, it's still complicated enough that only the oldest of my cousins mentioned it.
Dizzy Bee
Endorsed by: 5-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $2.99 (Free version also available)
The idea behind Dizzy Bee is simple: Gather the flowers while avoiding the bad guys. You move Dizzy Bee about using the accelerometer, but your movements also cause the bad guys to move as well, so you've got to be somewhat strategic. The bright graphics, fun sounds and gameplay that can get more challenging at higher levels made this a favorite across the range of ages of my cousins. Dizzy Bee 2 is also available.
Frogger
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
I bought this arcade classic for myself, and found it somewhat surprising that my young cousins enjoy it so much since they didn't grow up with it like I did. Very simple gameplay and easy-to-use controls — just swipe up/down/left/right to move the frogger — makes this an easy game for small kids to pick up.
Pickin' Time
Endorsed by: 5-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
The gameplay is exceedingly simple: You pick a vegetable at the beginning and then are presented rapid-fire with images of various vegetables. Simply tap on the screen when you see yours and avoid tapping when it's a different vegetable. Each time you play you are scored on both accuracy and speed. Although my cousins don't use it, there's also a multiplayer mode available.
Tap Tap Revenge Classic
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $1.99
One of the most iconic iPhone games out there, I wasn’t surprised to see this game endorsed by my young cousins as it combines fun music with straightforward gameplay. So far they're still working on the built-in songs, but the older girls are definitely getting better at it. I’ve also bought the newer Tap Tap Revenge 3, but for whatever reason the girls prefer the original version.Related GigaOM Pro content (sub req’d):
Is There Any Demand For a True Gaming Phone?
Переслать
Новинки каталога интернет-супермаркета SoftKey - самого популярного в Рунете продавца софта.
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