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Apple CEO Tim Cook says Facebook is a 'friend,' won't commit to dividend

Investors at Thursday's Apple shareholder meeting had the opportunity to ask the company's executives about a range of topics, including the prospect of an Apple television set, a stock dividend, and its relationship with Facebook.

One shareholder asked Chief Executive Tim Cook whether he views Facebook as a "friend" or a "foe." Cook responded by calling Facebook a "friend."

"We do a lot with them, our users use Facebook an enormous amount," he said, adding: "I've always thought that the two companies could do more together."

Apple has shown a close relationship with Twitter, integrating the social networking service into iOS 5, as well as its forthcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain lion operating system for the Mac. But "share" buttons for Facebook are not yet built in to Apple's operating system.

The same shareholder also asked Cook whether he should return an LG TV that they recently purchased. Unsurprisingly, the Apple CEO offered no comment on that question.

Investors at Thursday's meetings also suggested a number of potential uses for Apple's massive $100 billion cash hoard, including a cash dividend. To that end, Cook simply repeated his previous comments that the company is thinking "very deeply" about what to do with its cash pile.

"My message there is that the board and the management are thinking about this very deeply... and we will do what we think is in the best interest of shareholders," he said.