Apple boss takes 'medical leave'

17 January 2011 Last updated at 10:25 ET

Apple boss Steve Jobs has announced that he is to take "medical leave" from the company.

In an e-mail to employees he said he was taking the break to focus on his health.

He said he would continue as chief executive of Apple and be involved in any major decisions. Day-to-day running of the company will pass to Tim Cook.

In late 2008 to mid-2009 Mr Jobs was absent from Apple for six months to have a liver transplant.

It was part of the series of treatments he has undergone for pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed as suffering from the cancer in 2004 and underwent surgery later that year to remove a tumour from his pancreas.

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Analysis

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There is no other technology firm - probably no other major business - whose shape and direction is so much in the hands of one man as Apple.

Steve Jobs is not only the public face of the company, at the launches of new devices like the iPad, he is involved in every minute detail of Apple products.

So for the last half dozen years every hint, every rumour about his health has sent shockwaves through the investment community and caused Apple's share price to plummet.

Each time he has returned to work after treatment, the company has tried to reassure its investors that its chief executive is now in good shape.

Then the gaunt appearance of the man in the trademark black sweater and jeans has started the rumour-mill turning again.

Apple's many fans will feel deep sympathy for Mr Jobs when he pleads for privacy for himself and his family - but its investors will be demanding more detail when Apple unveils its latest results on Tuesday

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In his e-mail Mr Jobs said he would be back at work as soon as he can.

"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," he said in an e-mail.

"I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations."

Mr Cook is currently the firm's chief operating officer. He has run the company day-to-day before now during previous times when Mr Jobs has been dealing with his health problems.

The announcement was made on a public holiday in the US when there is no trading in company stocks and shares.

However, Apple shares closed down 6.4% on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Year-on-year, they areup 79% and over 24 months up 328%.

The news comes ahead of Apple's first quarter results, due on 18 January.

Mr Jobs is an iconic presence at Apple and is widely credited as the architect of its current run of success based around products such as the iPad and iPhone.

The absence comes as Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch the second version of its iPad - the successor to the tablet computer it launched in 2010.

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&#39;Euro-GPS&#39; boss falls in Wiki row

17 January 2011 Last updated at 17:43 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The chief executive of one of Germany's leading space companies has lost his job because of the Wikileaks saga.

OHB-System's Berry Smutny was reported in a cable to have told US diplomats that Europe's Galileo satellite-navigation project was a "stupid idea".

Bremen-based OHB-System is part of the consortium that will build Galileo's first 14 operational spacecraft.

Although Mr Smutny has denied the cable's contents, OHB's board has decided to remove him from his post.

A statement from the company on Monday said its supervisory board had "passed a unanimous resolution to revoke Mr Smutny's appointment", adding that it "disapproves these conversations and the quotes attributed to Mr Smutny".

Controversial project

Berry Smutny was alleged to have told diplomats at a meeting in Berlin in October 2009 that Galileo, a flagship space programme of the EU, was a waste of taxpayers' money.

The cable, which was published by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten last Thursday, quoted the OHB-System chief as saying, "I think Galileo is a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests", and, in particular, French military interests.

Mr Smutny was further reported to say that Galileo was "doomed for failure" or would "have to undergo drastic scalebacks for survival".

When approached by Aftenposten to comment on the cable, the executive conceded he had met US officials but rejected the notion that he had made any such remarks, adding that he was a supporter of Europe's proposed sat-nav system.

Galileo is a mutil-billion-euro venture which will complement - but also compete with - the US Global Positioning System (GPS), providing very accurate timing and location data that can be used in a host of applications from landing planes to co-ordinating financial transactions. The endeavour is controversial because its deployment is long overdue and significantly over-budget.

OHB-System and UK-based company Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) were awarded a contract valued at 566m euros (�465m) in January 2010 to start the production of the Galileo constellation.

Surrey will assemble the electronic payload for each satellite in Guildford before shipping it to Germany to be incorporated in the spacecraft bus, or chassis, prepared by OHB.

Year of success

The consortium's contract win was a spectacular achievement for the two firms which beat off the combined bid of Europe's two biggest satellite manufacturers, EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space (TAS).

OHB-System then followed this triumph by winning the other high-profile European satellite-manufacturing deal of 2010 - the 1.3bn-euro contract to produce the next generation of weather satellites for the continent. In this case, the contract is shared with TAS.

The statement from the OHB-System supervisory board said Mr Smutny had to be removed from his position in order to avert any further damage to the company on the part of customers, political representatives and the public at large.

It thanked the outgoing chief for the work that he had performed over the past 18 months, "particularly stressing the fact that last year had been the most successful in the company's history".

Marco Fuchs, who is currently the CEO of the parent company OHB Technology, will be assuming the position of CEO of OHB-System.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

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Risks of cyber war &#39;over-hyped&#39;

17 January 2011 Last updated at 05:33 ET

The vast majority of hi-tech attacks described as acts of cyber war do not deserve the name, says a report.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development study is part of a series considering incidents that could cause global disruption.

While pandemics and financial instability could cause problems, cyber attacks are unlikely to, it says.

Instead, trouble caused by cyber attacks is likely to be localised and short-lived.

However, it warns that governments need to plan for how it could mitigate the effects of both accidental and deliberate events.

'Great confusion'

Attempts to quantify the potential damage that hi-tech attacks could cause and develop appropriate responses are not helped by the hyperbolic language used to describe these incidents, said the OECD report.

"We don't help ourselves using 'cyberwar' to describe espionage or hacktivist blockading or defacing of websites, as recently seen in reaction to WikiLeaks," said Professor Peter Sommer, visiting professor at LSE who co-wrote the report with Dr Ian Brown of the Oxford Internet Institute.

"Nor is it helpful to group trivially avoidable incidents like routine viruses and frauds with determined attempts to disrupt critical national infrastructure," added Prof Sommer.

The report acknowledged the risk of a catastrophic cyber incident, such as a solar flare that could knock out satellites, base stations and net hardware, but said that the vast majority of incidents seen today were almost trivial in comparison as they did not last long and only hit a few people or organisations.

Attempts to decide how to deal with the wide variety of potential attacks and attackers were being hampered because words used to describe incidents meant different things to different groups.

For instance, it said, an "attack" could mean phishing e-mails trying to steal passwords, a virus outbreak or a concerted stealthy attempt to break into a computer system.

"Rolling all these activities into a single statistic leads to grossly misleading conclusions," said the report. "There is even greater confusion in the ways in which losses are estimated."

The report also played down the risk of a conflict between nation states being played out over the net.

"It is unlikely that there will ever be a true cyberwar," said the report, most likely because no aggressor would stick to one class of weaponry. Also, it said, existing defences and the unpredictable effects of such an attack could limit its effectiveness.

However, it noted, that even if a cyberwar is unlikely to ever happen, there was no doubt that the weapons used in such a theatre of war were becoming ubiquitous and would likely be used in the future alongside conventional weapons as "force multipliers".

Under the heading of cyber weapons the report included viruses, worms, trojans, distributed-denial-of-service using botnets and unauthorised access to computers ie hacking.

Finally, it said, while the net may be a vector for attack it might also help in the event of a large-scale event.

"If appropriate contingency plans are in place, information systems can support the management of other systemic risks," it said.

"They can provide alternate means of delivering essential services and disseminate the latest news and advice on catastrophic events, reassuring citizens and hence dampening the potential for social discontent and unrest."

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�98 PCs target UK digital divide

17 January 2011 Last updated at 06:48 ET

Low-cost computers are to be offered as part of a government scheme to encourage millions of people in the UK to get online for the first time.

Prices will start at �98 for a refurbished PC, with subsidised net connections available for �9 a month.

The 12-month trial is part of the Race Online 2012 scheme, which aims to reach out to the 9.2 million adults in the UK who are currently offline.

Distributor Remploy hopes to sell 8,000 machines in the next 12 months.

"Motivation and inspiration are still two of the biggest barriers [to using the internet], but clearly perception of price is another big deal for people," Martha Lane Fox, the UK's digital champion, told the Financial Times. "A good price point is certainly part of what helps people get online."

Web barrier

Race Online 2012, which aims to "make the UK the first nation in the world where everyone can use the web", estimates that of the more than nine million adults in the UK who are currently not online, four million are socially and economically disadvantaged.

The cheap computers will run open-source software, such as Linux, and will include a flat-screen monitor, keyboard, mouse, warranty, dedicated telephone helpline and delivery.

The packages will be sold through 60 UK online centres which offer IT training and Remploy, an organisation that specialises in helping disabled and disadvantaged people find work and which runs the computer recycling scheme e-cycle.

Race Online 2012 has also negotiated cheap internet packages using a mobile dongle, costing �9 a month or �18 for three months, to help people access the web.

Its research suggests that going online can save people around �560 a year and that thousands of jobs are offered exclusively online.

But the cost of owning and running a computer and net connection is often seen as a barrier for many people.

As a result, there have been several previous government-sponsored initiatives that offered cheap PCs.

The �300m Home Access Scheme began to distribute free laptops to pupils from poor backgrounds in January 2010. It was scrapped by the coalition government eight months later.

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