Apple has reportedly ousted iOS chief Scott Forstall for refusing to sign the apology letter released after the iOS Maps mess. The announcement of his departure came as a shock to not only the public, but even to several Apple insiders, who were informed of Forstall’s departure mere minutes prior to the official press release.

As much of the world in general, and those of us in the tech industry in particular, mourn the passing of Steve Jobs, we turn to consider that the mortal man may be gone, but his legacy will live on forever. And how truly amazing this is for someone who is not a Nobel winner, not a head of state, but CEO of a tech company.

Steve Jobs has resigned today as the CEO of Apple. In Jobs’ letter of resignation, addressed both to the Board of Directors of Apple, and the “Apple Community”, Jobs mentions an already-existing succession plan, which includes naming Tim Cook as his successor as CEO of Apple, and requests to remain on as Chairman of the Board of Apple, a director, and an Apple employee.

Hugh Hefner announced yesterday that Playboy is coming to the iPad. It may just be a coincidence, but Steve Jobs has always insisted that the the app store and iTunes be squeaky clean, and family friendly, with nothing over what seemed the equivalent of a PG rating, and now the Playboy announcement comes quite literally on the heels of Steve Jobs announcing this week that he will be taking a medical leave of absence.

The issue of Flash – or rather lack thereof – on the iPhone and iPods (and now the iPad), has long been a source of frustration and consternation for Apple devotees. More and more discontent has spilled into public discussion, with Apple openly taking what some perceive as potshots at Adobe, the makers of Flash, and Adobe, in turn, responding. Now it has erupted into open discussion (ok, attacks), with none less than Steve Jobs openly publishing on the Apple web site his “Thoughts on Flash”, and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen responding in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

It may be the biggest celebrity breakup of the 2009-2010 season. No, it’s not Brad and Angelina, or Jon and Kate Gosselin. It’s Apple and Google. In a meeting at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters last week, Steve Jobs let loose a no-holds-barred rant against Google and their pretence (at least) of do no evil, culminating in his saying that their “don’t be evil” motto is “a load of crap.” Some observers even claim that what Jobs actually said was that Google’s ‘don’t be evil’ is “bullshit”.