corporate

Twitter co-founders partner with new startup, Branch

Twitter's co-founders, who now head an incubator site called the Obvious Corporation, announced their involvement in a second project today--Branch. This new Web site will be focused on creating a discussion platform that will "turn the Internet's monologues into dialogues."

"The prototype, called Branch (formerly Roundtable), enables a smart new brand of high quality public discourse," Twitter and Obvious Corporation co-founder Biz Stone wrote in a blog post today. "Curated groups of people are invited to engage around issues in which they are knowledgeable."

The Branch project is a partnership between … Read more

Apple puts board re-election in the hands of shareholders

CUPERTINO, Calif.--Apple this morning, at the start of its annual shareholders meeting, announced that the company is adopting a new policy requiring its directors to win a majority vote before being elected to the board.

The announcement preempted a related shareholder motion that had been proposed for the meeting.

Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell said the board has gone against this policy for years due to the complexity it adds, but that shareholders over the past few years have been overwhelmingly for it.

"This is Apple and we don't let complexity get in the way," Sewell … Read more

ICANN attracts 100 would-be Net domain operators

ICANN, the Internet overseer that's begun a process to expand Net domains dramatically beyond the likes of .com and .edu, said today 100 organizations have registered to get involved.

The expansion concerns generic top-level domains, or GTLDs. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) spent years putting the new program together so the Internet could use Web and e-mail addresses ending in .paris, .canon, .hotel, and .eco.

As of Monday, 100 registrants successfully joined the program, but ICANN didn't say who they are or what GTLDs they're seeking to establish. Organizations have until March 29 … Read more

Apple dethrones Google as most reputable company

Apple has charged ahead of Google in brand reputation, jumping from fifth place last year to No. 1 this year, according to a U.S. consumer survey released today.

Apple has the highest score in the 13-year history of the study by Harris Interactive and beats all the other companies in four of the six key reputation areas: financial performance, products and services, vision and leadership, and workplace environment. Whole Foods was top ranked for social responsibility and Amazon.com for emotional appeal.

The Reputation Quotient (RQ) for Apple is 85.62 and for Google, 82.82. Rounding out the … Read more

Apple's secrecy: It's baked into the walls

Apple is a place so secret that employees even have trouble hanging out with one another after hours.

That's one of the key takeaways from a newly-published excerpt of "Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired--and Secretive--Company Really Works," the upcoming book from Fortune's Adam Lashinsky.

The lengthy read, which you can find here, provides a broad overview of what it's like to work for the company, including minute details about Apple's on-boarding process for new employees. However the most interesting tidbits revolve around the extent of Apple's secrecy with both its personnel … Read more

Yahoo announces Yang's resignation (statement)

Here's the full text of Yahoo's press release announcing co-founder Jerry Yang's resignation:

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Yahoo! Inc., the premier digital media company, today announced that Jerry Yang has resigned from its Board of Directors and all other positions with the company, effective today. In addition, Yang resigned from the Boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited, effective today.

In a letter to the Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang wrote:

My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, … Read more

RIM should sell handset biz, leverage patents, investor says

As Research In Motion prepares to announce its third-quarter earnings later today, one of the company's investors is calling on it to start selling off parts of the business.

In a wide-ranging statement (PDF), Jaguar Financial, a frequently outspoken critic of RIM and its co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, said that the time has come for the company to dump its handset business, leverage its broad patent portfolio, and become a service provider.

"Jaguar believes that RIM should sell its handset business and monetize its patent portfolio, while retaining its service business under new leadership," the … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook: Early clues to his leadership

Tim Cook has been Apple's chief executive officer for little more than two months, but he's already made some distinct changes from his predecessor, a new report says.

The Wall Street Journal has posted a profile of Cook's experience since taking on the CEO role (subscription required). The paper took a close look at a number of changes made during his tenure so far, which began in August when late company co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO.

Among the big things mentioned:

Cook restructured the company's education division to better fit it into Apple's … Read more

Watch iPhones and Androids make love

You thought this would never be possible.

But, because I am more idealistic and optimistic than you are, I merely waited for the day. It has duly come.

Please, then, watch the video I have embedded and bathe in the notion that everything is possible. For this video depicts iPhones and Androids making love.

It is thoroughly PG. It is thoroughly engrossing. And it gives us hope that our world can come together as one.

It was made by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. You might remember that this corporation got itself into a troubling bind when it planted a little green Android … Read more