Mark this day. Science seems to have found a way to “burn” sea water. If they can turn this into a viable engine, this could be the answer so many have been craving. We may be able to run cars and other combustable engines off of sea water, the most plentiful resource on the planet. Cross your fingers that this proves to be as promising as it looks right now.

“You’re not measuring my daily hours, so why are you measuring the number of days I work?”

Netflix has a unique vacation policy … no policy. They pay you to get your work done, not attendence. According to this article, it is not uncommon for employees to “leave for three, four, even five weeks at a time and never clock in or out.” Many companies that hire “creatives” are experimenting with unusual benefits that can promote loyalty from their workforce. When it comes down to it, many of these extra freedom benefits are really the employer treating the employee like an adult.

This reminds me of a company that I interviewed with that had a refrigerated keg in the breakroom. Anyone was welcome to partake anytime they wanted (they even asked me if I wanted one during the interview). If someone is “more creative” with a beer or two, then this company was happy to oblige (and even foot the bill).

However, if you were to partake of one too many beers or vacations and your work quality or quantity were to slip, you would not be employed there much longer. It is all about the work product, not the number of hours/days that you were chained to your desk. I can dig it.

A few years ago, immediately following the MacWorld keynote (announcing improvements to iTunes, the iPod, and a few other peripherals), I got in an interesting discussion with my coworkers about what was specifically NOT said, and it has been on my mind ever since.

We had just watched the first MacWorld that didn’t involve a “computer” announcement of some sort. No new models, no spec bumps, no price drops … nothing. That wasn’t like Apple. Was their commitment to computers waning in favor of more profitable or exciting fields like the music industry?

A year or so following that, they had a blockbuster computer announcement. They were moving from the PowerPC architecture to Intel. Say what?! They were actually giving up their hardware monopoly? Why?

This year, we witnessed another memorable MacWorld announcing the iPhone which could prove every bit as revolutionary as the iPod. Once again though, no new computers, no spec bumps, no price drops. But there was a significant computer related announcement, did you happen to catch it?

After all the hype and excitement, in the “garbage time” of the presentation, Steve Jobs managed to throw in what could prove to be a monumental announcement, yet it is the one announcement that is getting the least coverage. Apple Computer is no more. They have removed the “Computer” from their name and they are now just “Apple, Inc.”

I am not trying to sound too much like a conspiracy theorist, just someone who has been witnessing a strategic shift of Apple’s corporate focus from computers into software, media (sales, distribution, and consumption), and now even communication (cellphones).

Apple Computer’s fortunes turned almost entirely due to the iPod and iTunes. They have a disruptive technology on their hands that was bringing in an ENORMOUS new revenue stream, and getting the company back in the headlines and public eye. Traditional computer sales have become a margin business and Apple can’t (or won’t) compete with Dell and others on price. With that in mind, I think Apple has shifted its focus away from traditional computing to these other more profitable channels or ones in which they have (or can create) significant competitive advantages for themselves.

It makes sound business sense to me, but I wonder how far Apple, Inc. will go and how their fanatically loyal legion of consumers take the news if Apple decides one day to stop making “computers” as we think of them today (desktops and laptops).