It's just come out on AppleInsider that Apple has hired one of the most important men in the graphics community. ATI designer and former graphics chief Bob Drebin is back in the industry after a one year furlough, and it looks like he's going to be working as a senior director for Apple.

This news would be more surprising, were it not for the roll Apple has been on lately. Their profits are through the roof, and they have some really interesting developments that have attracted a lot of attention lately. Apple has multiple new iPhones in development, as well as a mystery shrouded series of Netbooks.

It's believed by some that Drebin was hired in order to head up development of Apple's Mac and iPhone strategy. If that's true, Apple picked the right man for the job. Drebin was heavily behind the design of the graphics component in the GameCube. He knows how to create robust, versatile graphics platforms that come in small packages.