Jeff Bezos

The Problem with Jon Stewart brutally mocks billionaire space race

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‘The Problem with Jon Stewart’ brutally mocks billionaire space race
Jon Stewart's new parody video is so full of NSFW images we had to go with this one.
Screenshot: Jon Stewart

Although The Problem with Jon Stewart doesn’t premiere on Apple TV+ until September, the comedian couldn’t let Jeff Bezos’ and Richard Branson’s personal space race go by without comment. Stewart posted a video Tuesday making fun of billionaires competing to see who can shoot off a better rocket.

The humor isn’t subtle. Many jokes have been made about how much Bezos’ New Shepard rocket looks like a penis, and Stewart takes the idea and runs with it. If watching a video of giant space penises is going to get you in trouble at work, maybe you’d better wait until you get home to see this one.

If not, watch the mockery now:

Steve Jobs warned Amazon founder that iTunes would kill CD sales

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Jeff Bezos
Steve Jobs told Jeff Bezos about iTunes for Windows prior to its release.
Photo: Seattle City Council/Wikipedia CC

Over a platter of sushi, Steve Jobs once bragged to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that Apple had created the greatest Windows application ever built. The Apple co-founder then suggested, in a roundabout way, that the software could kill a major stream of revenue for Amazon.

Jobs was referring to iTunes for Windows, which Apple introduced in October 2003 (and which Jobs later referred to as the equivalent of “giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”) Bezos got a look at iTunes for Windows before the rest of the world did. And he also endured a typically Jobsian dig about CDs and Amazon’s future.

Tim Cook agrees to testify before Congress in antitrust probe

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Tim Cook goes to Washington
Apple chief Tim Cook will testify before Congress, and he’ll be joined by the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook and Google.
Screenshot: Apple

The CEOs of four of biggest tech firms will testify in the House of Representatives’s probe into antitrust activities. That includes Apple’s Tim Cook, along with the heads of Amazon, Facebook and Google.

This is part of an ongoing investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into whether the largest tech companies play fair with smaller competitors.

UN alleges Saudi crown prince linked to hacking of Bezos’ iPhone

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Jeff Bezos’ iPhone X was allegedly hacked.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Allegations that the ruler of Saudi Arabia played a role in hacking Jeff Bezos’ phone made headlines around the world today. A forensic report indicates this was supposedly an iPhone X, and a WhatsApp account was used.

Bezos is more than the CEO of Amazon — he’s also the owner of The Washington Post, which has been critical of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Steve Jobs sculpture will make you think twice about tech

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Steve Jobs Sebastian Errazuriz
Steve Jobs, The Prophet.
Photo: Sebastian Errazuriz

Few modern-day figures inspire art like Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. His face has been painted on canvas, tattooed on forearms, vilified on the silver screen and deified in sculpture.

Now, Jobs is the first figure in an exhibit in New York next month featuring busts and full-body statues of Silicon Valley titans by Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz.

Amazon buys mesh Wi-Fi router maker Eero

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eero
Eero monitors things like network throughput and interference, adjusting itself automatically.
Photo: Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac

Right when Apple has decided to get out of the router business, one of its biggest competitors is ready to jump in.

Amazon revealed today that it reached an agreement to acquire mesh Wi-Fi router maker Eero, giving the online retailer another powerful tool in its effort to dominate the smart home market.

Zuckerberg fires back at Cook over Facebook privacy diss

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Facebook employees
It'll take a Facebook a few years to dig out of this hole.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken exception to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s comments that Facebook doesn’t care about its customers because it sells their data to advertisers.

Zuck went on the defensive in one of his first interviews since news broke that Cambridge Analytica leaked the personal data of 50 million users. The interview touched a number of topics, but when asked specifically about Cook’s comments Zuckerberg unleashed a tangent on why Tim Cook is wrong.

Music streaming is a horrible business, says Apple Music boss

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Iovine
Jimmy Iovine’s days at Apple are numbered.
Photo: Apple

Spotify is in for a rough future, according to Apple’s Jimmy Iovine, who is warning the music industry not to place too much faith in the tech industry.

Iovine sat down for a new interview where he discussed the future of the music industry. According to the Apple Music boss, record labels are “100 percent” overly optimistic about where things are headed with technology.

Tim Cook cracks top 3 of Vanity Fair’s ‘New Establishment’ list

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook at the iPhone 8 keynote.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook ranks as one of the three most influential personalities in the world, according to Vanity Fair.

The fashion magazine published its annual “New Establishment” list today. While the top two spots did not change from last year’s rankings, Cook made a big leap from his No. 11 position in 2016 into the top 3.

Tim Cook to attend technology council meeting at White House this month

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Tim Cook
Tim's not a fan of special councils.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The first meeting of President Donald Trump’s American Technology Council is set to convene at the White House later this month with Apple CEO Tim Cook expected to be among the attendees.

With an aim of modernizing government services, the group is being led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Some of the biggest names in tech are among the roster of advisers, many of whom publicly denounced Trump’s recent decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, which could make the meeting pretty interesting.

Amazon Prime Video may come to Apple TV this summer

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appletv
Deal may have been agreed directly between Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Amazon will reportedly bring its Amazon Prime Video app to Apple TV sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Although it’s not confirmed, some industry observers have suggested that such a move would have had to be worked out directly between Apple and Amazon CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos.

Tim Cook and other tech titans meet Trump in his tower

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Peter Thiel separates Tim Cook and Donald Trump at tech summit.
Peter Thiel separates Tim Cook and Donald Trump at tech summit.
Photo: Sean Spicer/Twitter

Trump Tower in New York City became the site of the biggest meeting of tech figures in years Wednesday, as President-elect Donald J. Trump called together Silicon Valley’s elite for a meeting of the minds.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was among those in attendance and was seated within arm’s reach of the Trump, even though Cook  previously has been criticized by the recently elected Republican. Trump also called for a boycott against Apple products during the blistering presidential campaign.

5 years after his death, Steve Jobs remains among top ‘current’ tech leaders

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Steve Jobs was anything but a bust as CEO.
Steve Jobs is still one of the most revered leaders in tech.
Photo: China News

Put it down to Steve Jobs’ astonishing legacy — or poor reading comprehension — but according to a poll of 700 tech company founders, the late Apple CEO is among the most admired “current” tech leaders.

Despite having died five years ago, Jobs scored fourth place in the poll, following Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Eddy Cue, Walter Isaacson to speak at Vanity Fair summit

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Eddy Cue
Will he be wearing an Hawaiian shirt?
Photo: CNBC

Eddy Cue is among a list of high-profile speakers that will feature at this year’s New Establishment Summit held by Vanity Fair. Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs’ biography, is also in the lineup, alongside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Apple board member Bob Iger.

Apple’s CEO security budget is surprisingly low

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Tim Cook WWDC 2015
At least he has that knife.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Apple doesn’t spend the least of any huge company on security for head Tim Cook, but it’s way less than we expected.

Considering the iPhone maker is the biggest company, well, ever, we thought that its board might be especially interested in shelling out some major coin to keep Cook safe. But we looked at several different corporations, and Apple’s spending on CEO security is on the lower end.

Like the way lower end. As in, you would not believe how much Facebook pays to keep founder and head Mark Zuckerberg alive.

Amazon CEO teases top-of-the-line Kindle coming next week

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Amazon is on fire.
Jeff Bezos hopes the new Kindle is not like the Fire Phone.
Photo: Amazon

Looking for a new tablet but don’t need all the whiz-bang features that come with Apple’s pricey new iPad Pro?

Amazon may have just what you need when it reveals the 8th-generation Kindle next week. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos teased the new tablet on Twitter today, giving readers a heads-up on something wonderful coming their way.

Were damning anecdotes about Amazon workplace fair?

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$1 trillion
Amazon became only the second company, behind Apple, to reach the $1 trillion market valuation.
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

In the news business, a story that has legs stays in our heads, conversations and spins off follow-up headlines. Such was this week’s major newspaper expose describing Amazon as a hellish pressure cooker where employees cry at their desks.

Not everyone agreed with The New York Times piece that drew this conclusion after interviews with more than 100 current and former workers. Now even a Times editor is questioning whether the story was fair.

Jeff Bezos dismisses claims that Amazon is an evil employer

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Amazon beats Apple and Google to be named 'most valuable' brand
Amazon beats Apple and Google to be named 'most valuable' brand
Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wouldn’t want to toil in the dehumanizing hellhole described in a recent report about work conditions at his company. In a memo to employees responding to the allegations, Bezos painted a picture of caring Amazonians who are “fun” and “brilliant” and “helping to invent the future, and laughing along the way.”

He also said anybody who gets treated badly by Amazon should snitch to HR — or email him directly to air their grievances.

Practically nobody’s buying Amazon’s Fire Phone (including Prime members)

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Even Amazon chief Jeff Bezos can't sell the world on the Fire Phone. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

Nobody would ever call Amazon’s Fire Phone a hit, but even the company’s most loyal shoppers are apparently avoiding the phone like the plague.

A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners says that while the Amazon Prime subscription service continues to attract new members, the Fire Phone “has achieved virtually zero market share.”

Amazon to take on Big Apple with brick-and-mortar retail store

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Photo: Flickr
Jeff Bezos is moving into brick-and-mortar retail. Photo: Flickr

First of all Microsoft announces plans for a flagship Fifth Avenue Store to compete with Apple’s iconic glass cube, and now Amazon apparently wants to get in on the brick-and-mortar game, too.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon plans to open its first physical retail store in time for Christmas on Manhattan’s 34th Street.

While that might seem counter-intuitive for a company which essentially dealt the death knell to many brick-and-mortar stores, it’s designed to be an extension of the online experience — offering customers the ability to pick up orders placed online, or return and exchange products.

How Fire Phone’s fancy features might take on iPhone 6

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After years of work on its first mobile phone, Amazon has finally revealed the Fire Phone. Boasting an extensive recognition system known as Firefly and 3-D features powered by something called Dynamic Perspective, the device is now available for pre-order.

In today’s video we give you an overview of the flashy new device, which was unveiled Wednesday by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and compare Fire Phone to Apple’s mobile offerings (both the current iPhone 5s and the upcoming iPhone 6).

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

How ComiXology Became The iTunes Of Comic Books

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Faster than a speeding bullet, ComiXology has scaled the ranks in the App Store in what seems like a single bound.

As one of last year’s top-grossing iPad apps, the digital comics platform has sold an astonishing 6 billion comic book pages since its 2009 debut — 4 billion of those coming in 2013 alone.

In helping revive an industry that was almost dead on its feet, ComiXology has done for comics what iTunes did for legal music downloads.

At the height of its success, it’s now been snatched up by Amazon for an undisclosed amount of money — prompting the question of whether Apple has missed out. (Particularly when taking into accounts the reports that Amazon is reportedly set to debut a smartphone of its own — capable of busting out 3-D.)

After all, ComiXology’s CEO David Steinberger has always had big ambitions. He once wrote that his “crazy goal” was to turn everyone on the planet into a comic reader. Sounds just like Steve Jobs.

Before the acquisition, CEO David Steinberger told Cult of Mac ComiXology’s backstory and its deep ties to Apple.  Sometimes the Cupertino company has acted as its Krypton-esque home planet, and other times more like its Lex Luthor-style nemesis.

Ready for ComiXology’s secret origin story?

Amazon: In 4-5 Years, We Will Start Delivering iPhones & iPads Using Robotic Drones

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Amazon Prime delivery is pretty fast. As long as you pony up $99 every year, you can have pretty much anything shipped to you overnight — even iPhones and iPads — for just $3.99.

But what’s after Prime? According to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on a 60 Minutes interview last night, it’s PrimeAir, a new service in which Amazon will deliver your goods to you via drones within half-an-hour.