Business currents

As if Steve Jobs and Apple haven't commanded enough headlines during the past couple of weeks. Late Friday, Bloomberg reported that Jobs is considering a liver transplant.

In a telephone interview with Bloomberg's Connie Guglielmo, Jobs refused to comment on his health status: "Why don't you guys leave me alone--why is this important?"

The article, which quotes anonymous sources said to be "monitoring his illness," says that Jobs is weighing the transplant "as a result of complications after treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004."

A spokesman for Apple said the company … Read more

Each time our little world suffers a disaster, man-made or otherwise, count on the usual suspects to rush to their keyboards and pound out yet more bloviation about the existential importance of Twitter to our 24 x 7 ecosystem.

Before some of you jump ugly on me, let me hasten to mention that I've long found Twitter to be extremely useful. But how long before we can move past this "wonder of Twitter" moment? An earthquake in China, the Mumbai massacre, war in Gaza--Twitter's proved itself as a tool to report and comment on breaking news. … Read more

I must have been dozing in government class when they explained the part about how the U.S Constitution grants the legislative or executive branch the power to bail out failing businesses.

Joking, of course. Here's what the Constitution actually says: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

No, this isn't the start of a civics lesson. But what with the laundry list of corporations on Wall Street and Detroit lining up for government assistance, … Read more

Earlier this week, Congress announced what were billed as Senate and House "hubs" as part of a move to improve lines of (two-way) communication between government and the people.

It's hard to sit through the cavalcade of phony welcomes as the leadership performs the equivalent of a company commercial for the video-hosting service. Watching these pathetic twits appear on a video is exquisitely painful. I still can't decide who gave the worst performance, but between Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, the competition was intense. (Acting lessons only go so far, folks.)

Still, … Read more

Corporate fixes are notoriously hard. Parachuting into the equivalent of a war zone, with potential landmines at every turn, requires a special gene. And no small amount of brass.

So it is that after a year of corporate upheaval and a slumping stock price, Yahoo announced a brilliant appointment. I don't know if Carol Bartz will turn out to be the messiah-like figure the Yahoo crowd has been praying for. This company is up against the wall. But the new CEO is an old-school technology executive who has thrived in crises that would have overwhelmed most of the good … Read more

Count on the chattering classes to get it wrong. If I had a nickel for each time some expert or another weighed in over the years with a prediction of doom for Microsoft or Intel, I'd be kicking it in the Bahamas right about now.

There has been no shortage of upstarts, touted at one time or another, as can't-miss candidates to upset the computing world's constellation of forces over the past 30 years. All got bloodied for their trouble.

But have you noticed? As 2009 gets under way, it just seems the new year's outlook … Read more

The Wall Street Journal's got a source close to the Obama transition team who says that Julius Genachowski will be nominated to become the next head of the Federal Communications Commission.

If true, the appointment would not be a bolt from the blue. A former IAC executive and founder of start-up incubator LaunchBox Digital, Genachowski had been an adviser to two FCC chairmen during the Clinton administration.

After Barack Obama's victory in the presidential race, there was speculation he might nominate Genachowski to become the chief technology officer to the White House. Either way, it did not hurt … Read more

Western civilization may never again be the same.

Grant Robertson, who goes by the Twitter handle, @grobertson, used the microblogging service to propose marriage to his girlfriend, Christina Warren, known in the tweetosphere as @film_girl. (Thanks to Erick Krangel for bringing this to everyone's attention.)

This isn't the first time nerds have turned to technology for amorous pursuits. But it's about as cutting edge--or lame, as it gets. All depends on your point of view. So sound off and vote in our poll to the right.

Rod Blagojevich got elected governor. So can Meg Whitman be that much of a long shot?

We may find out soon. eBay's former numero uno is said to be mulling her entry into California's gubernatorial race, according to The Wall Street Journal, which adds that Whitman will decide within the next six weeks whether to try to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after his final term runs out in January 2011.

I'm not sold on the idea, but more about that in a moment. I'm sure the political consultants advising Whitman believe it's a stroke of … Read more