Morning Report: Tim Cook Speaks Out, iOS 8 Widget Drama, Microsoft Health

What a difference a day makes! On Wednesday, developers grappled with a potentially major setback for iOS 8 widgets, while Microsoft launched its own multi-platform Health initiative. But the biggest Thursday news comes courtesy of Bloomberg, as none other than Apple CEO Tim Cook penned a candid essay on equality. Read on to find out all of the details in our Morning Report!

Apple CEO Tim Cook to Bloomberg: "I'm Proud to Be Gay"

There has been plenty of whispering behind closed doors in recent years about Apple CEO Tim Cook's personal life, but the executive set the record straight in his own words Thursday with an 800-word essay entitled "Tim Cook Speaks Up," published on the BloombergBusinessweek website.

"For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation," Cook writes. "Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now," the CEO added. "So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

Cook wraps up his bold announcement with a nod to a pair of his personal heroes (Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy), noting "we pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick."

iOS 8 Widgets Face Setback with Removal of PCalc

If you follow any iOS developers on Twitter, chances are you read quite a bit of criticism about Apple's App Store policies yesterday, following a tweet by PCalc creator James Thomson announcing he's been forced to remove widget functionality from the popular calculator app.

"Apple has told me that Notification Center widgets on iOS cannot perform any calculations, and the current PCalc widget must be removed," Thomson announced on Twitter Wednesday.

The about-face is something of a black eye for Apple, considering the current PCalc app was not only approved in time for iOS 8, but also promoted throughout the App Store, including the "Extend Your Apps" and "Great Apps and Games for iOS 8" sections. Apple has given Thomson "two to three weeks" to remove the widget functionality, which the developer called "pretty crushing news."

Microsoft's New $199 Fitness Wearable Works with iPhone

Late last night, rumors began to boil over that Microsoft was about to introduce a fitness wearable after companion apps started turning up on various platforms, including the Mac App Store. As it turns out, the apps are part of a larger initiative the company launched Thursday called Microsoft Health, a platform-agnostic "intelligence engine" that uses the cloud to "store and combine health and fitness data to create powerful insights."

Available today for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone, the platform also includes an optional hardware component in Microsoft Band, a $199 wearable intended to supplement, rather than replace, a traditional watch. Designed to be worn 24 hours a day, Microsoft Band is packed with 10 wrist-worn sensors for recording a full range of health data including activate heart rate, sleep, and even GPS location. Microsoft Band is now available from the company's online and retail stores.

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