SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) revealed Friday that Steve Jobs, the technology guru and cultural icon behind the cultish electronic lifestyle company that is Apple Inc., had approved a commemorative postage stamp slated for a 2015 release. Stamp designs are typically private affairs that are kept under wraps from the public until their printing. It seems ironic that the struggling postal service would honor one of the pioneers of electronic mail, but representatives for the USPS admitted that the conditions Jobs placed on his authorization for the stamp created an unprecedented profit opportunity for the agency.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Apple Inc. kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday in San Francisco, but despite unveiling some new products and a redesigned iOS (announcements that don't usually happen at this event), attendees confessed feeling underwhelmed. Many people said the keynote speech lacked substance, missed the standard "one more thing" surprise, and failed to deliver innovations targeted toward the community of developers. Some challenged that notion, but had only the death of Steve Jobs, Apple's founder and visionary, as an excuse. Attendees agreed the biggest problem was current CEO Tim Cook's "pathetic" whining about having no real direction anymore and his sad theatrics to convince developers that he was really Jobs incarnate, which included wearing Jobs' iconic black turtleneck and desperately staging a seance to plead with Jobs' spirit for help.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Apple evangelists and devoted investors have long worried about the fate of their beloved technology innovator since the death of visionary founder Steve Jobs. Tim Cook, the company's current CEO, has done little to live up to the reputation of his predecessor. In the minds of many, he has instead raised the specter of market stagnation and waning shares. Apple's stock tanked 35 percent last week from its all-time high. With shares languishing around $450, Apple appears almost cheap. And on January 25, Exxon again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company, with analysts citing a lack of truly new, groundbreaking products -- once the hallmarks of the company. If things continue along this lackluster path, shares could fall even farther over the coming years. Hoping to reassure investors, rattle the competition, and reassert its dominance in the field, Apple uncharacteristically introduced a 128GB iPad on Tuesday in what Wired called a "savvy" response to Microsoft's Surface Pro. But in a stunning double-down, CEO Cook also announced a "revolutionary" new member of the iPad family, the next generation Homonym. Both are slated for a February 5 release.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In October, a three-judge panel of the Federal Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Apple's request for an injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphones, citing a lack of evidence. Apple had won a $1.5 billion suit against Samsung last year for patent violations. Many analysts see the longstanding feud as a proxy war between Apple and Google. Samsung's popular devices use Google's Android operating system, which Steve Jobs once derided as a "stolen product." Despite the billion-dollar settlement, Apple requested the full court to revisit the October decision and impose a sales ban on Samsung's products. And in a surprise follow up, Apple then requested the panel of judges to ban the sale of any competitor's product.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Despite the long lines, celebratory mood and overall contentment greeting the arrival of Apple's new iPhone 5, critics and even diehard users found themselves grumbling at certain features. The most notable complaint stemmed from the bumbling and error-prone Apple Maps application, a homegrown replacement for the once ubiquitous and reliable Google Maps. Not only does the new app lack the popular features of its predecessor, including public transit directions, traffic data and street view images, the Apple version is plagued by geographical errors and missing information. For example, a farm is listed as an airport, roads simply end in the middle of no man's land, an entire city has been replaced with an ocean, and literary buffs seeking out Shakespeare's birthplace will find instead a hospital. But none of these glitches rival the peril one zoogoer in New York faced Friday as a result of Apple Maps, which confused a tiger cage for a public restroom.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Not one to shy away from controversial public statements and championing the conservative agenda, even to uncomfortable degrees within the ranks of his own party, F. Chester Greene on Friday mysteriously filed charges with the California State Attorney General’s office that accused President Barack Obama of killing Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Attorney General Kamala Harris could not be reached for comment, but her representatives said they had paid little attention to the complaint submitted by Greene.

BRIEF EDITORIAL -- Steve Jobs, the creative force behind Apple, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 56. His visionary approach to shaping our future was, unfortunately, all too rare a thing. His imagination and passion will be sorely missed. As my close friend and fellow BVET writer Michael Livingston said, "iSad." It wasn't meant as a joke or a slight, just a friendly way to remember an amazing legacy.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. -- A bug discovered in Apple iPhones and iPod Touch devices kept alarms from sounding, while archaic analog clocks continued to ring in 2011 without viruses or disruptions. Apple advised that the glitch would correct itself by Monday, January 3, but consumer groups have reported persistent problems. As a result, millions of Americans failed to wake up over the last three days, causing an unprecedented number of unexcused absences in businesses across the country. Even worse, attendance for New Year’s Day bowl games and parades fell to historic lows, crippling the already embattled economy.