MashUp

DONATELLA VERSACE - DONATELLA STRUGGLED TO MEET EXPECTATIONS

Italian designer DONATELLA VERSACE struggled to meet the fashion industry's expectations of her following the murder of her brother Gianni. Donatella took over as head of design at the Versace fashion house after her elder brother Gianni was gunned down by Andrew Cunanan on the steps of his Miami, Florida mansion in July 1997. The 52-year-old marked the 10th anniversary of Gianni's death on Sunday (15Jul07) by lending some of his creations to a ballet production in Milan. Donatella says, "For the last four months, I've been going through the archives for the ballet. Each costume I found represents a memory. I still hear Gianni's voice, saying, 'don't make a mistake', and I know he would be proud. I couldn't think of a better way to mark the 10th anniversary. If there is a superpower, he's there. "It's a presence that hasn't always been a comfort. The hardest part was the expectation that I somehow had to be my brother, to become Gianni. "But how could I? But everyone was watching me. The comparison was always there. Was I more like Gianni, or less? Were the clothes what he would have designed? I felt lost, confused. But I had to keep going."

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/donatella%20struggled%20to%20meet%20expectations_1038069

STEVEN P. JOBS

Perhaps more than anyone, Steven P. Jobs has come to define the global digital culture at the outset of the 21st century. Returning to Apple Computer in 1997 after a decade in exile, Mr. Jobs set out to modernize the company's computers. Then, beginning in 2001, Apple began rolling out an expanding family of entertainment and communications products - most notably the iPod - that have taken the quirky computer maker (now Apple Inc.) far beyond the PC.
Mr. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, and built an early reputation for the company with the Apple II computer. After the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, the company's business stalled, and Mr. Jobs's relationship with John Sculley, then Apple's chief executive, soured. Their conflict ended with Mr. Jobs's departure from Apple in 1985. The following year, with a small group of Apple employees, he founded NeXt Computer, which ultimately focused on the corporate computing market, without notable success. In 1986, he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Inc. and re-established it as the independent animation studio Pixar.
A decade later he sold the NeXt operating system to Apple and returned to the company. In short order he was again at the helm.

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http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/steven_p_jobs/index.html

The rise of the garbage tycoons

Five years of shipping waste paper to China made Hong Kong-based Zhang Yin the world's richest self-made businesswoman. Starting with US$3,500 in capital, she accumulated a $7 billion fortune, making her a role model for those seeking to turn rubbish into wealth. Zhang Yin began waste-paper trading in Hong Kong in 1985, moved her business to Los Angeles in 1990, and continued shipping waste paper to mainland China to make the cardboard needed for packaging in China's thriving export industries. Her company, Nine Dragons Paper Holdings, now China's largest packaging maker, saw its stock shoot up fourfold since its initial public offering last March. There is no immediate risk of Zhang's wealth shrinking, as China registered 10.7% growth in 2006, the fastest since 1995, with exports and investments booming despite governmental brakes to slow down the economy.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IB06Df03.html



Mash Up

Italian designer DONATELLA VERSACE the world's richest self-made businesswoman has come to define the global digital culture at the outset of the 21st century. Returning to Apple Computer in 1997 after a decade in exile, Mr. Jobs took over as head of design at the Versace fashion house starting with US$3,500 in capital. Zhang Yin began waste-paper trading in Hong Kong in 1985 after her elder brother Gianni was gunned down to modernize the company's computers. Donatella says Apple began rolling out an expanding family of entertainment and communications products making her a role model for those seeking to turn rubbish into wealth. Mr. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak continued shipping waste paper to mainland China going through the archives for the ballet. Zhang Yin began waste-paper trading in Hong Kong in 1985 and built an early reputation for the company with the Apple II computer that hasn't always been a comfort. There is a superpower: China's largest packaging maker founded NeXt Computer, which ultimately focused on the corporate computing market. Mr. Jobs's had to be the fastest since 1995, with exports and investments. Zhang's wealth had to keep going with Mr. Jobs's departure from Apple in 1985.