Wires Crossed #85 – May 25

Iran To Sue Google Over Persian Gulf
Iran has got in a snit with Google over the company’s mapping service refusing to label the Persian Gulf on Google Maps. And sure enough, they are right. If you go to Google Maps you will find they have named the Gulf of Oman, which is adjacent to the Persian Gulf, but there is no label for the body of water situated in the Middle East. Apparently there is a lot of sensitivity about the name of due to several Arab nations that also border the water way. Iranians are Persian, not Arabic, which is why we assume Google has deferred on the side of caution and just let sleeping dogs lie. That aside, Iran getting upset over such a thing with its less-than-stellar human rights record suggests they probably need to get their priorities right.

Saverin In Firing Line For Dodging Taxes
Last week we reported on how Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin had renounced his US citizenship and upped sticks to live in Singapore. Most thought he did so to avoid the capital gains taxes he would have to pay on his Facebook shares.  US Senators Charles Schumer and Bob Casey want to introduce legislation to punish those who have a net worth of over $2 million and have renounced their citizenship and thus avoid paying taxes on some of their wealth. What we find interesting/amusing is that they will have to make the legislation retroactive if they do, which really isn’t the American way at all. For his part, Saverin has stated on several occasions that he didn’t renounce his citizenship for tax purposes. To which we say, “Yeah, right.”

Sorkin Signs On For Jobs Biopic
West Wing, Moneyball and The Social Network scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin has agreed to write a screenplay based on the life of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. With such as impressive list of credits, and the ability to get the nuances right when it comes to character-driven pieces, Sorkin seems the ideal candidate. Now it’s just a matter of finding the right lead to play the self-absorbed, eccentric visionary. Ashton Kutcher has been mentioned in an unrelated project, and while there is definitely a physical resemblance there, whether the That 70s Show star could pull of a marquee performance is another matter entirely.

Why Anal Apple Changed Logo On Laptops
This goes under the heading “Useless Information I Didn’t Know”.  Anybody who dabbles even a little bit in technology knows how anally retentive Apple is about EVERYTHING. But even we didn’t know, or realise, that so much time and decision making went into the placement of the Apple logo on its laptops. It appears former CEO Steve Jobs liked people to ‘experience’ the logo the right way up on the lid of the device, once it was open. Why? Because they’re Apple we guess – no other reason. Of course it initially led to a few new owners trying to open the laptop from the wrong end after thinking the logo was the right way up when the lid was closed when in fact it was upside down on purpose.