News sources have confirmed the return of Apple’s Steve Jobs. Apple Inc. has also released a confirmation of the latest information. After a lengthy ordeal with cancer, Jobs has returned to work. But what does this mean for Apple (AAPL)?

Shortly after Jobs and Apple announced that he was stepping down as CEO for health reasons, Apple’s stock bottomed out at around $79 per share. The company was suffering mostly from the unfortunate recession scares in early January, and then the Jobs news compiled onto the slide.

Analysts and consumers were wary of the company’s success at such unprecedented times. Apple has always been characterized by their high margins on products and strict price control. The company was never considered to be a market recession company–one that would outlast tough markets.

Fortunately for investors, Apple’s stock made a steep recovery following the announcement, and even in the difficult economic times, was highly successful. Further updates of the iPhone and iPod lineup has continued to fuel high revenue growth.

All the while, Jobs was out of the picture. But now, today, Jobs is back. Apple’s stock finished down $0.47 to $141.97. Investors should begin to notice that while Jobs is a revolutionary figurehead, Apple isn’t dependent on him. The creative genius in Apple is diversified among the top executives, Jobs is just a piece of the puzzle.

We may not have heard the end of his battle with cancer and his general health, but we’re still hoping for the best. Nonetheless, whether he is or isn’t present, Apple will still be the highly successful, creative company that we love.

The iPhone 3G is days away from being released. The blogosphere has gone wild with speculation of some new releases and updates to product software. Here’s a round-up of the latest rumors and news:

1. The iPhone 3G is set to launch on July 11th at 8:00AM worldwide. That means that the iPhone will be released simultaneously around the world in 22 countries at 8:00AM (for each respective time zone). Rumors have suggested that the early store opening is in relationship to the prolonged in-store purchase time associated with the activation (in the US).

2. The iPhone v2.0 firmware is set to be released at the same time as the iPhone 3G on July 11th, with the possibility that it may be delivered in an iTunes 7.7 update.

3. The iTunes 7.7 update, which is necessary to run the iPhone 3G, should come out with these releases and enable iTunes users to make App store purchases and downloads through the iTunes store interface.

4. The .Mac platform will officially be switching over to the MobileMe platform of products on July 9th at 6:00 PM PST. This number reflects the initial start time of the platform’s deployment, and says that the update could finish at 12:00 AM PST.

5. Last, but not least… The Apple Online Store is down right now. Rumors are circulating about a new MacBook product or the possibility of a public opening of the App Store. We’ll probably see tomorrow morning.

Apple is continuing to surprise Windows users every year. Macs have begun to beat PCs for Windows driven applications. Following in this new tradition of actually beating out Windows PCs, the new MacBook Pro has just been awarded the “Best in Class” award from Maximum PC!

Maximum PC had a face off between the Dell’s XPS M1530 and Apple’s MacBook Pro. The Apple notebook was the “clear winner” and was rated a 9 out of 10. Maximum PC highlighted the Mac’s graphic processor, Intel core, battery life, and the thinness of the computer.

There were some things that bugged Maximum PC nonetheless: Screen doesn’t angle far enough; no slot for cellular modem; hard to open up. These are problems, but nothing that would stop someone from buying the MBP.

Check out the article here.

A few years back, Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz sat in on one of Steve Jobs’ keynote speeches, presaging a vital computer/caffeine partnership. It wasn’t long before those little iTunes download cards starting showing up on the Starbucks counter, and iTunes was featuring a specially designated iTunes + Starbucks feature. iTunes cards often feature music of the month and the download cards are for a full album. It’s saved a vast amount of space and made the search for music an entirely different experience. The larger the selection of iTunes cards, the more Starbucks will seem less like a coffee shop and more like a record store of the past. But that’s not the end of the story; it becomes even further intertwined when a third party comes into the mix.

Around the time of the launch of the first generation iPhone, Apple decided upon AT&T to provide wireless service. It was highly publicized that Apple was looking for a company that would allow them to get royalties off monthly cell phone payments on the iPhone. As we all know, Apple priced the iPhone at $599, with no savings by signing on for two years. Without a doubt, Verizon Wireless missed the boat here when they declined the opportunity to work with Apple, citing that they could make a phone of their own, without having to pay third party royalties. And so it evolved that Apple and AT&T teamed up to provide service for the iPhone.

Perspective consumers were dismayed when discovering that the device would be running on AT&T’s slower “EDGE” network, known for having notoriously abysmal data service. Add into the equation that 3G technology was already working and delivering close to Wi-Fi speeds. In preparation for the major launch of the original iPhone, AT&T prepared their EDGE network lines and markedly boosted speeds. Without a doubt, these preparations were all tailored for the iPhone.

Eventually, AT&T’s CEO (and rumors around the blogosphere) acknowledged the development of Apple’s next iPhone: the iPhone 3G. AT&T delivered again, by upgrading the EDGE network to 3G. Apple was now ready to release the iPhone 3G on the network.

Right before the announcement of the new iPhone 3G on June 9th, Starbucks was in hot water with T-Mobile, which initiated a lawsuit as a result of Starbucks’ sudden jilting of T-Mobile, in preference for AT&T. Starbucks was preparing to have iPhone/iPod Touch + Starbucks content and music ready for their Wi-Fi consumers. And who does Schultz choose for cafe wireless? None other than AT&T. The new AT&T wireless internet at Starbucks allows 2 hours of free internet when connected to a Starbucks Rewards registered card account. Registration is free, and has made a trip to Starbucks even more appealing.

There have already been a number of rumors about iPhone users receiving unlimited free Wi-Fi service inside every Starbucks. Now more than ever, the probability of the two products working in tandem seems a given. Apple, AT&T, and Starbucks are collaborating so closely these days that one can envision these three companies developing an even closer partnership to serve their niche consumers.

It’s here. You can now watch the 2008 Keynote Speech by Steve Jobs at WWDC. Now, consumers can actually see what everything looks like and what they have to look forward to coming out on July 11th.

The website for the video reads:

Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil iPhone 3G, the App Store, MobileMe, and more in his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address from San Francisco’s Moscone West. See the video-on-demand (VOD) event right here, exclusively in QuickTime and MPEG-4.

Check out the video here.

The wait is over and WWDC 2008 is now gearing up. We’re constantly going to be giving our readers updates through this page.

Refresh this page for the latest/updated content. Also, scroll down for most recent activity!

WWDC 2008 – Keynote Speech by Steve Jobs

Keynote Speech Starts at: 10:00 AM Pacific

7:52 AM – 8:00 AM – Lines are forming and here are some of the pictures (courtesy of “rom”). Many of the major bloggers and news folk are arriving now.

8:30 AM – Inside shot of Moscone West shows covered banner. New product/idea coming?

9:21 AM – Line is moving into the Moscone West. 39 minutes until start.

9:35 AM – Line inside Moscone, all of them going up the escalator. 24 minutes to start.

9:50 AM – People are going into the keynote presentation hall.

10:01 AM – Al Gore is in the crowd! Greener products coming?

10:04 AM – Apple employees trying to get crowd settled.

10:06 AM – Keynote is starting! Lights are going down.

10:07 AM – Steve has taken the stage.

10:08 AM – Mentions, “52,000 attendees at WWDC 08.”

10:10 AM – Bertrand Serlet will be giving us a peak of the new OS X — Snow Leopard.

10:11 AM – Talking about enterprise as related to the iPhone

10:15 AM – A number of companies discussing their interest in iPhone 2.0 software. P.S. Apple Stores are down across the world.

10:20 AM – Demo is showing how to construct a UI in Interface Builder.

10:29 AM – Sega is showing Super Monkey Ball again, but now with over 100 levels. Playing through the last world, which demonstrates how well the tilt-control works. Available at the launch of the App Store for $9.99.

10:34 AM – eBay showing its auction application.

10:40 AM – Associated Press taking the stage. A “Mobile News Network.”

10:52 AM – MLB.com application shows today’s games with live, detailed scoring. It also includes real-time video highlights, which are delivered right after the play.

11:04 AM – Talking about push notification service for all developers.

11:07 AM – Steve has retaken the stage.

11:09 AM – iPhone 2.0 will be available in early for July. Free for iPhone owners, $9.99 for iPod Touch owners.

11:11 AM – If the developed application is less than 10MB, it can be downloaded through the cell network. Otherwise, it requires WiFi or iTunes.

11:14 AM – Now, something entirely new. MobileMe. Phil is on stage to demo.

11:18 AM – Something mentioned about Me.com. Phil’s talking Syncing automatically and wirelessly with all devices.

11:20 AM – Unbelievable looking Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Gallery applications. Photos are synched over the air too. iDisk integration is included as well.

11:28-11:29 AM – A 60-day free trial will be available along with the iPhone 2.0 software in early July. MobileMe replaces .mac. .mac subscribers will automatically be upgraded. Steve has retaken the stage.

11:31 AM – In the first year, 6 million iPhones were sold until Apple ran out several weeks ago.

11:32 AM – 1) 3G network support 2) Enterprise support 3) Third party application support 4) More countries (joking about unlocked iPhones in countries not officially supported) 5) More affordable

11:33 AM – Introducing the iPhone 3G.

11:34 AM – Even thinner, black plastic back, solid metal buttons, same gorgeous display, camera, flush headphone jack, and dramatically improved audio.

11:35 AM – 3G = faster data downloads, perfect for Safari and Mail. Comparing download speeds between 3G and EDGE. 3G finished in 21 seconds. EDGE finished in 59 seconds. 2.8X faster. Approaching WiFi speeds (WiFi scored 17 seconds). When compared to other 3G phones (Nokia N95 and Treo 750), the iPhone is 36% faster — and better looking.

11:38 AM – 3G has great battery life on iPhone. 300 hours of standby, 2G talk-time now has 10 hours (as opposed to 5), 5 hours of 3G talk-time (most phones only have 3 hour 3G talk time), 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing, 7 hours of video, 24 hours of audio.

11:39 AM – GPS support will now be a part of the new iPhone.

11:41 AM – With GPS, the iPhone can do tracking. A pulsating dot is moving across the Google map as a car drives down Lombard street.

11:44 AM – iPhone will expand to China, Japan, Australia, etc. 70 countries total.

11:45 AM – Now on to the final challenge — affordability. Started at $599 for an 8GB iPhone, now $399. The iPhone 3G 8GB will sell for… $199. $299 for the 16GB — a white version of this size will be available too.

11:47 AM – iPhone will be available in 22 countries on July 11th.

11:51 AM – Steve thanks the crowd and leaves the stage.

11:53 AM – It looks like that’s all folks. Have a wonderful day and thanks for tuning in! More to come on the website: MarketMatador.com

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Yesterday, Apple released a new update for the Leopard operating system. The upgrade, which has been a work in progress for a few months, now brings OS X to 10.5.3 from 10.5.2.

The latest update is intended for all Macs running Leopard 10.5.2 and comes in a 420 MB file for download from Software Update. Along with this, Apple posts the following information about the update:

The 10.5.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1141.
For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

The update also fixes some of the following on Macs:

• Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras
• Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices
• Improves 802.1X (Wifi) behavior and reliability and when using Time Machine
• Includes fixes for Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule
  (Source)

On the next start of Microsoft’s AutoUpdate, Office 2008 for Mac has a Critical update waiting to be downloaded. The 180 MB upgrade, which takes users to version 12.1.0, is supposed to have/make:

…several improvements to enhance security, stability, and performance, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious code.