Apple has hired some surprising executives recently which not only show Tim Cook’s leadership style, but also his vision for Apple’s future.

In the past, it’s been fun to hear former CEO Steve Jobs’ subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) digs on the competition, and to see if any hints are provided regarding unannounced products or refreshes. It’ll be interesting to hear what approach new CEO Tim Cook takes now that it’s pretty much his show after the passing of Jobs in October of last year.

On the outside, the iPhone 4S looks like the iPhone 4, but is completely brand new on the inside. The biggest improvements are the processor, which uses the same A5 chip as the iPad 2, and dual-core graphics, which are up to 7x faster than the iPhone 4. You’ll need this extra power for the Siri voice assistant. All that power doesn’t seem to take a toll on the battery.

At the “Let’s Talk iPhone” media event, everyone was eagerly anticipating the upcoming iPhone 5. Which one of the hundreds of articles written and rumors investigated would be true? Would it have a tapered case? Would it have an A6 chip? Would it have an even bigger screen? As it turns out, none of them were true.

Apple’s philanthropy has made news quite a bit since Steve Jobs stepped down as Tim Cook took over as CEO. This time, Apple has donated an unknown number of its refurbished first-generation iPads to teachers as part of the Teach for America program. Teach for America provides recent graduates with just five weeks of training the opportunity to teach in some of the United States’ most impoverished public schools.

Rumors of an iPhone 5 Apple event have been circulating for a while, but we haven’t had any concrete evidence of when will Apple will be holding the event…until now. According to AllThingsD.com, Apple will unveil it’s new iPhone by October 4th, and it will be made available for purchase a few weeks after the announcement.

Following on the heels of criticism over how much Steve Jobs should give to charity (as if we have any right to tell him how to spend his own money), Tim Cook has revealed a new charitable matching program. Starting September 15th, when the employee donates to a non-profit 501(c)(3), Apple Inc. will also donate to that non-profit, up to $10,000 per year. While this is only available to full-time Apple employees in the United States, the program will be expanded to other countries.

Tim Cook is now the new CEO of Apple. Since he has been working behind the scenes for the past few years, it’s natural to wonder what direction he intends to take Apple Computer in the future. What kind of person is he? What are his qualifications? What changes, if any, does he plan to implement? Past the jump are some of the best articles written about him so you can get a better understanding of who Tim Cook is.

Seeing as how Tim Cook will be taking care of Apple’s day to day operations once again, perhaps you could use a little refresher on Mr. Jobs’ apprentice. This will be Cook’s third time filling in for Steve Jobs in day to day operations, where he’s helped o launch the iPhone 3GS, update the laptop line and take on the Palm Pre. He also has something in common with the NFL’s fourth most feared tackler.

Apple announced yesterday that co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs has alerted employees he will be taking his second leave of absence in two years for health reasons. Of course, Apple being Apple, not much else was divulged about the subject. As with last year, Jobs will continue as CEO and will be involved in major decisions, while day-to-day operations will be run by Tim Cook.