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Tidbits from Apple's shareholders meeting
CNBC was at the Apple shareholders annual meeting that took place February 23 in Cupertino, and you can read through detailed notes of the summit on its site. There were only a few official matters to discuss, and the first was whether or not the company would adopt majority voting for its board of directors, requiring a majority vote for each director to stay. Shareholders decided to approve the measure, meaning board members would have to resign without a voting majority, but that ruling didn't matter much; all of the directors were elected with over 80 percent of the vote anyway. Other matters voted on included asking directors to further declare any conflicts of interest, a measure allowing for shareholders to set director pay, and another measure requiring Apple to disclose any political contributions. All of those suggestions ended up failing, with just a small percentage of the vote. Finally, Tim Cook and his fellow executives took part in a presentation and Q&A. You can read through all of the notes on CNBC, but it's worth recognizing that Cook definitely came out against Apple using its vast cash reserves to buy any type of content, whether that means picking up a record label or even buying access to sell TV shows or movies. Cook says that Apple aims to sell devices; while the board is still determining what to do with all of the cash, Apple has already spent billions on things like supply lines and components, and it will probably continue to focus on that in the future. Cook also called Facebook a "friend" of the company and said Twitter has also had a lot of integration with Apple's products lately. So far, feedback on that integration has been good. Cook also spoke about Apple's passion for education and said while Apple does donate money and time to supporting education, the company primarily supports schools and teachers with its products and by creating services and devices to enable learning in as many places as possible. The whole event sounds like business as usual while Apple continues to roll on through 2012.
The Perfect Ten: Most controversial MMO stories of 2010
Well, this is it, folks. The end of the year. A time of reflection, of massive weight gain and of lists. Man, we like our lists, do we not? Fortunately, at Perfect Ten Industries, we've been excelling in lists for months now. Frankly, we're just getting warmed up! While 2010 may not have been much to write home about in terms of newly launched MMOs, there was more than enough controversy to keep the discussion brewing for months. MMOs are big business, and when every move you make is closely scrutinized by millions of gamers, there's no room to slip up unless you like forum hyenas pouncing all over you, snapping and snarling at your faulty flesh. So let's take a jaunt down our top 10 list of the most controversial stories of 2010 on Massively, keeping in mind that it was devilishly hard just to keep this list to 10 at all. What's a week without being riled up about pixels and polygons, after all?
Palm posts 43-percent drop in profit
We'll admit, anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention should have seen this coming a mile away, but the latest financial news from Palm is far from peachy. The firm announced a whopping 43-percent dropoff in profits compared to this quarter just one year ago, and the stock subsequently slid four-percent as a result. Of course, the perpetual delays of its modern-day operating system cannot be helping the cause, and considering the innovation that has surfaced in the smartphone arena over the past 12 months, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Interestingly enough, rival RIM was able to find a way to keep on keepin' on all the while, as it simultaneously posted a staggering 76.5-percent increase in revenue from the same quarter a year ago -- talk about salting the wound.
Take Two mulling sale of company
The financial news from video game mega-publisher Take Two Interactive has run the gamut from bad to horrible over the past month or so. First there was a report from analyst Michael Pachter that suggested selling the company's stock. Then there was a disappointing earnings restatement and a shareholder coup that sought to overthrow CEO Paul Eibler. Now comes word that Take Two is considering selling the company to pacify the group of angry shareholders.Gamasutra is reporting that the Grand Theft Auto publisher has postponed its annual meeting from March 23 to March 29 to come up with alternative plans to present to the shareholders, which own a combined 46 percent of the company. One of the main alternatives mentioned in the official notice is "a possible sale of the Company." There's no guarantee such a sale will actually take place, but the fact that they're even considering it shows just how bad things are getting at Take Two HQ. Wall street seems to support the idea -- shares of the company were up 5.47 percent to $22 in early-morning trading.[Via Xbox360Fanboy]
