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Steve Jobs made the cover of FORTUNE as the "CEO of the Decade."

Ken Segall scored an interview with CultofMac.com.

Okay, Segall isn't quite as high-profile as Jobs, but, as an Apple employee, he was instrumental in some of the company's biggest decisions, the impact of which are still being felt years later.

For example, he wrote the "Think Different" campaign, which featured original thinkers through history (like Einstein, Gandhi and Bob Dylan) as the backdrop for Apple ads. The campaign ran for five years and won the first Emmy for a commercial.

He also named the iMac.

It was Apple's big follow up to the first "Think Different" push, and in the course of brainstorming what they'd call the new machine, Segall says he went back to Jobs three times with iMac -- the "i" ostensibly stood for "Internet," but could also register as "individual," "imaginative," and more, and could be used in front of any Apple product -- and was turned down twice before Jobs put it into production.

Perhaps Apple's devices would be exactly the same had Segall never worked there, but things like the iPod and iPhone would take on distinctly different characteristics were they named differently.

Read more from Segall at his blog.

It's not like Steve Jobs needed the ego boost, but FORTUNE has named him the "CEO of the decade" and placed him on the cover -- and all over the insides -- of its latest issue.

From the magazine:

The past decade in business belongs to Jobs. What makes that simple statement even more remarkable is that barely a year ago it seemed likely that any review of his accomplishments would be valedictory. But by deeds and accounts, Jobs is back ... [He] is once again commanding a 34,000-strong corporate army that is as powerful, awe-inspiring, creative, secretive, bullying, arrogant – and yes, profitable – as at any time since he and his chum Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976 ... In the past 10 years alone he has radically and lucratively reordered three markets – music, movies, and mobile telephones – and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown. Remaking any one business is a career-defining achievement for giants of any era.

FORTUNE's Web site offers a timeline of Jobs' hits and misses, as well as looks at how he "revolutionized" computing, music, movies and telecommunications.

There's also a photo gallery and a rundown of the top 10 moments in Jobs' career.

All in all, not a bad rendering for one of Silicon Valley's most iconoclastic leaders. (Especially considering that he beat out runners-up Larry Page and Sergey Brin for the honor.)

The New York Times is reporting that when Disney sought to make another pass at its 340 retail stores, they consulted the Sultan of Sunnyvale (can we call him that?) for inspiration.

Steve Jobs, who joined the Disney board upon the purchase of Pixar in 2006, apparently gave the company access to proprietary information on the strategy behind the Apple stores and advised them to "dream bigger" than mere retail.

The result: The new stores will be more like experiences than shops. "Theaters will allow children to watch film clips of their own selection, participate in karaoke contests or chat live with Disney Channel stars via satellite," the Times writes. "Computer chips embedded in packaging will activate hidden features. Walk by a 'magic mirror' while holding a Princess tiara, for instance, and Cinderella might appear and say something to you."

"The world does not need another place to sell Disney merchandise—this only works if it's an experience," a Disney executive told the Times.

Photo: Joi Ito

(H/t Gawker)

In the wake of Apple’s recent San Francisco event, at which the Cupertino-based company touted new products and features, a highlight reel was compiled, showing exactly how Apple execs feel about themselves.

Hang on. Apple is really into Apple.

(Via TechCrunch.)

Bloomberg TV offered full coverage of today's Apple event in San Francisco, including video of Steve Jobs' address. The program was a special edition of "Taking Stock," hosted by anchor Pimm Fox.

Raw video can be found here, with excerpts in the report below. (Jobs appears one minute, 22 seconds in.)

See below for a preview clip. Video of Jobs appears one minute, 22 seconds in, after a 30-second, daytime infomercial.

Apple's announcements for today's event involve mainly hardware upgrades for the iPod Touch and a slew of impressive game titles, including Madden NFL 2010 and Assassin's Creed: Discovery.

There's also the corresponding drop in prices: the $399 model now offers 64GB, with the 32GB dropping to $299. The 16GB is now $229, and the 8GB is $199.

Meanwhile, the iPod Nano now comes with a video camera, microphone and speaker, as well as a build-in pedometer, an FM radio and a voice recorder. The 16GB model will go for $179, the 8GB model for $149.

All of which is interesting, but the two most anticipated announcements-- the Beatles catalogue coming to iTunes, and a jumbo-sized iPod Touch tablet -- failed to materialize.

Word is trickling in from today's big Apple event in San Francisco.

The primary topic so far: Apple CEO Steve Jobs did indeed make an appearance. He was adored via an extended standing ovation.

Unlike his previous appearances at these affairs, he used his opening remarks to discuss organ donation, talking about the liver transplant -- he now has the liver of a 20-something person who died in a car crash -- that saved his life.

Think the iPhone is popular now? Forbes.com says that within two years, Apple could sell 50 million of them. (Considering that in 2006 Apple sold zero iPhones, that's a pretty impressive curve.)

Here's how it would happen:

It's a wonder that record stores even exist.

Mountain View-based Apple, already the leading music retailer in the U.S. through its iTunes service, now accounts for one-quarter of all music sold domestically. As a whole, digital downloads account for 35 percent of U.S. music sales; The company behind the study, the NPD Group, said that digital music sales might catch up to CD sales by the end of 2010.

iTunes' 25-percent share is up from 21 percent last year and 14 percent in 2007. It accounts for 69 percent of all online music sales.

Still, CDs have accounted for 65 percent of music sold so far in 2009. Don't count on that number holding up; NPD reported that despite more listeners in the music market, 17 million fewer people purchased CDs last year.

The huge Steve Jobs profile in Sunday's Times of London has been drawing significant attention. It discusses Jobs' April liver transplant in Memphis, and how he was "the sickest patient on the waiting list." The overarching question posed by writer Bryan Appleyard is, considering that much of Apple's value is the direct result of Jobs being at the helm, how was this news kept underground for so long?

"The answer," he writes, "is that, along with computers, iPhones and iPods, secrecy is one of Apple's signature products. A cult of corporate omerta -- the mafia code of silence -- is ruthlessly enforced, with employees sacked for leaks and careless talk."

The piece mentions deliberate misinformation being fed to individual units within Apple, so that if it leaks it can be traced back to its source. Appleyard describes cameras monitoring work spaces, and the mandate that devices be covered with black cloth when they're not being worked on, and red warning lights being illuminated whenever the cloth is removed.

The best part? Apple's secrecy police (whatever, in fact, that might mean), tried twice to block the story from being published.

There's a fair bit for the company to be concerned about. In addition to the obsession with secrecy (which "often is an impediment to actually getting one's work done," said one employee quoted in the story), the article touches on the fact that much of Apple's $140 billion valuation is built on the fact that Jobs is at the helm.

So while Appleyard takes 4,000 words to discuss Jobs' eating (favorite dish: shredded raw carrots without dressing), his "dodgy people skills," and quotes a psychiatrist calling him "a productive narcissist," the ultimate point is, what happens when he's no longer at the top of Apple's food chain. Will his string of breakthrough products -- iMac, iPod, iPhone -- continue?

"I don't use the word ‘genius' about businesspeople, but in Steve Jobs's case I'm prepared to make an exception," writes Appleyard. Ultimately, it's a high complement for the man, but a strong word of caution for the company.