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Over on the Lockergnome Q&A site, someone recently asked if Apple would die without Steve Jobs. What a timely discussion to be having, in light of the news spreading today about his health. There is no doubt that Jobs was instrumental in building the company into what it is today. But that doesn’t mean it will shrivel up and die without him.

Apple has been based on Steve’s eye for product for many years. I don’t think the company will go to hell in a handbasket though. I’d like to believe he’s imparted enough insight and foresight to his employees that the company will carry on just fine. It won’t be the same, no. If Apple doesn’t maintain its course in the way it does things, it will slip into obscurity.

Some people like to claim Apple is “dead” anyway. They’ll tout “Windows this” or “Android that.” I don’t know that Apple has ever tried to be some mythical “number one” at anything, though. Let’s take a look at money made just from handsets alone. That number – for Apple – is so high, my hand went off the screen during the video. As an operating system, Android could be “number one.” But they aren’t making as much money as Apple is.

For me, it’s about having the best-working device and experience possible. I wasn’t an Apple fan up until just a couple of years ago. I shifted when Apple began to shift. It’s about quality and elegance. That’s something that isn’t rivaled by any other company. Everyone else is just a kluge. I’m saying that with all due respect, but no one has the style that Apple is throwing out the door every day.

Apple has a fine attention to detail. That’s what makes them the power company they are. The hope is that the same attention to detail has permeated every employee. The company will succeed just fine without Steve Jobs. Does that mean we won’t mourn his loss? Of course not. He’s a leader… a visionary. But he’s not the only person who possesses those qualities.

Can Apple Survive Without Steve Jobs?

Everyone loves a good mashup. This one that I found courtesy of TUAW is one of the better ones.

Adam Buxton has created the perfect mashup by throwing the iPad announcement by Steve Jobs on top of some Death Star footage. His video description is simple, but tells such a huge story: “A long time ago, in a galaxy blah blah away… Big Jobs does his best to convince a skeptical Rebel Alliance that the i-Pad really is a game changer.”

Adam did an excellent job with this mashup. If you’ve seen others that you feel we should place here on our blog, let us know. Heck, maybe this will inspire you to try your hand at creating one of these yourself. If you do, be sure to share it with the community.

iPad Death Star Announcement

According to a report at TechCrunch, Bing may soon be the search engine found on the iPhone. Google has held that honor since the iPhone first launched, but their relationship with Apple is strained. “There’s been speculation around Google’s future on the iPhone since last year when the first public spat broke out between the companies over the Google Voice app for the iPhone. Android’s continued gains in market share only highlight Google’s direct competition with Apple, and the fact that so many core iPhone apps, including search and maps, are controlled by Google, has been a sore point with Apple.”

There are rumors that Google has been paying a stiff fee to Apple all of this time for exclusive search engine rights and ad serving. If that is the case, I’m sure Microsoft offered a nice sum to Apple in order for them to make the switch.

Even though Steve Ballmer himself is apparently not attending WWDC, it’s likely we’ll see someone from the company on the stage during the event. It’s pretty much a given that they’ll be discussing Microsoft Office for the Mac. It’s always possible that we may get to see Silverlight on the iPad. It also now seems as though we’ll be hearing about Bing moving onto the iPhone. Like all of you, we’ll be waiting to see what announcements the conference brings.

Is Bing Coming to the iPhone?

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