You wouldn’t necessarily think of politics and Apple as two spheres that often collide; I think that’s because Steve Jobs would view politics as too inefficient—well, until he achieves permanent control of the world. Still, we’ve got not one but two politically related stories in the remainders for May 18, 2010.
Tweetie disappears from App Store (The Mac Observer)
Last month, social networking site Twitter acquired Tweetie developer Atebits, and said it would soon be releasing a rebranded, free version of the app. Now Tweetie has vanished from the App Store, with some saying that the new app is imminent. Some have questioned whether the new app will be as good as the old, but I think Shakespeare put it best when he tweeted “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, / By any other name would smell as sweet; / So Tweetie would, were it not Tweetie call’d, / Ret”
Steve Jobs reconfirms unlocked Japanese iPad 3G (Kernel Panic)
Continuing his reign of terror e-mail response kick, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reputedly clarified the issue of
whether or not Japanese 3G iPads are SIM-locked. “Our website and Softbank are wrong, and we are getting them the correct information ASAP. The website should be fixed soon. Sorry for the confusion.?” Wait, is Steve updating Apple’s Website too, now? Dude needs a hobby.
Bill Maher: Steve Jobs would run America better than Obama (Huffington Post)
Speaking at Hampton College’s commencement, political pundit and comedian Bill Maher suggested Steve Jobs could run the country better than the president. “Something tells me that Apple would have come up with a better idea for stopping an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico than putting a giant box on top of it.” Well, of course Steve has a better solution—he would have put a giant cube on top of it.
Here’s how much tech companies are spending on lobbying (Silicon Alley Insider)
Speaking of politics, it turns out Apple spends less on lobbying—both in terms of overall money and as a percent of revenue—than any other major tech company, including Google and Microsoft. Word is that’s because Jobs has placed a moratorium on further lobbying funds until Apple has the ability to approve and reject every single bill submitted by a congressperson.
Sprint says Pre didn’t work out, wants iPhone (InformationWeek)
At an investor conference, Sprint Chief Financial Officer Robert Brust told analysts that the Palm Pre “didn’t work out as well as we hoped” in part due to lack of supply. In terms of the iPhone, Brust said “we’d love to have it” but didn’t foresee the possibility of that happening soon. I’m no financial expert, but isn’t the point of investor meetings to get people to invest in your company?