Apple tries to halt Steve Jobs newspaper article

Sometimes I think Apple would make a great fit for the repressive government described by George Orwell in his novel 1984. Another week, another attempt of Apple’s marketing machine to control to flow of opinion about the company and its bright star Steve Jobs. We hear that Apple tried to block the Sunday Times from the publication of a lengthy article trying to provide a profile of Jobs.

The article focuses on not so glamorous background information and events, describes complaints from employees about Apple secrecy, Job’s upbringing, education, love life and control freak nature and, and - yes you guessed it – health concerns. Author Bryan Appleyard was told that Apple discourages journalists to create profiles of Steve Jobs. Well, and PR staff was apparently told to ask the author not to publish the article. You know what happens when you ask a journalist not to publish an article.

Oh well.

Apple never figured out how to work with journalists other than Walt Mossberg and probably never will.

OMG! Larry Ellison not the best paid CEO anymore

This piece of news brought us to tears. Oracle’s eccentric co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison is has been pushed from the nation’s top spot of the highest earning executives. His 2008 package totaling $543 million got him the second spot in the list this year after securing a comfortable #1 position last year with a payout of $193 million. Steve Jobs, by the way, held the prestigious spot in 2006 with $646 million.

So, who got the #1 title in 2008? The honor went to Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who made $702 million last year. While we are trying to figure out how we could ever spend $702 million in one year and what the purpose of such a – sorry – ridiculous payout would be, we do have to admit that it makes sorta sense that the top executive of a company who only deals with money made the most money in the country. To be fair, we should mention that the lion’s share of Schwarzman’s pay was, of course, not all in cash, but (vested) stock options. Schwarzman’s 2008 cash compensation was a measly $350,000.

We are quite sure that Larry has another ace up his sleeve to get the title he has held so often in the past back. He may not have the biggest jet in Silicon Valley (that honor would go to the Google boys), but he surely makes sure he has the biggest yacht and the highest annual compensation is just a minor thing to take care of. Ellison currently owns 22.59% of Oracle.

Use GPS and spoil your island dream

The wires report that a couple, driving in Italy, wanted to go to the wonderful island of Capri - pictured.

Instead, they mistyped the place they wanted to go as Carpi rather than Capri. Capri is an island on the Neopolitan Riviera. Carpi is in North East Italy, quite a way away.

So when they got to Carpi, they didn’t get the island experience at all. And that’s something the Mayor of Carpi commented on. He said that he found it surprising that the travelers thought they were in Capri rather than Carpi, but hadn’t had to cross any water or bridge to get there.

You couldn’t make it up. We didn’t.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and founder has recently revealed to Dan Lyons that he has a long term plan and at 25 he knows where his future lies. He talked about focusing on the Facebook platform in an attempt to make other sites more social while simultaneously expanding Facebook’s already extensive membership.

When he was asked about funding, he said, “Back in the early days I had the chance during one of our funding rounds to get a bit of liquidity,” he stated “It meant that in making decisions about Facebook I didn’t have to worry about the short term. I could just work on making Facebook as good as possible, and optimize it for 10 to 20 years out.” Zuckerberg went on to say, “I think this is a long-term thing. There is still a lot of growth. In all these dimensions - users, advertisers - the peak is not for a long time.”

It’s great for him to have a concept of where he wants the company placed in 20 years, I’m sure that’s going to make investors really confident. Why don’t we start with a two year plan Mark….

Projections from those who have more money than God…

For some in tech it would seem that the recession is nonexistent in 2009. Apple’s profits rose 15% and revenues were up 12%. Apple feels they could have done better the company “can’t make Macs and iPhones fast enough.”

Unfortunately for other companies the outlook is not so bright currently but there is hope for increased consumer spending in the coming months. Intel and Texas Instruments both reported better than expected earnings, and they are expecting greater demand this year.

Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel said that between April and June chip demand was on the rise, he claimed that “Overall consumption is recovering,” he said.

As prices of tech gadgets are on the decline consumers are more prone to purchase. People are finding jobs and thigns aren’t as tough. However, I wouldn’t hold your breath Otellini and Jobs- nothing is a guarantee.

Palmisano urges Channel Partners to embrace Smarter Planet

Under Sam Palmisano’s thumb, IBM executives are being told to urge channel partners to embrace the new IBM Smarter Planet program, which was introduced last year in an attempt to deliver value to customers while integrating the physical and digital worlds together.

“Smarter Planet is an overall strategy that encompasses hardware, software and services that deliver solutions,” Bruce Maule, worldwide director of business partner programs at IBM stated. “Even in these difficult times, we want partners to know there are still opportunities for us and Smarter Planet plays a big role in helping to achieve productivity gains.”

Partners who become certified in the Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Program which is part of the initiatives can qualify for up to $100,000 in funds for the development of their business.

“Smarter Planet will enable (partners) to engage clients of all sizes in higher-value discussions by focusing on the entire enterprise (so they can) act as a true consultant,” said Samuel Palmisano .

Gawker Tipster Shares Carol Bartz E-mail

“Surprise! You’re getting my Friday message a bit early this week - I’ll be out for two weeks or so starting today for knee replacement surgery. :(

I’ve got lots to cover before I go under the knife, so let’s dive right in:

we’re going to take a new approach to my weekly emails. You’ll now hear from me every few weeks, but in-between will hear more from my staff. I’m not the only person with interesting things to say, and it’s important that you hear from others that are running the business. And when I say my staff, I mean all my staff. Even Judy. I’m sure she can’t wait to tell you what it’s like working for me day-in and day-out.

One last thing before I go. I’ve noticed that since the reorg, people seem like they’re waiting for something. I’m not sure if it’s a sugar-low or what, but we need to stop waiting and get moving. Good things do not come to those who wait, they come to those who make things happen.”