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Michael Grothaus

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ONE: The app every American should own

My brother and I frequently discuss the fact that, though many Americans are passionate about a wide variety of issues affecting our country, few seem to actually take the time to do anything about it. And who can blame them? Many Americans are so overworked, underpaid, and in fear of how they’ll make their mortgage payment or health insurance premium next month that they may not have time to attend a political rally or contact their representative on a certain issue? Well, now there’s an app that makes it easier for the average Joe to take political action and promote change — all from his iPhone.

ONE Campaign is essentially a call-to-action app. It lists a number of political issues or advocacy movements and gives you instant access to proven projects that are working to combat the issues (like vaccines for children, for example). You can then enlist your Twitter or Facebook friends to help spread the word and join movements that are important to you. But the best thing about the app is that it gives you instant tools so you can actually take political action. With a few taps you can call your Congressman or sign a petition to support your cause. The app knows who your Congressional leaders are based on the zip code you enter. So many political action apps are solely news-focused. They tell us the bad things that are happening and leave us angry or distressed. The ONE app allows us to take productive action on an issue as easily as we download a song. ONE Campaign is a free download.

ONE: The app every American should own originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Park makes fun of all things Apple in season opener

South Park has aired the opening episode of its 15th season, and it blasted not only Apple’s products, but the culture surrounding the company as well. We knew this was coming based on a Steve Jobs parody keynote promo that was shown leading up to the premiere.

Some of the best bits were the Genius Bar segment (see below — sorry, Flash required) and the part where Eric’s mom tries to get him to buy a Toshiba HandyBook instead of an iPad. I’ll let the episode speak for itself, though. You can watch it in its entirety here. Be warned, however — as usual, South Park is very NSFW.

HUMANCENTiPAD
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore…

South Park makes fun of all things Apple in season opener originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Investors re-elect Jobs to Disney board

Bloomberg is reporting that Disney investors today have re-elected Steve Jobs to Disney’s board of directors. The re-election comes despite proxy advisers who advised the share holders not re-elect Jobs, on account that his health issues might affect his ability to serve in an adequate manner.

The vote, which was held in Salt Lake City earlier today, found 74 percent of investors voting to keep Jobs on the board along with 12 other re-elected nominees. After the vote, Disney sent out an emailed statement saying, “The Walt Disney Company considers itself fortunate to have Steve Jobs as a member of its board of directors.” Today’s vote was anxiously watched by many analysts, as it was primarily seen as a vote in confidence about whether or not investors thought Steve Jobs could still partake in major strategic decisions.

As a consequence of Disney’s acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, Jobs’ majority stake in Pixar led to him becoming Disney’s largest individual shareholder by a wide margin (7 percent ownership; former Disney chairman Michael Eisner came in 2nd with 1.7 percent of shares outstanding). He has held a seat on Disney’s board since that time.

Investors re-elect Jobs to Disney board originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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