Ah, the Apple comeback story: it's just like a fairy tale, except that Prince Charming is played by Prince Mercurial, and instead of slaying a vicious dragon or smooching some fabulous babe with narcolepsy, he just took a company that was at death's door and turned it into a profitable outfit with a stable of sparkling products and some decent media buzz. Still, Happily Ever After and all that jazz, you know? Economic downturns and slow-selling "Magic Cubes" notwithstanding.

Seriously, Gil Amelio may have been hired as a turnaround champ to save Apple's bacon, but his single greatest contribution to the cause was hiring, and then getting kicked out by, Steve Jobs. Some may claim that Gil laid the foundation for a sustained corporate comeback, but few will argue that it was Steve's energy (and his ability to bend spoons with his mind) that really got Apple back on its feet. What's more, he accomplished the impossible while heading up both Apple and Pixar, thus ensuring that the world would never suffer from a lack of Macs or a dearth of computer-animated cowboys and blue mutant four-limbed ants. So is it any wonder that Steve's our hero?

Which brings us to another company currently redefining the word "beleaguered": as faithful viewer Ray points out, Reuters reports that Palm's CEO, Carl Yankowski, just made a surprise run for the lifeboats. He resigned last night, citing "Palm's transition into two individual businesses" (basically a split into hardware and software groups) as the reason why his role "no longer matches [his] aspirations." Gee, we would have thought it was less about long-term career goals and more about botched product launches, a withering market share, and a stock price that's down some 95% from its yearly high. Just shows you how little we understand big business, we suppose.

Anyway, Palm is clearly a company that needs saving-- and who better to do it than SuperSteve? After all, we figure he's got plenty of time on his hands, what with only two CEO positions dividing his attention (plus some measly diversion called a "family life"). Surely a third CEOship would suit his schedule well, and what with his previous repeated attempts to buy Palm, we figure he'd love a chance to get the company back on its feet in exchange for a dollar and a couple of jets. C'mon, Palm's board: listen to the poor suckers at AtAT who took a bath on Palm shares and make Steve an offer. After all, we'd like at least some of our money back...