So yesterday Steve Jobs stepped down from his position of CEO of Apple.

According to a press release published on the Apple website, his letter to the board of directors and the Apple community was short and sweet.

Essentially he said that if there were ever a day he didn’t think he could fulfill his duties as CEO, he would let them know. And he did.

Jobs will serve as chairman of the board at Apple, and although he won’t be CEO, you can bet he’ll still have his hand in product strategy and design.

Tim Cook, former COO of Apple, is now the new CEO.

What do you think? Does this change anything for Apple?

Unless you’ve been in a cave recently, you’ve probably heard of Apple’s recent problems with malware…

That’s right, the company that always touted that they were untouchable when it came to malware. Most people agreed that since they has a small market share compared to Microsoft, who would bother with virus attacks on them? Well, someone finally did.

Of course Mac’s have been subject to malware for some time, but most anti-virus software did a decent job. The current attack is called Mac Defender (or MacProtector, MacSecurity), although it has since changed its name and the way it infects the user’s computer.

It’s been out for almost a month now. The first variation, Mac Defender, prompted the user for an administrator password. Once that was provided, the virus installed itself and then deleted the executable program.

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Whoa! Interesting piece of news. Microsoft just announced that 1 in 14 program downloads are eventually confirmed as malware.

I knew the prevalence of malware was high, but man that’s big. 7% of what internet users download is some form of malware…
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Earlier this month, I highlighted some of the suicides over at this Asian manufacturer who produces electronics for many high profile companies including Apple.

Not only has Foxconn recently made an attempt to show the press that they aren’t what everyone thinks they are (a sweatshop-like institution that has conditions which drives employees to suicide), but Dell, HP, and Apple have joined forces to investigate Foxconn.

What sparked this?

Well, it could very well be the publicity that this has attracted all around the world and it’s starting to play a part in the reputation of these successful companies.

It could also be the newer suicide reported just last week showing us that this may be something a little darker than employees having stressful/depressing lives that forces them to end their own lives.

What Apple Said About This

“We’re in direct contact with Foxconn senior management and we believe they are taking this matter very seriously,” said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, in a statement to Bloomberg. “A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made.”

It looks like someone is demanding answers and I personally hope that they find the truth that they are seeking. Especially since this is something that needs to be controlled, we don’t need any more people committing suicide at work.

What Dell Said

“We expect our suppliers to employ the same high standards we do in our own facilities,” a Dell spokesman said in a statement. “We enforce these standards through a variety of tools, including the Electronics Industry code of conduct, business reviews with suppliers, self-assessments and audits.”

It sure looks like Dell is going to make sure all of the policies set forth that Foxconn must follow are being followed strictly. Dell is one company that we can trust to do the right thing considering they have achieved a great customer satisfaction reputation over the years of their existence.

As you can see, this does have high-profile electronics manufacturers looking deeply into the practices of those they hire to produce the products that they invent and release on the market. Maybe this is what we need in order to discover the truth about Foxconn. Regardless of how dark or grim the truth may be, we do deserve the honest-to-god truth in these recent suicides.

AT&T has taken another step towards making their network even more popular than it currently is. There’s no secret about AT&T having one of the largest networks in the world, and it’s to no surprise that they are dishing out free wifi in Times Square now.

Is this a wise move for AT&T?

In my personal opinion, this is a great move on their part. They have already been known for providing their customers with a massive amount of free wifi hot spots all over the nation.

By providing free wifi in one of the most popular places in the nation such as Times Square, this could give them a ton of positive publicity, thus increasing their presence and leverage when it comes to reeling in even more new customers.

What does this say about AT&T?

Well, we all know that it’s easier and more convenient to provide free wifi than it is to support a quickly increasing demand for cell phone services. This may be one way of AT&T showing that they would rather be in the world of wifi than in the world of mobile phones.

The Bad Side of This Free Wifi

There’s always a chance that AT&T can seriously damage their reputation in a pretty harmful manner. If they can’t support the high demand for wifi on Times Square in New York, the could honestly look dumb.

They are known for having some problems adapting to high usage of their network at once, so they will have some work cut out for them if they wish to actually increase their rep in a dramatic way by dishing out this free wifi to the countless amount of people signing their laptop onto the free AT&T wifi at Times Square.

The New Era of Technology Is Here

When it comes down to it, the need for computers and wireless internet is increasing at overwhelming rates. It wasn’t too long ago that the internet was a luxury instead of the necessity that it is today.

By implementing free wifi in some of the most traveled areas of the nation, our country is simply moving towards the new era of modern technology that’s being demanded more now than it has ever been before.

I can’t wait to see computers being used in the middle of the street everywhere I go. Ok, maybe not literally in the middle of the street, but in safe locations all around the globe.