Get a Mac Gone, New iPhone Coming, Apple Largest Tech Company

It’s the end of an era. The “Get a Mac” ads starring Justin Long and John Hodgman are done. The ad campaign started in 2006 and the lines “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC,” became well known worldwide. Apple announced the end of the ads last week and also removed its library of videos from the Apple.com Web site. They remain available as an Apple podcast, at least for now.
Signs are certainly pointing to a new iPhone model soon. The old iPhone 3G, available until this week as a low-end sub-$100 model has been removed from the Apple Store. The lowest-end iPhone 3GS has been discounted to less than $100 at Walmart stores. And Steve Jobs has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7.
This will typically mean the announcement of new or updated products. Rumors are floating around that AT&T employees have been warned of a new iPhone launch for the month of June. It is likely that the new iPhone will be announced on June 7, and then available for sale at the end of the month.
On the other side of the news, Apple is being scrutinized on three new fronts this week. First, the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into allegations that Apple put pressure on music companies to not enter into exclusive early sales deals with Amazon.
Also, reports of more suicides at electronics manufacturer Foxconn has led many to suggest that working conditions there might be a problem. There have been nine suicides and two other attempts so far this year, out of a population of about 400,000 workers. Apple has said it is launching its own investigation. Foxconn also makes products and parts for HP, Dell, Nokia and Sony.
Even U.S. Apple workers are getting in on the act, with a class-action lawsuit filed in California that claims that Apple Store employees were not properly compensated for missed breaks.
These kinds of things can be expected more often now that Apple has surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization, making it the world’s largest technology firm. It is also the second largest U.S. company, just behind Exxon Mobil.