biography

Biopics of Oprah, Big Bird and more head for Apple TV+

By

Oprah Winfrey says Apple TV+ can have a genuine impact on humanity.
Oprah Winfrey is one of the celebrities to be profiled on the Apple TV+ series “Dear...”
Photo: Apple

A documentary series dubbed Dear… will profile internationally recognized leaders in a unique way: each will feature letters written to the subject of the biopic by people whose lives they’ve changed. That’s the source for the name of the series, which is headed for Apple TV+ in a few months.

Apple’s ‘two spiritual soulmates’ have left the building

By

Walter-Isaacson-Jony-Ive
Without Jobs and Ive, Apple can’t design, Isaacson says.
Photo: CNBC

Walter Isaacson says Apple has lost “these two spiritual soulmates who just lived and breathed the beauty of products.”

The Steve Jobs biographer believes the company still know how to execute, but that it has missed out on a number of opportunities for exciting new products — including an Apple TV set.

Steve Jobs’ favorite reviewer slams Aaron Sorkin’s new movie

By

walt-mossberg-steve-jobs
Walt Mossberg echoes what others are saying about the Steve Jobs movie: it's inaccurate.
Photo: Joi Ito/Flickr CC

Technology journalist Walt Mossberg opened up about the Steve Jobs movie debuting in theaters this Friday and he didn’t have many kind things to say about it. Mossberg, who knew Steve Jobs for 14 years before his passing, recalls the numerous occasions in which they talked and spent time together including in interviews. None of those times, however, seem to add up to Aaron Sorkin’s portrayal of Jobs in the movie.

Apple TV rumors and our future robot overlords take over The CultCast

By

Come with us if you want to CultCast.
Come with us if you want to CultCast.

This week: more rumors of a souped-up Apple TV coming in June, and we examine the softer side of Steve Jobs, as described in a new unofficial, Apple-backed biography. Plus: Skynet is the stuff of movies, but Elon Musk, Steven Hawking, and now Steve Wozniak, all believe AI is a big threat. Should we worried? You’re gonna want to unplug your Segway after this discussion.

Our thanks for Freshbooks for supporting this episode. FreshBooks is the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. It also makes tax time a cinch. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.

cultcast-172-post-player-image-thin

Full show notes ahead!

Paperback Edition Of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs Bio Coming This Fall With New Cover

By

Albert Watson's photo of Steve Jobs, right, is similar to a portrait of Jobs in his younger years.
Albert Watson's photo of Steve Jobs, right, is similar to a portrait of Jobs in his younger years.
Photo: Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster has confirmed it will be launching a paperback edition of Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography on Steve Jobs this fall, featuring a younger Jobs on its cover. The book, which will also be updated with a new afterword, will be available on September 10.

Is Steve Jobs’s Biography An Inspiration To Entrepreneurs, Or A Warning?

By

Steve Jobs biography
Walter Isaacson's book was the official Steve Jobs biography. That counts for something.
Photo: Simon & Schuster

Blogger Jason Kottke has noticed an interesting pattern: Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who take Steve Jobs’s biography not as a guide to success, but as a warning.

Kottke points to four entrepreneurs who are scaling back on work to focus on their families, lest they turn out like Steve Jobs.

Cult of Mac’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

By

hgg-2011-cover-3

It’s that time of year again. Not the holidays — I’m mean yeah, sure it is, but that’s pretty obvious. No, it’s the time of year when we drive ourselves (and others) a little crazy running around trying to find gifts at the last minute. Especially those pesky stocking stuffers — the little gifts that fill in the gap between “it’s Christmas? Geez, I completely forgot” and “honey, I bought you a Lexus.”

Watch Steve Jobs Brainstorm With His Team At NeXT In This Fascinating Documentary [Video]

By

post-130956-image-3e56023ed2611a7f0640932fff4ab498-jpg

Walter Isaacson’s terrific Steve Jobs biography offers a magnificent insight into how Steve created Apple, and the work he did behind the scenes. However, it doesn’t talk all that much about NeXT — another computer company Steve founded during his spell away from Apple in the mid-eighties.

These fascinating clips from a series called Entrepreneurs do, however. They show Steve as many of us have never seen him before — discussing new ideas with his team, brainstorming on company retreats, and leading NeXT to create something awesome.

Check out more of the documentary after the break.

Sony CEO: We’re In A Race Against Steve Jobs’s Legacy To Revolutionize The TV Set

By

Sony-TV

Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson he had “finally cracked” the television set, sparking more rumors his team in Cupertino are on the cusp of launching a revolutionary new television that will change home entertainment forever.

Apple won’t be the first to attempt this, however. Sony’s CEO Sir Howard Stringer says he is competing against Steve Jobs to change the traditional television set.

Want A Piece of Steve Jobs? Buy His Glasses

By

jobsglasses

What happens when heartfelt tributes to the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs get turned into commercial schmaltz? You get an Asian eyeglass distributor using the death of Steve Jobs to promote its products. At a Hong Kong trade show, a distributor announced Jobs left “his overwhelming ideas and his favorite glasses.”

Formatting Issues With Steve Jobs Biography in iBooks? Re-Download It Now For Fix

By

steve_jobs_cover_biography

Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Steve Jobs hit the iBookstore earlier this week, and after a few hours, I wondered why it had such a low star rating. I read some of the reviews to discover that many users have had formatting issues, which made some pages of the book illegible. Apple has now issued an update to the book and begun instructing customers on how to get the new version.

Steve Jobs Was Originally Dead Set Against Third-Party Apps for the iPhone

By

Steve-Jobs-in-front-of-apps

We’re all looking forward to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, which will be released on Monday, October 24. But if you’ve been keeping an eye on the news over the past couple days, you’d have already seen some interesting stories from the book.

One of those details Steve’s initial opinion on third-party apps for the iPhone. In the beginning, Steve was opposed to third-party apps, and wanted developers to create web apps that could be used through the device’s mobile Safari web browser. According to Apple board member, Art Levinson, “Jobs at first quashed the discussion” of allowing apps on the company’s debut smartphone.

Following His Death, Steve Jobs Authorized Biography Is Coming Out In Just Three Weeks

By

Steve Jobs biography
Walter Isaacson's book was the official Steve Jobs biography. That counts for something.
Photo: Simon & Schuster

Following this morning’s new that the authorized biography of Steve Jobs had rocketed up the Amazon book charts, its publishers, Simon & Schuster, have announced that the title’s release date has been brought forward to October 24.

Pre-Orders for Upcoming Steve Jobs Biography Soar by 41,800%

By

Steve-Jobs-biography-pre-orders

As we continue to mourn the tragic loss of one of the world’s most prolific geniuses today, fans of Steve Jobs continue to turn to social networking sites to pay their respects, and some are even leaving notes on their local Apple store. Others are flocking to pre-order Steve’s biography, written by Walter Isaacson, which has seen orders soar a staggering 41,800% since Apple announced the news yesterday.

Steve Jobs Authorized Biography Scheduled for 2012 Release

By

steve-jobs

Simon & Schuster announced on Sunday that the authorized biography of Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been scheduled for an early 2012 release. The book entitled iSteve: The Book of Jobs is being written by Walter Isaacson, who has been working on the biography since 2009 and has enjoyed rare and exclusive interviews with Jobs, members of his family, and his colleagues at Apple.