I don't know why, but most of my buddies call me on the phone or buzz me on some instant messaging network just to tell me the latest bad news they heard. I guess this is human nature, after all - crimes, natural disasters and so on are more interesting to most people than good news, but the good part is that I am not crazy about bad news at all. In fact, I hate them, so today I'll go through some of the latest good news related to Apple, its people, and its products. Good enough for me, I hope it's going to be good enough for you, too!

First of all, let's talk about the top of the pyramid. Obviously, I am talking about the man behind Apple's success in the last decade, Steve Jobs. As you probably heard already, a lot of analysts are concerned about his health, and leaving the analysts behind, I am sure virtually all Apple fans noticed his shady appearance at the WWDC 2008.<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

In the meantime, various reports kept saying that Steve Jobs is pretty well, and now, a New York Times article is doing that again, but also adding another thing we heard already - the weight and energy loss were caused by the side effects of a surgical procedure suffered by Apple's head earlier this year. According to the New York Times article, recently, "Mr. Jobs has reassured several people that he is doing well and that four years after a successful operation to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer, he is cancer free."

For now, it seems Steve have taken a vacation this week, and since there's no official statement regarding his health, I guess we should all hope he's going to return to a great shape, and this is really a vacation, not just some time off to undergo some other medical procedures.

OK, so Steve Jobs isn't at the helm now, but that doesn't stop Apple from going at full speed, and still accelerating. Despite various early problems with the iPhone 3G, the sales were nearly double, compared to the original iPhone, during the same period. This is nothing but impressive, but let's get to the most interesting part today...

...since the iPhone has finally received recognition as a platform of the future. How? Starting this Autumn, the Stanford University will offer its students a course called iPhone Application Programming. Do I have to say more? I guess I should, but there are no further details available yet. Anyway, just hearing the above left me speechless, so I will gracefully retreat and give you the opportunity to use your freedom of speech by placing your comments below. ;)

When talking about the Microsoft-Apple competition, there's one thing only a few dare to deny, because there's no room for a second place when we think about advertisements. I must confess I like watching good commercials, as well as to study various brands and the way they are selling their corporate image, but I can't claim I have solid knowledge on Microsoft ads...or maybe it's just the fact that Microsoft didn't manage to come up with any advertising campaign to remember, so far?

Anyway, leaving the 1980s ads behind(Apple's board of directors wasn't quite happy with them, anyway, although the 1984 Superbowl ad remained in the history), as well as those created in late 1990s, like the Think Different one, we arrive to the latest advertising campaign from the Cupertino-based company, now the notorious Get a Mac campaign. <-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->I know, there's a lot to say about the Apple advertisements made public so far, with all their highs and lows, and there's even more to simply sit back and enjoy watching(although I don't think mocking your competitors is fair, I love most of the "Get a Mac" ads!), but there are 3 new iPhone 3G ads available, and that's where I wanted to arrive...

The new iPhone 3G ads are Everyone, Unslow, and Work Friendly, all trying to point out the speed and features the new iPhone packs, and all for "half the price."

The first advertisement, Everyone is all about doing things "twice as fast," and paying "half the price." The second, Unslow, is a slightly different version of the first ad, but I can say I liked the original better. At last, we have Work Friendly, an ad about your work calendar, work email, and work contacts...with a very nice conclusion - "it works great with work."

If you ask me, I think these ads are a bit forced. I only say this because the older Hallway ad is just great, but I also must admit that one was mainly targeting old iPhone users. For those still strangers to Apple's smartphone, the new ads fill in the gap wonderfully, although I must repeat I am not crazy about them at all. So...what do you think? Hallway, Everyone, Unslow, or Work Friendly?

I know a lot of people who are looking for cheap Apple laptops, while others would (almost) kill to get a MacBook Air, and virtually all my friends would like to get one, disregarding the fact some of them weren't crazy at all about Apple's products in the past. Even if I speak for myself, I must say I am not one of those considering computing on the road something worth fighting for, so I still consider that a notebook is a useless tool for me, but if someone would knock at my door and tell me that I just won a MacBook Air, I would surely be extremely happy to hear that, and I don't have to say that notebook would probably soon become my primary computer, instead of being sold or exchanged for beer, as it would happen with a Windows laptop, with only a few exceptions that I won't mention now. These being said, let's get to the interesting part: cheap Apple laptops!

First, you should know that, according to Piper Jaffray, quoted by AppleInsider, Apple's next line of products to be released will aim at the budget conscious users, so if we skip the iPods, we get to the cheap Apple laptops expected by everyone, because we can't say Apple is currently selling any laptop for the entry-range market. The rumor says we should get ready for a 13-inch MacBook, a laptop expected to be priced lower than $1000, but I wouldn't be amazed to see it selling for $999, and with less features than its Windows-based counterparts. Anyway, we're talking about an Apple here, so I am sure they'll only go cheaper, but not too cheap!

Here's what Gene Munster has to say about the upcoming cheap Apple laptops:<-336x280 Large Rectangle - right-> "We believe there is an 80% chance Apple will introduce redesigned MacBooks and possibly new MacBook Pros at lower price points. Specifically, Apple may re-enter the $999 price point (currently $1099) with the MacBook, or test the $1,799 price point with the MacBook Pro (currently $1999)." Considering the tendency of the notebook market to offer better prices with each month, I think a 10 percent price cut won't do that much, after all...

On the other hand, if you can't get a cheap Apple laptop, why not get an expensive one that's even better than the MacBook Air? Hold on, this is not blasphemy, it's just a rumor, according to which we should see the MacBook Touch arriving in October. We heard it before, it wasn't true, but maybe this time we'll get lucky, don't you agree?

When Apple decided to switch to Intel processors, I don't know if they imagined that, sooner or later, various companies will start manufacturing Mac clones. Obviously, with a little effort, you can build a desktop computer using a Intel Core Duo processor, and then install Mac OS X on it, but to have a company selling Mac clones...that's a bit too much, and the outcome of the Psystar story should be an example for those still thinking about selling Mac clones. Well, Open Tech didn't get it, and now they are following Psystar, as we're going to see right away...

First, let me tell you a few words about Psystar, the Florida-based electronics company usually selling surveillance and communication devices, but who also got into selling "Open Computers" with the option of pre-installing Mac OS X Leopard on them. As you were able to find out already, Apple has filed a lawsuit against them, and the last time I heard about this story, it was the fact that Psystar Corporation is selling one warehouse where its HQ was located. If this is a sign of giving up, or being forced to do it, that's what I leave for you to decide. Now, let's move to Open Tech, shall we?<-250x250 Square - right->

If they'll have something to say about it, then I'm all years, but I have to tell you this - how serious could be a company without a .com domain? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't buy absolutely nothing from one having a .tk as homepage! Anyway, here's how the top-of-the-line Open Tech XT machines look like(for the actual machine, look to the picture above):

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz Processor
- 4GB DDR2 800MHz Memory
- 640GB Hard drive- 7200 RPM
- Optical Drive ( Burn and read dvd's and cd's)
- CoolerMaster ATX Mid-Tower Case
- Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11g

According to its manufacturer, the Open Tech XT "is capable of running most popular operating systems." While you get no pre-installed OS, you can get detailed instructions on installing all of them, including...Mac OS X Leopard, of course!

For now, Apple has a lot of things to do, but I don't think Open Tech will get too far with this. After all, it's not just one little company's products they're cloning here, it's the almighty Apple! What do you think?

If we want to talk about Apple's financial performance, after leaving aside the impressive iPhone 3G sales, we should also consider the fact that Apple's business is going well on the remaining fronts, as the latest Apple sales figures are showing. To make a longer story short, it's enough to say that, less than a day ago, the Cupertino-based company announced its 3rd Quarter 2008 Financial Results, but there are plenty of things to say about this, apart from those sales figures, so let's get this show rolling, shall we?

The short version of the story looks like this: almost 30 percent profit rise, taking the figure up to $1.07 billion, on revenues of no less than $7.46 billion. This means $1.19 per diluted share, if you are really crazy about numbers, but since nearly 2.5 million Macs and 11 million iPods have been sold during this period, Apple's impressive figures shouldn't look like something out of this world. After all, it's only the marketing behind some solid products, that's all. I think there are other companies on the market that could go pretty high, but they lack the marketing teams required to push them forward. Well, Apple has everything it needs!

Regarding Steve Jobs' health and the fact that he may leave Apple, we should have no concerns. While Oppenheimer didn't get into any details, he said "Steve loves Apple. He serves at the pleasure of Apple's board.He has no plans to leave Apple. Steve's health is a private matter," so this makes me think Jobs may have some health problems, but intends to stay with his company until the end. Well, let's just hope the end won't come anytime soon. <-250x250 Square - right->

Now, let's get back to the Apple sales figures, shall we? Apple's estimations for the fourth quarter look like this - "Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $7.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.00," but you shouldn't worry - the hit expected to be taken by the diluted share is caused by the back-to-school promotion offering free iPods to Mac-buying students, one-time costs, and a "significant product transition"(new Macs or iPods, anyone?).

To draw the line, let me say only this: Apple sales figures are rock solid for the current quarter, and I have a feeling that in the next 2-3 months, something big will happen. How big? Well, I guess it's going to be something big enough to help pushing the Holiday season up and make it the most profitable Apple has seen so far, but I can't bet on anything just yet.