Apple: America's Best Retailer

At $3 a pop, 30-day movie loans will pit computer giant against cable, satellite

(NEWSER) - Apple is buttering up top movie studios as it prepares to launch a video-on-demand service to contend with cable and satellite companies. Apple plans to offer each movie as a 30-day rental for $2.99, and it's telling studios the term of lease means they won't take a hit on DVD sales. More»

Mac will release feverishly anticipated super-gadget—but will the hype ring hollow?

(NEWSER) - The wait will be over for millions of tech groupies on June 29—when the iPhone, the highly anticipated device that merges web browsing, music playing, and telephoning, will hit Apple and AT&T stores worldwide. But the hype over what some call "the God machine" has already reached hysterical proportions, according to the Times. More»

Apple founder's character questioned by many interviewees

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs had an FBI file, assembled during a 1991 background check when Jobs was being considered for an appointment by George HW Bush, and the agency has just made it public after a FOIA request from the Wall Street Journal . Read all 191 pages here , or check out highlights below from the Journal and Gawker :

• Jobs' past drug use is a frequent topic in the file, but interviewees seem to agree that he had left that lifestyle behind him.
• One man calling himself a former "good friend" of Jobs said that the Apple founder is "basically … honest and trustworthy," but that "his moral character is suspect." Jobs, the man continued, "alienated a large number of people at Apple, as a result of his ambition."
• Another source did not want to discuss Jobs, due to "questions concerning his ethics and morality."

Asia provides workers, flexibility that US can't match

(NEWSER) - Last year, President Obama asked Steve Jobs whether iPhones could be made in the US instead of Asia. Jobs was blunt: “Those jobs aren’t coming back." The New York Times takes a long look at why. In short, Asia has a surplus of engineers and factory workers who work cheaply in flexible companies—so flexible that one reportedly roused thousands of workers at midnight to produce redesigned iPhones on a massive scale. Says a former White House adviser: “If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.” More»

Company received legal threats from Apple, Jobs family

(NEWSER) - The company behind the eerily lifelike Steve Jobs action figure has killed the project after receiving complaints and threats of legal action from Apple and the Jobs family. Officials from the Hong Kong firm In Icon say that while they believe the $100 doll does not violate copyright laws because it doesn't come with likenesses of any Apple products, they have no wish to offend the family of the late Apple chief, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»