Apple shares dived as much as 7 percent in after-hours trade after the pancreatic cancer survivor and industry icon, who has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition since January 17, announced he will be replaced by COO and longtime heir apparent Tim Cook.

Analysts do not expect Jobs’ resignation — which had long been foreseen — to derail the company’s fabled product-launch roadmap, including possibly a new iPhone in September and a third iteration of the iPad tablet in 2012.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come,” he said in a brief letter announcing his resignation.

The 55-year-old CEO had briefly emerged from his medical leave in March to unveil the latest version of the iPad and later to attend a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders in Silicon Valley.

Jobs’ often-gaunt appearance has sparked questions about his health and his ability to continue at Apple.

“I will say to investors: don’t panic and remain calm, it’s the right thing to do. Steve will be chairman and Cook is CEO,” said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.

Apple shares slid to $357.40 in extended trading after a brief halt. They had gained 0.7 percent to close at $376.18 on the Nasdaq.

Analysts again expressed confidence in the Apple bench, headed by longtime company No. 2 and supply-chain maven Cook.

“Investors are very comfortable with Tim Cook even though Jobs has been a driver of innovation and clearly an Apple success. Tim has shown Apple can still outperform extremely well when he’s been acting as CEO,” said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross.

“I don’t know if it’s a health issue. I don’t know if it is a shock. Most likely it was going to happen at some point. Why today versus another day? I don’t know.”

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta and Edwin Chan; Editing by Gary Hill)

Musician & activist Ben Harper on the interview for the KTLA "Heal the Bay: protect what you love" special, talking about his brother Joel's passion for the environment, community & music. Don't miss the TV special on September 10th!

Musician & activist Ben Harper and Mediatavern’s Douglas Rowell were interviewed for the KTLA “Heal the Bay: protect what you love” special, talking about All the Way to the Ocean and Joel’s passion for the environment, community & music. Don’t miss the TV special on September 10th at 8pm Pacific Time!

Douglas Rowell of Mediatavern is interviewed by KTLA

Depthcore

Depthcore is an international art collective focused on modern digital art, incorporating illustration, photography, animation and audio. The group was established to provide a showcase for the best in modern craftsmanship, and to serve as a home for skilled practitioners of digital craft. Every three to four months, the Depthcore Collective puts forth a collection of digital media and modern artwork contributed by our members in what are colloquially referred to as “Chapters”. Chapters contain anywhere from 50 to 150 selected works from various mediums, including illustration, photography, music, animations, and collaborative works. The releases are themed, and require each member to contribute their own interpretation of a central idea or concept. The themes are only as binding as the members imagination allows them to be, and artists are free to project any construction of the subject they desire.

Click here to check out their work >

San Francisco, June 14, 2011 – Mediatavern, an independent digital marketing agency and entertainment studio, announced today that it entered into a strategic partnership with The Global Change Network (www.theglobalchangenetwork.com).  Mediatavern will be working with GCN to bring digital and social media strategy and production to its roster of client companies and organizations.  In addition, GCN will be adding to Mediatavern’s full-service offering by providing brand strategy and messaging surrounding global development and social and environmental issues to its client partners.

Arlene Fairfield

“Our business is to motivate people around a particular issue, program or campaign, moving the needle on some of the most important issues we face today. We can only do this by collaborating with agencies like Mediatavern who bring the sharpest, most creative people to every marketing and communications challenge,” said Arlene Fairfield, Principal of GCN.

“The Global Change Network is an incredible organization that does extraordinary work with an impressive list of organizations,” said Geoff Gougion, Managing Partner of Mediatavern.  “We are thrilled to be working hand-in-hand with such a brilliant team and client roster, but also to be able to support our clients in a new way with a company in GCN that is the best in the business,” said Gougion.

Geoff Gougion

“With opportunities we have today to leverage GCN’s expertise with our clients, plus their support of our original production of ‘All the Way to the Ocean’, a film/educational program based on Joel Harper’s popular book, we should see some immediate results from our relationship,” said Gougion. “We can’t wait to get to work.”

ABOUT MEDIATAVERN:

Mediatavern (www.mediatavern.com) is a full-service digital agency and entertainment studio that develops and produces innovative strategically-driven content for current and emerging new media platforms. The Agency is uniquely positioned between the sensibilities and storytelling of traditional media and the exciting flexibility of the new media landscape. With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Norwalk, CT, this intimate and thriving company is home to an exceptional team of analytic, creative, digitally savvy storytellers and artists committed to doing work driven by passion, bleeding edge innovation and results.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL CHANGE NETWORK:

Global Change Network, with a presence in the US and London, develops brand strategies for NGOs, foundations and companies who advocate for and communicate about international development, particularly family health and women’s empowerment, and environmental issues. Our marketing-based approach to every communications challenge results in a more efficient allocation of resources, measurable results, and greater impact.

MEDIATAVERN CONTACT:

Geoffrey Gougion

Managing Partner

Mediatavern

(415) 829-3324

ggougion@mediatavern.com

THE GLOBAL CHANGE NETWORK CONTACTS:

Sara Cerrell

Principal, London

44 07901 243 797

sara@theglobalchangenetwork.com

Arlene Fairfield

Principal, Seattle

(206) 898-8795

arlene@theglobalchangenetwork.com

The World Oceans Day: Ocean IQ Challenge will be open until July 8th – visit now to enter!

‘All the Way to the Ocean’ wants you to have fun on World Oceans Day by learning more about our oceans and how to save them. It’s easy when you check out ‘The World Oceans Day Ocean IQ Challenge’. It’s fun and informative, because you get to challenge yourself with 4 different Ocean Knowledge Quizzes. You can even tell your friends about this unique contest (sponsored by ‘All the Way to the Ocean’ and powered by Funnelbrain) and then challenge them to get a better score than you did.

Who knows, one of you may win an autographed copy of the book ‘All the way to the Ocean’ by Joel Harper, a Ben Harper CD, or a great prize from Klean Kanteen or a CD/DVD combo of Eddie Vedder’s latest solo album “Ukulele Songs“. Contest open to all U.S. residents 18 or older. But if you’re not, why not ask someone who is to play, so you can help them answer the questions. Then next time you’re at a nearby ocean, river, stream, lake or pond you’ll know that you’ve already taken the first step to make it pollution free! Enter Now —->>>

Win Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Burning Spear, Xavier Rudd CD and Klean Kanteen Reflect in the World Oceans Day Ocean IQ Contest!!! Brought 2 U by All The Way To The Ocean —->>> Good Luck ♥

Improving Usability with Fitts’ Law

Back in 1954, psychologist Paul Fitts published an article the detailed his theory on human mechanics as it pertained to aimed movement. It was Fitts’ observation that the action of pointing to or tapping an target object could be measured and predicted mathematically.

Fitts stated that the size of the target object along with its distance from the starting location could be directly measured, allowing him to model the ease at which a person could perform the same action with a different target object.

In 1954, this theory had no application for computers yet; however, it shouldn’t take a modern designer long to discover the powerful meaning this formula has in the context of user interfaces.

Because of this, Fitts’ law has become a staple in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), and has become one of the most accepted guidelines in the industry.

Fitts’ law, at its simplest form, is common sense. The bigger an object and the closer it is to us, the easier it is to move to.

Fitts’ law is a model that can help designers make educated decisions in user interfaces and web page layouts. It can be used in conjunction with design theories such as visual weight to give user interface items proper hierarchy and placement.

Click here to read more >