Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple computers and icon of the consumer electronics industry, has died. His visionary leadership of the company he founded, and the products produced under his tenure, have created and defined new markets that have changed the very landscape of technology.

There was much speculation about Jobs’ health when, not two months ago, he stepped down as CEO of Apple. He’d held that position since 1996 when he returned to the company after being forced out in 1985. Though the founding of the company with Steve Wozniak is the stuff of Silicon Valley legend, it was his return that fostered a rebirth in the then floundering company. What followed were a series of fantastically successful and innovative products, such as the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and the iPad in 2010. Under his leadership as CEO, the company has seen record profits and was briefly the most valuable company in the United States.

The spectre of Jobs’ ill health has hung over the company since 2004, when he announced that he had pancreatic cancer.

This afternoon, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, the latest addition to the iPhone family. Focused on performance upgrades and incredible new software, the announcement defied the expectations of just about everyone and did not roll out at an iPhone 5. The new phones will be on sale on October 14th, presale on October 7th, for Verizon, AT&T, and newcomer Sprint. The 4S will come in three sizes: 64GB, 32GB, and 16GB retailing for $399, $299, and $199, respectively. iPhone 3Gs will continue to be sold, now free with an AT&T contract, as well as the original iPhone 4 for $99.

Though there wasn’t an iPhone 5, Apple did roll out a slew of improvements in the 4S, including an all new voice command system called Siri.

In a surprise move, Sony announced that it and hardware hacker George Hotz have settled their bitter lawsuit. Hotz, the creator of the software that unlocked PlayStation 3 consoles and gave users unprecedented access to their devices, has been the target of the suit which has involved subpoenas against social media sites he used and potential probes into anyone that may have visited his site.

The deal, which Sony is calling an “agreement in principle,” was apparently reached on March 31. In it, Hotz agreed to cease publication of the jailbreaking tool and to never produce such a tool again. The deal also shields him from any claims of wrongdoing, which protects him from any claims of involvement with the denial of service attacks against Sony’s networks that have resulted in the wake of the trial.

Though it seems that this is the end of Hotz’s saga with Sony, he posted a parting shot on his Geohot Got Sued blog:

As of 4/11/11, I am joining the SONY boycott. I will never purchase another SONY product.

I encourage you to do the same.

Though one less patron will probably mean little to Sony, one wonders if the folk-hero status he’s garnered won’t keep him as a thorn in Sony’s side for years to come. After his swearing off Sony on his blog, he promises that more will be coming soon.

(via Electronista, Joystiq)

The creator of Minecraft Markus Persson, A.K.A. Notch, has just announced that version Beta 1.4 is live for download. Though not nearly as world-changing as 1.3, it adds some new features and one new mob. According to the Minecraft site this update will include:

* Added tameable wolves

* Added cookies

* Sleeping in a bed now resets your spawn position

* New Minecraft logo

* Holding shift while climbing will hang on to the ladder

* Spiders will no longer trample crops

* Lots and lots of infrastructure for Statistics lists and Achievements

Users on the Minecraft forums have also confirmed the addition of cocoa beans, and brown sheep. There are also scattered reports of a special in-game April Fool’s Day joke.

Check back for more on these new features as we find them!

Google has announced that Kansas City, Kansas will be the location for Google’s experimental fiber network, which aims to provide one gigabit of information to every home. Those are some very lucky Kansans.

When it announced the plan last year, Google said it hoped to spur development of next generation technologies that could take advantage of a super-fast internet connection. For context, a gigabit is 2,000 times faster than dial-up and 100 times faster than most broadband connections.

Since the initiative was announced, communities across the country have tried to woo Google with stunts of all kinds. In choosing a recipient city, Google says:

our goal was to find a location where we could build efficiently, make an impact on the community and develop relationships with local government and community organizations. We’ve found this in Kansas City. We’ll be working closely with local organizations including the Kauffman Foundation, KCNext and the University of Kansas Medical Center to help develop the gigabit applications of the future.

There is as of yet no word on pricing, but it will apparently be in-line with what Kansans are already paying for Internet. Google intends to begin construction before the end of the year, and hopes to have the network up and running by the first quarter of 2012. Google hasn’t been given carte blanche, however; their plans are still contingent upon approval by the city council.

Our congratulations to the denizens of Kansas City, though we turn green with envy saying it. Keep reading below for a video of Google’s official announcement.

Andrew Baron, operator of Rocketboom, confirmed on his blog that the popular internet culture encyclopedia Know Your Meme has been purchased by Ben Huh’s Cheezburger Network for a “a super seven figure deal.” The announcement on Baron’s blog comes shortly after the news was broken by Tubefilter earlier this afternoon.

The Cheezburger network, which includes such web staples as Fail Blog, Memebase, and The Daily What, recently raised over $30 million with plans for a large-scale expansion of the network’s staff and the sites they operate. The acquisition of KYM is Huh’s first public move since. In an interview with TechCrunch regarding his future plans after raising the $30 million, Huh said, “We’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we can do.”

Though specifics about the future of KYM are scant, Baron offered some details in his announcement. He says that the full staff of KYM, which consists of two full-time and two part-time writers, is moving over to work for Cheezburger Network post-acquisition. At least for now, KYM’s mission will not change: Baron writes that he is “pleased to report that future plans for Know Your Meme will actually focus on maintaining and strengthening the journalistic integrity.”

AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have come upon an agreement wherein AT&T will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion ($14 billion of it in stock), gobbling up the mobile service that people generally used when AT&T or Verizon didn’t tickle their fancy. The combined user base of the newlook AT&T is estimated to be around 130 million people, though seeing as how this merger will create what is essentially a monopoly on GSM in the United States, the merger will have to pass through various regulatory checks. From The Hill:

The transaction will require Justice Department scrutiny on antitrust grounds and FCC public interest approval due to the transfer of spectrum licenses. Observers will watch for conditions ranging from broadband deployment to low-cost subscriptions to net neutrality.

The door is open for the merger to be entirely blocked, and many Democrats on Capitol Hill can be expected to make that case.

If the deal doesn’t pass for whatever reason, AT&T will owe T-Mobile a $3 billion breakup fee, as well as giving T-Mobile some of their AWS spectrum, and granting T-Mobile a roaming agreement on which both parties agree.

Why would AT&T buy up T-Mobile, aside from it being a savvy business move? They claim it will provide an expanded LTE footprint. Also, it’s a savvy business move. There isn’t word yet regarding how this merger will affect current T-Mobile customers, though hopefully they’ll be able to keep their current plans, as well as not succumb to AT&T’s notoriously subpar service.

(via Engadget and The Hill)

Toward the end of tonight’s episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, NBC aired one of their promos plugging the show’s website, as is the custom. However, the promo seemingly contained a humongous spoiler: It told viewers to log onto the show’s website for gift ideas for April and Andy’s wedding. The thing is, there has been absolutely no sign whatsoever that April and Andy would be getting married anytime soon; in fact, the two characters aren’t even dating, as Andy has been trying to win April over since last season.

I have two theories:

1. NBC released a promo for the show that was supposed to be for a future episode, thus accidentally revealing a huge spoiler at the wrong time.
2. The episode that the promo aired after featured characters Ron Swanson and his ex-wife Tammy getting married during a drunken binge, and also featured character Jerry giving them a present from their wedding registry. So, instead of revealing a spoiler about April and Andy’s future relationship, the NBC promo simply blundered and said the incorrect character names.

However, the problem with theory #2 is the above video clearly shows April and Andy when the voiceover says their names, and I can’t seem to find the wedding registry on NBC.com, where the promo says it’ll be. Whatever the reason, it looks like NBC just made a pretty big blunder.

UPDATE: Going with theory #2, the show’s website finally updated with Ron and Tammy’s wedding registry, though it seems to simply be 11 stock photos of nothing related to the show, nor anything comedic. It seems entirely possible that NBC realized their blunder, then quickly threw a Ron and Tammy wedding registry together in an attempt to cover their tracks; however, as the above video clearly shows, both April and Andy are shown on screen when the voiceover says their names in the promo.

UPDATE 2: On the April 14, 2011 episode that just aired, Andy and April actually did get married. It looks like NBC really did accidentally release a huge spoiler back in February.

Our long, national nightmare is over! Two years ago, during Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals took the lead with a fourth-quarter touchdown by Larry Fitzgerald. And during that touchdown, a 30-second clip of porn appeared on the screen alongside Mr. Fitzgerald. The Pittsburgh Steelers ended up winning that game, but were most likely not distracted by the porn since only Tucson low-definition cable subscribers saw the clip. And it only took two years to find out who was responsible! Um, really?

Often considered the go-to source for comic book news for the last two decades, Wizard Magazine is rumored to be shutting down its print operation effective immediately. First reported by Rich Johnston, a veteran reporter with Bleeding Cool News, the rumors of Wizard’s shut down were swiftly followed by a press release from Wizard World, Wizard’s parent company, announcing the creation of a new online-only publication.

From the press release:

Wizard World plans to launch in February 2011 an all-new digital magazine called ‘Wizard World’ that will appeal to pop-culture fans, the same audience to which Mr. Shamus has catered to, for over 20 years. Wizard World digital magazine will provide coverage of the world of comic books, toys and superheroes, and the personalities behind them.

Wizard’s website and comic conventions appear to be unaffected.

With Wizard’s passing goes the last print publication covering the comic book industry. Much of that coverage has since moved on-line, and other traditional news outlets like the New York Times have begun paying closer attention to comic books, which may be a contributing factor in Wizard’s demise. However, the fact that print coverage of the industry is apparently unsustainable may have more serious implications for comic book publishers which still rely on print products.

Update:

Newsarama is now reporting that Toyfare will also be shutting down. This has been confirmed in an email from Wizard World PR, stating:

Wizard Entertainment is ceasing publication of the print magazines Wizard and ToyFare.  Wizard World, Inc. will begin production of the online publication “Wizard World” beginning in February.   We feel this will allow us to reach an even wider audience in a format that is increasingly popular and more readily accessible.

(via Bleeding Cool News, Newsarama)