Last week I watched the video of Steve Jobs’ iPad presentation. He looked healthier. After that, my attention was focused on the iPad. Frank Cioffi in MDN:

It’s interesting that very few journalists or bloggers noticed that Apple’s CEO appeared much healthier at last week’s iPad announcement. It was clear, at least to me, that he’s gained some weight. Not a lot, but noticeable.

Welcome back, Steve. A little Haagen-Dazs is good for the soul.

It’s probable that Tiger Woods has the best, most expensive PR hacks in the business. So, what happened to their expertise when he needed it?

Tiger Woods let 13 hours lapse after Friday’s early-morning accident without issuing an explanation, he ceded control of his story not only to legitimate news outlets, but also to celebrity gossip mongers on the hunt for a tale –- made up or otherwise -– of adultery and mayhem. The story of Tiger’s first major off-the-course bogey was in their sights and the race was on to fill in the juicy details.

What are the basic rules in a public relations crisis? Communications executive Kevin Sullivan:

Tell it first, tell it yourself and tell it all. That is the tried and true formula for handling a messy public relations crisis in the smoothest possible way.

The problem?

Tiger’s problem is that we’ve seen plenty of public figures in hot water make stern denials only to later be backpedaled into confessions after third parties talk or more information is unearthed. Remember the cases of Marion Jones, Michael Vick and Pete Rose, to name a few -– along with a parade of politicians, most recently former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards –- who misled and later came clean.

When you’re on top of the world there’s only one way to go.

I love it when members of the new media use new tools to present old information in new ways. MacDailyNews on Apple now worth seven times Dell’s market value.

Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell in 1997, when asked what he would do if he was in charge of Apple:

What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.

It is remarkable how things change. From MDN today:

In NASDAQ trading today, Apple gained $7.57 to $210.64 to hit a market value of $189.72 billion or more than 7 times that of Dell’s current $27.03 billion. Apple is also a debt-free company and currently has significantly more cash and short-term investments on-hand ($39.8 billion) than Dell Inc. is worth.

Honestly, I think Steve Jobs is saving all that money so he can buy Microsoft.

The gears of change are moving slowly at Apple; but moving. Google CEO Eric Schmidt is out after resigning from Apple’s Board of Directors. Steve Jobs:

Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.

The only real question is, “What took you so long?”

Is it possible to feel sorry for Microsoft? Needham analyst Charles Wolf skewers Microsoft’s higher profile products as well as their venture into stores.

To convince customers that there’s more to Microsoft than the mostly lackluster me-too products it now sells represents the major challenge of its stores,” Wolf continues. “The mantra of the campaign, according to leaked documents, is ‘Engage, Educate and Excite.’ Microsoft plans to focus on the ‘user experience.’ But typical Windows users are not interested in this. If they are, they most likely have already switched to a Mac.

What of Apple’s nearly instant success with the iPhone vs. Microsoft’s lengthy lifetime in the cellphone market with Windows Mobile?

Windows Mobile in its current incarnation is clearly the least user-friendly mobile operating system on the market. How does Microsoft put lipstick on this product? What Microsoft actually needs is a new mobile operating system that can compete with the iPhone OS, Android and BlackBerry. The same type of comments applies to the Zune. It’s a so-what product that’s now two generations behind the iPod.

Is Microsoft doomed?