Books

Cook on Yukari’s anti-Apple book: ‘nonsense’ that fails to capture Apple or Steve Jobs

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 18, 2014

There isn't much to like about a new book on post-Jobs Apple by the former Wall Street Journal writer Yukari Iwatani Kane.

Conveniently titled Haunted Empire ($14.99 in the iBooks Store), it could have as well been named 'Apple Is Doomed' due to her pre-conceived conclusion that Apple's best days are behind.

The author claims to have based the material on about 200 interviews with current and former Apple executives, none of them named. This type of ill-conceived journalism is just sad: the hearsay is supposed to factualize that Apple's is in a disarray, declining and amid the "perils and opportunities an iconic company faces when it loses its visionary leader".

In one passage, the author describes Apple's current boss as a "machine" and "riveting," blasting him in another over a supposed “disastrous” AllThingsD appearance and questioning his leadership abilities because he's seemingly too demanding while also being too lax.

The scathing portrayal of post-Jobs Apple wasn't lost on the current CEO Tim Cook, who took to CNBC today to describe Haunted Empire as a nonsense attempt that "fails to capture" the essence of the company and its visionary founder Steve Jobs. Also, Kane responded back in an email statement to Re/code. Grab your popcorn...

Steve Jobs told executives Apple would not release a TV

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

When the magic dust of the iPad settled, pundits and analysts alike began to wonder out loud what Apple was going to do next. What product category was the company going to revolutionize next? And for the longest time, a lot of folks thought it was going to be televisions.

Some even believed that's what Steve Jobs was referring to when he said he had "finally cracked" the secret of TV. But according to a passage from Yukari Kane's new book 'Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs,' the co-founder never wanted Apple to release its own TV set...

Tim Cook described as a ‘machine’ and ‘riveting’ in new book on post-Jobs Apple

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

When Tim Cook officially took over the CEO position for Steve Jobs in late 2011, he had some major shoes to fill. Jobs wasn't just chief executive at Apple, he was also its co-founder, savior and visionary. And he was arguably one of the most famous leaders of our generation.

But Cook has done a good job thus far. Apple's the most profitable company in the world right now, coming off another record-breaking quarter, and it has some big things planned for 2014. So what's his secret? A new book about Apple post-Jobs attempts to answer just that...

‘Haunted Empire,’ a scathing book on post-Jobs Apple by former WSJ editor, coming March 18

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2017

Reporter Yukari Iwatani Kane had enjoyed unparalleled access to Apple in her five-year tenure at The Wall Street Journal, during which time she published numerous scoops like the 2009 story about Steve Jobs's secret liver transplant.

She recently penned a new book on Apple that's coming out on March 18. Titled 'Haunted Empire, Apple After Steve Jobs,' it offers a scathing look at post-Jobs Apple and, in the author's view, the gloomy prospect the company is facing under Tim Cook's leadership...

Sephora teaches Apple how promos are done right with notable iOS freebies

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Apple's 12 Days of Gifts promotion has come to a close today with Day12 gift: an extended play from the legendary English rock band The Rolling Stones. Judging by your comments, Apple's gifts are - shall I put it politely? - lacking in many respects.

Now, of all companies, makeup retailer Sephora has launched a similar promotion in the United States through its free Sephora to Go iPhone and iPad application offering continually changing freebies such as apps, movies, songs, books and more.

Unlike Apple's rather embarrassing gifts, Sephora is currently giving away an eight-song playlist for free, in addition to such notable programs as journaling software Day One, art creation app Silk and djay 2 for the iPhone and iPad, to name just a few...

Apple launches ‘Best of 2013’ iTunes page for top apps, games and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

As it has done every December since 2009, Apple has published an iTunes page today highlighting the top performing downloads in its various digital storefronts. The page covers everything from apps to games, to books and movies.

Apple named Duolingo, a free app that teaches you how to speak in different languages, its iPhone App of the Year and the popular 'Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption' its iPhone Game of the Year. More top picks after the fold...

Google Play Books gains OCR-based search

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The Google Play Books app has received a nice update this morning which lets you search through the contents of scanned pages.

If you've used the Google Books service before, you know that the Internet giant supports a variety of book formats, including those with free-flowing text, scanned pages or even a combination of both.

Unlike the regular text which can be copied and pasted, scanned pages are regular images. Therefore, to make searching of scanned pages possible some sort of an optical character recognition (OCR) feature needs to run either on the device itself or on the server.

That's exactly what this Google Play Books update does for you...

Good deal: 55% off Jony Ive bio and Inside Steve’s Brain book combo

Cody Lee ∙ November 15, 2013

It's been a big week for Apple-related book releases, with two major titles hitting the shelves: Dogfight: How Apple And Google Went To War And Started a Revolution and Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products.

The latter is a full-length biography on Ive, Apple's senior vice president of design. And if you've been thinking about picking it up, you'll be interested to know that you can snag it at a nice discount in this two-book combo deal...

New Jony Ive bio book hits iBooks Store, here are juicy bits

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

I've been following Leander Kahney for quite some time now, going all the way back to his Wired and The Guardian years. Kahney now runs the Cult of Mac Apple blog and he's already published three books about technology and Apple's culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs, Cult of Mac about the creation of the Mac and Cult of iPod which chronicles how Apple's music player came to be.

Building on the experiences in writing these books, Kahney has now taken a crack at demystifying Apple's arguably most powerful executive after Tim Cook, the guy who put sexiness in Apple's gadgets and flattened all your icons - 46-year-old British industrial designer Sir Jonathan Ive.

I've skimmed through the book and cherry-picked a few interesting anecdotes...

How to have your iPhone read aloud books and PDF documents in the Books app

Lory Gil ∙ Updated June 25, 2025

Learn how to have your iPhone or iPad read aloud e-books and PDF documents in Apple's Books app so you can multitask and be more productive, saving your time.

Oyster brings its unlimited e-book subscription service to iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

If you read a lot but find electronic books Apple offers on its iBook Store a tad pricey, you should consider Oyster, an awesome subscription-based e-book service that gives you unlimited access to over a hundred thousand titles for a flat monthly fee of just $9.95.

'The Netflix of e-books,' as some call this New York-based startup, launched last month as a private beta on an invite-only basis on Apple's iPhone and iPod touch.

Today, the service announced it is now open to everyone. Moreover, they've released a new version of the iPhone app which adds native iPad support ahead of Apple's October 22 media event. I have more information right after the break...

This beautiful coffee table book showcases Apple’s industrial design prowess

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2013

Much ink has been spilt about Apple's industrial design skills and the polarizing look and feel of its unapologetically sexy gadgets. Jonathan Zufi's photographic shrine of Apple's design work is taking it all to the next level. The 42-year-old Australian native has managed to put together a massive 326-page coffee table sized book containing detailed photographs he's meticulously taken over the years.

It showcases Apple products and their packaging from the designer's point of view, unlike any Apple book you've ever held in your hands. This has got to be the most original and detailed tribute to Apple's design prowess I have seen to date, check it out right past the fold...