Tim Cook Met With Jesse Jackson for 'Positive and Productive' Discussion

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson on Monday, reports USA Today . Though Jackson declined to comment on what he and Cook discussed, Jackson is currently in the Bay Area for his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which is hosting a workshop at Intel on racial diversity at technology companies.



The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a non-profit organization that champions social justice, civil rights, and political activism, and recently, it has been targeting tech companies for not employing more women and minorities. At its Silicon Valley meeting, taking place on December 10, the Coalition is expected to discuss ways tech companies can improve diversity in the workplace.



The Coalition, alongside Jackson, will also hold a rally with labor leaders and service workers outside Apple's headquarters in Cupertino to highlight the growing wealth gap in Silicon Valley.



Speaking about the meeting with Tim Cook, Jackson said that he and the Apple CEO discussed "a range of subjects" for approximately one hour, and that the meeting was "positive and productive."

"I am impressed with him and the conversation," Jackson said in an interview on Tuesday. "He has a real vision for Apple and he sees the value in inclusiveness."

Diversity and equality have been an important topics for Tim Cook as of late, as the Apple CEO recently came out as gay. In the letter declaring his sexuality, Cook told the world that Apple will continue to take a strong stand on furthering workplace equality. An August diversity report revealed that 7 out of 10 Apple employees around the globe are male, and Apple's U.S. workforce consists of 55 percent white employees, 15 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent Black.



At the time, Tim Cook said that he was unhappy with Apple's diversity numbers and promised to improve them.



Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:02PM, December 09

Buyer's Guide: Discounts on iMac, MacBook Air, and Apple Accessories [Mac Blog]

There's a great deal on the entry-level 27-inch 3.2GHz iMac with 8GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive this week. It's available for $1,659.99 from Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H Photo, which marks a discount of $139 and one of the lowest prices we've seen.





The best deal for many users will likely be from B&H Photo, as the site does not charge sales tax outside of the state of New York. Best Buy and Amazon, on the other hand, will charge sales tax, making B&H the lowest available price.



Lower prices are also available on some of Apple's other iMacs, but the deals aren't quite as nice. The entry-level 21.5-inch version can be purchased for $1,179 from Adorama or B&H Photo, a savings of $120, while the higher-end 21.5 inch model is available at $1,399 from Best Buy or B&H Photo, a savings of $100. The high-end 27-inch model is also available for $122 off from Adorama, at $1,878.



There are still deals to be had on Apple's 2013 MacBook Airs, which are nearly as good as the 2014 models. The entry-level 11-inch model can be purchased for $787 from Amazon, $112 less than the comparable 2014 model. The high-end 11-inch version is available for $939 from Amazon and $949 from B&H Photo, a savings of $150+.





As for the entry-level 13-inch 2013 MacBook Air, the best deals this week come from B&H Photo and Amazon, both of which are offering it for $899. The higher-end 13-inch model is available for $1,044.99 from Amazon and B&H Photo, $155 off the comparable 2014 model.





Several Apple accessories are available at a discount this week, including Apple's EarPods, which can be purchased for $15.95 (down from $29.99) from A4C. Lifeproof is offering 25 percent off of all its Fre and Nuud cases for the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c with the promo code EVENT25 and Otterbox cases for the iPhone 5 and 5s are available for $18 from LivingSocial, a discount of $32.



MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:02PM, May 15