Real Kato Blog: Apple Watch: Tabloids Report Steve Jobs Dying

Separate reports from various tabloid sources say that Steve Jobs has lost a lot of weight and is receiving chemotherapy at a cancer treatment center in Palo Alto. According to a doctor who has no connection to Jobs, Jobs is in the terminal stages of pancreatic cancer.

Also... Mariah Carey's sister is a $250-an-hour "adult escort".

Let's not get all crazy just yet, folks. Mr. Jobs, best wishes on a speedy and full recovery.

In other Apple news... Apple has recently announced that it would allow iOS app developers to offer in-app subscriptions, for such things as magazines, music, and videos.

The first notable bit about Apple's plan is this: if a new subscriber signs up through the app, or through Apple in some other way (iTunes or the web), Apple takes a 30% cut of the subscription price. If it's an existing subscriber, or the subscriber signs up through the publisher's web site, Apple doesn't take any a cut. And publishers may not offer better deals externally than they do through the app itself.

The second notable bit: publishers must offer a standard way customers may opt out of personal data collection.

Both of these policies are very consumer-friendly: no hoops to jump through when subscribing or un-subscribing, and easy opt-out of personal data collection. But as you can imagine, publisher's aren't thrilled with these terms. 30% seems like a big cut... but then again, lots of publishers are willing to offer steep initial discounts to hook a new subscriber, so it's not all that different.

Meanwhile Google has offered much more publisher-friendly subscription terms: a 10% cut for Google (though its unclear whether that applies to renewals, and subscriptions made directly through the publisher); and, publishers control the subscriber's personal data on their own terms.

I expect that both companies will converge on similar terms eventually... and hopefully, for the sake of consumers, Apple's model will win.

Finally: Motorola confirmed that the Xoom will be $800, with a Wi-Fi version coming eventually at "around $600". Yeah, good luck with that.

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