Apple CEO Tim Cook surely charmed Twitter users — and lots of others — with that famous comment about Windows 8 and the merging desktop and mobile operating systems. It would be very much like trying to combine a refrigerator with a toaster, he said, using extreme examples to get his point across. But maybe […]

My encounters with Apple’s attempts to deliver a reliable online service have been decidedly mixed. Although most of you probably believe that it all began with iTools, a free set of online features, including email, which debuted in 2000, Apple’s shaky online service history goes back further. Indeed, the progenitor of MobileMe — and now […]

If you’re a regular reader of these columns, you know that I’ve had a love/hate relationship with iTunes and how it interacts not just with my various online purchases, but with my Macs and iPhone 4s. A key example is iTunes Match, which, in exchange for $24.99 per year, will match your music library with […]

I’m sure you realize that the release of Apple’s financials is a staged event. The numbers were already present long before they were unleashed to an expectant audience. The don’t just emerge full blown in an email from the company accountant, ready to immediately present to the financial analysts, investors, and the public at large. […]