MAM
Long-term Olympic sponsor Xerox will not renew contract
LOS ANGELES: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Xerox Corporation have announced that their worldwide sponsorship agreement would not extend. It was due for renewal in December 2004.
An official release informs that Xerox has been a long-standing partner of the Olympic Movement since 1964 and joined the IOC’ worldwide Olympic sponsorship programme in 1994. As the exclusive provider of document publishing systems, services and supplies, Xerox has been an instrumental partner in the publication and distribution of Olympic results during the Olympic Games. It also provides products, services and equipment to assist organising committees for the Olympic Games.
Xerox chief marketing officer Diane McGarry added, “During the Athens Games, Xerox technology will once again accelerate the flow of information, providing the world with instant access to real-time results. Our partnership with the Olympic Games has provided Xerox with a global platform to showcase our expertise. While we certainly appreciate the value of this investment and will leverage it during the Athens Game, Xerox has decided to refocus its marketing to other customer-facing initiatives.”
IOC marketing comission chairman Gerhard Heiberg said, “Xerox has been an excellent partner over the years and we are saddened to see the relationship end. We recognise, however, that in the world today, companies must adapt and alter their business and marketing strategies to accommodate changing market conditions.”
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
