Cook a boost for gay, lesbian rights

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently announced that he is gay, sparking discussions across the world. Some people say the announcement will bring benefits to Apple. Still others say Cook's announcement shows Apple is making efforts to maintain its diversified corporate image.

Although Cook is the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to say he is gay, his sexual orientation hasn't been a closely guarded secret. Cook has said many of his colleagues have known that he is gay for a long time.

In fact, homosexuality has not been taboo for Apple; its logo is a tribute to the father of computer science, Alan Turing, who happened to be gay and committed suicide by eating a poisoned apple.