Throwback Thursday: Why is Apple called Apple?

Apple is one of the most celebrated brands in history, boasting a mammoth base of customers and fans that 

span the entire globe. With the iconic Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad lines of products squeezed into its 

portfolio, it's easy to see why.

Far and away the premier consumer technology company in the world, Apple is one of few firms that still 

manages to whip up a real frenzy whenever it launches a new device (even if its products, technically 

speaking, aren't exactly the best on the market).

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on how to be as good a CEO as you possibly can be

Jeff Weiner - you could be forgiven for not really recognising the name. As the CEO of LinkedIn, he keeps a 

relatively low profile, while the Cooks, Nadellas and Zuckerbergs of the world happily grab as many 

headlines as possible.

Weiner this week took on an in-depth discussion with Business Insider, where he revealed some of 

the business acumen that has seen him rated by Glassdoor as the best CEO in the world.

Why product rumours are Apple's secret weapon

Apple's longstanding perchant for secrecy is legendary. It's also a myth. Granted, the company has a strict 

no-comment policy about future products, which isn't so much about keeping information from seeping out 

but controlling who disseminates it. Something else: Secrets are impossible to keep when a company 

produces physical products overseas and depends on so many third-party suppliers. Controlled leaks, or 

strictly managing those that aren't, lets Apple maximise marketing advantage.

Google admits defeat, finally drops compulsory Google+

New Gmail users will no longer have to sign up to Google's flagging social network Google+, after 2 and half 

years of mandatory social account creation. Users previously had to sign up to Google+ when signing up for 

Gmail, Google Docs and variety of other Google products.

Whilst the company still encourages users to sign up for Google+ it now has a "No thanks" button when 

offering the service during the sign up procedure for its products.

BlackBerry courts business users again

BlackBerry (BBRY) is no longer trying to out-iPhone the iPhone. The device maker found it spectacularly difficult to compete against the likes of Apple (AAPL) and Samsung, and has abandoned its strategy to grab more of the consumer market.

IBM Watson Analytics brings new level of natural language understanding to businesses

IBM has unveiled its Watson Analytics service that serves as a natural language-based cognitive offering to 

bring access to predictive and visual analytics tools that businesses of today require.

The first release of the cloud-based service comes as a freemium version that offers a full-range of self-

service analytics that bring easy-to-use data refinement and warehousing to allow business users to acquire 

and prepare data that goes beyond simple spreadsheets.

Microsoft defies US Government by battling search warrant, held in contempt of court

By respecting the law and following the rules, you should live a relatively calm life. However, not all laws and 

rules are just, as Microsoft is currently finding out. 

Microsoft is being held in contempt of court after failing to comply with a warrant, following a rejection of a 

request for appeal on 31 July.

If you aren't familiar with the story so far, the US Government has been trying to compel Microsoft to hand 

over user data that is held offshore.

Berg Cloud seeks buyer to stop Little Printer’s ink running dry

Little Printer may be no more after its creators Berg Cloud made the heavy-hearted decision to send itself 

into “hibernation” and remove all support for the popular product early next year.

A blog post from Berg [the British Experimental Rocket Group] explained the decision was made due to the 

un-sustainability of its business model and a skeleton staff is set to look after Little Printer until March 2015.

Google teams up with the University of California on quantum computing project

Google is putting together a research team looking at building new quantum information processors based on 

superconducting electronics.

The team will be led by physicist John Martinis from the University of California Santa Barbara, who will join 

the firm's artificial intelligence project.

Chinese SAIC gives Microsoft 20-day deadline in antitrust investigation

China is turning up the heat in its antitrust probe into Microsoft, with the authorities laying down a deadline 

for Redmond to respond regarding allegations of the software giant unfairly leveraging its products.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has laid down a time limit of 20 days for 

Microsoft to provide a satisfactory response to the antitrust probe which is focusing on Windows and Office 

(Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player have also been previously picked out as bones of contention, 

as well).

Apple’s PR machine, iPhone rumours, and the quest for a balanced perspective

On Friday, 9 to 5 Mac published Mark Gurman's gripping inside look at Apple's PR strategy. The story, 

"Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple's Mastery of the Media", is fine example of the kind of 

news reporting too often missing on the web today. His multi-section report is well-organised, believably-

sourced (even where anonymously), and accurate - to which I can attest based on my experience dealing with Apple as a journalist. Gurman also validates many of my ongoing complaints about how bloggers and 

journalists report on the company.

Could acquiring Cyanogen solve Microsoft's smartphone image problem?

I'm not going to retread old ground too much here, but there's no getting away from the fact that Microsoft 

has something of an image problem when it comes to smartphones. But this could be set to change. The 

word on the grapevine is that Microsoft - possibly in conjunction with the likes of Yahoo and Amazon - is 

interested in joining forces with, or even buying, Cyanogen Inc, purveyor of some of the finest Android 

ROMs known to humanity.

IBM's supercomputer Watson ready to take on cancer

IBM's Watson supercomputer is set to tackle scientific research head-on after being re-programmed to 

analyse big data in the cloud.

Currently, the testing of scientific hypotheses and theories often takes days or months of arduous work, but 

with Watson's Discovery Advisor program, this can now be carried out at a significantly faster rate.

Samsung unveils new Gear S smartwatch you can make call from: Prepare for war, Apple, Sony and LG

Samsung has today unveiled the Gear S, a new smartwatch which it claims will deliver "the most advanced 

wearable experience yet."

The device packs Bluetooth 4.1, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, enabling users to receive and reply to SMS 

messages, manage notifications from social media feeds and, in a first for smartwatches, make and receive 

calls without needing to have a mobile phone nearby.

Apple CEO Tim Cook calls iPad sales slump "a speed bump": Do you agree?

In usual fashion, Apple has been the talk of the tech world over the summer, and for good reason. As well as 

being one of the premier companies in the world, it recently signed a landmark partnership with old enemy 

IBM and is set to launch a brand new batch of iPhones in a fortnight.

Microsoft builds ultimate Royal Carribean smartship with boosted broadband and bionic bartenders

Cruising is something that is near and dear to my heart. As someone who grew up very poor, my family never went on holiday - it was a waste of money. This was the mindset that I was raised to have, thinking travel was stupid, when money can go towards bills. This thinking was dangerous though, as I became an adult that almost never left New York. It's a cliche, but life is short, and it is silly not to see the world.

The Last of Us: Remastered fires up PS4 sales with roaring week one trade

The Last of Us: Remastered has blazed onto the PS4, racking up an impressive tally of sales as next-gen 

fans the world over clamour to experience Joel and Ellie's epic tale of apocalyptic survival in eye-popping 

1080p.

Google snaps-up photo-analysing firm Jetpac

Google has announced the purchase of photo-analysis startup, Jetpac.

The firm announced the acquisition on its website, but so far the cost of the purchase has not been disclosed.

The Jetpac app currently analyses Instagram photos in order to create city travel guides.

Microsoft vs Samsung patent dispute headed for settlement

Samsung and Microsoft have begun discussions in an effort to reach a mutually beneficially end following 

their recent patent dispute.

Samsung acquires SmartThings for $200mn, eyes Internet of Things profits

Samsung has snapped up a major player in the smart home and Internet of Things arena, namely 

SmartThings.

The company, which got off the ground via crowdfunding site Kickstarter, was apparently acquired for 

around the $200 million (£120 million) mark, according to TechCrunch.