Apple's Fight Against Climate Change

Tech firms are increasingly focussed on being eco-friendly and reducing their contribution to climate change. Tim Cook has made it a key value of Apple’s. Wired looked at the progress that Apple and other tech firms are making in the fight against climate change, particularly in their data centers.

Apple breaks down the energy mix of its US data centers in its sustainability report, and that shows where real progress is being made. Its Newark, California data center pulls from the grid, but via that state’s Direct Access system Apple can buy directly from suppliers. There, it claims its energy is “mostly wind”, and takes that to mean there were no emissions. On the other hand, its Reno, Nevada data centre is 99 per cent powered by Apple’s own solar panels, with less than one per cent from purchase agreements — there’s no question where the power is coming from.

Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's Privacy-Focussed Future

Speaking at Facebook’s F8 developer conference Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg laid out his company’s new privacy-focussed approached. Mike Isaac looked at the announcements and spoke to the CEO himself for the New York Times.

Mr. Zuckerberg is working to integrate and encrypt Facebook’s different messaging services, which include WhatsApp and Messenger. The company also plans to continue emphasizing its Stories product, which allows people to post updates that disappear after 24 hours. And it unveiled a spare, stark white look for Facebook, a departure from the site’s largely blue-tinted design. The features, when combined, “will end up creating a more trustworthy platform,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in an interview. “Everywhere you can see and connect with friends, you’ll be able to see and connect with groups; it’s going to be woven into the fabric of Facebook.”

HomePod 2, HomePod mini — Rumors, Prices

David Price at Macworld UK writes:

We round up all the clues and rumours related to the HomePod 2: its release date, price & tech specs. Find out if Apple could be launching a cheaper HomePod mini.

Author Price notes:

… Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis believes Apple will launch a “cheaper HomePod in 2019,” and that it will have “broader appeal.” He thinks that HomePod sales have been  “underwhelming” with less than 5 million sold so far.

Give me a HomePod mini for $159 – $179 to play with, and I’m in. Along with many others.

Apple in Legal Dispute - With German Bike Path

Apple is no stranger to patent and legal tussles. However, one currently happening in Germany is a bit out of the ordinary. It thinks a German bike path’s logo is too similar, AppleInsider reported.

The logo for the “Apfelroute” — Apple Route — was registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2018, and is already in use for tourism marketing in the Rhine-Voreifel region, said Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Lawyers for Apple have not only filed an appeal with the GPTO, but sent cease-and-desist letters to Rhine-Voreifel Tourism. Apple’s trademark objections revolve around the Apfelroute’s green leaf and “bitten” side.

Uber Using Public Data to be Travel One-Stop-Shop

Uber has a strong position in the taxi industry,  a growing food delivery service, and is developing self-driving cars. But the company seems to want more. Wired reports on how it is using public transport data in London to take on the likes of CityMapper.

Uber’s latest move in London is yet another attempt to try and make its app – and its service – indispensable. But to really lock in loyal customers, a subscription service might just follow. For one, Uber needs to start making money. And what better way than guaranteed income for hordes of loyal transport subscribers? With an IPO mooted for later this year, the decision to integrate open public transport data is a smart move.

Apple Adds HBO to Apple TV Channels in Betas

Apple adds HBO to Apple TV Channels in the latest betas of iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3. Channels lets users subscribe to streaming video services from within the TV app.

The most notable addition is HBO for $14.99 per month, in time for the final three episodes of Game of Thrones, while other recently added channels include Cinemax, EPIX, Sundance Now, Lifetime Movie Club, and UMC.

U.S. Border Patrol Has ‘Near-Unfettered’ Authority to Search and Seize Devices

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have “near-unfettered authority to search and seize travelers’ devices at the border.”

The agencies’ policies allow officers to search devices for general law enforcement purposes, such as investigating and enforcing bankruptcy, environmental, and consumer protection laws. The agencies also say that they can search and seize devices for the purpose of compiling “risk assessments” or to advance pre-existing investigations. The policies even allow officers to consider requests from other government agencies to search specific travelers’ devices.

After Eight Years Apple Obsoletes iPad 2

Eight years ago Apple launched the iPad 2. Now the company is adding all iPad 2 models to its obsolete products list.

The only exceptions are in California and Turkey, where due to local laws, Apple will continue to service the iPad 2 until March 2021. From that date, the iPad 2 will finally go from “vintage” to “obsolete” worldwide.

The iPad 2 was my first Apple device, and iOS 5 my first iOS. I immediately fell it love with the device, and from then onward I was an Apple fan. May it Rest In Peace.

FuelBox Rover Qi Wireless Power Bank: $59

We have a deal on the FuelBox Rover Qi Wireless Power Bank. This portable bower has its own built-in Qi wireless charging plate on it for iPhone 8 and above. It also has its own screen showing how much of a charge remains in its 10,000mAh battery. Lastly, it has two USB charging ports, one at 2.1 amps and the other at 1 amp. This device is $59 through us.

iPhone China Sales Down 30% in Q1 2019

Apple’s iPhone China sales are down 30% in Q1 2019. Huawei continues to dominate, capturing 34% of China’s smartphone market.

Apple’s performance in China is concerning, given that the worst quarter for iPhone shipments is usually Q2 or Q3, not Q1 when new devices are still fresh. Apple has acted to cut iPhone retail prices, which has largely relieved the pressure from its channel partners.

I wonder how much of iPhone sales in China were impacted by Chinese companies encouraging employees to boycott Apple in favor of Huawei.

Vodafone Denies Huawei Italy ‘Backdoor’

A report from Bloomberg says software flaws found in Vodafone’s Huawei equipment back in 2011-2012 were backdoors. Vodafone, while admitting that the equipment did have security flaws, denies that Huawei could have used them as such.

The issues in Italy identified in the Bloomberg story were all resolved and date back to 2011 and 2012. The ‘backdoor’ that Bloomberg refers to is Telnet, which is a protocol that is commonly used by many vendors in the industry for performing diagnostic functions. It would not have been accessible from the internet. Bloomberg is incorrect in saying that this ‘could have given Huawei unauthorised access to the carrier’s fixed-line network in Italy’.

The BBC article is worth the read. Also keep in mind that this isn’t the first time Bloomberg has reported on alleged backdoors by a Chinese company. They provided no evidence the first time and so far have refused to issue a retraction.

How Twitter is Working to Foster Healthier Conversation

The nastiness that frequently occurs on Twitter has been a hot topic of discussion for a while now. Consequently, it is a matter of concern for CEO Jack Dorsey and his team. Recode reported on Twitter’s efforts to become a healthier platform.

Everything the company seems to do — from cracking down on bots to building new conversation features — has been done in the name of a healthier Twitter. When the company’s user base started shrinking noticeably last year, Twitter said that its focus on health was at least partly to blame. Measuring the health of interactions is just one part of that broader effort, but it’s one of the more challenging and confusing parts. Removing bots and spam are technical problems. Truly understanding the health of a conversation requires things like understanding who is talking, what they’re talking about, or when someone is using sarcasm. Not all arguments, of course, are bad.

Foxconn Said to Be Developing micro-LED Tech for Apple

Foxconn is said to be developing micro-LED displays to be used in iPhones and maybe other Apple devices. 9to5Mac compiled stories emerging out of Asia and explained why the technology would be a significant step forward.

micro-LED is generally seen as a superior display panel to OLED displays, the latter is what Apple currently uses in the Apple Watch, iPhone X and iPhone XS. micro-LED screens need no backlight as the pixels themselves emit their own light, just like OLED screens. This means you can get the same rich colors and high-contrast appearance…Naturally, we would expect Apple to also want to bring the technology to its flagship iPhone line and this latest report about Foxconn’s interest corroborates that intent. Nevertheless, this technology is still firmly in the medium-term future. Do not expect micro-LED screens on mass volume products anytime soon.

Apple Poached Lead 5G Intel Developer Umashankar Thyagarajan

Just weeks before Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement, Apple poached Intel employee Umashankar Thyagarajan.

Mr. Thyagarajan’s departure is understood to have been a setback to Intel’s efforts, forcing the company to reshuffle the 5G project. Shortly afterwards, Intel said it would not be able to release a 5G smartphone chip until 2020, more than a year after Qualcomm.

Very interesting. More and more pieces of the puzzle are being revealed.

Belgian Programmer Solves 20 Year Old Crypto Puzzle

In 1999, MIT created a puzzle designed to take 35 years to solve. Belgian programmer Bernard Fabrot has solved it early.

The puzzle essentially involves doing roughly 80 trillion successive squarings of a starting number, and was specifically designed to foil anyone trying to solve it more quickly by using parallel computing.

“There have been hardware and software advances beyond what I predicted in 1999,” says MIT professor Ron Rivest, who first announced the puzzle in April 1999. “The puzzle’s fundamental challenge of doing roughly 80 trillion squarings remains unbroken, but the resources required to do a single squaring have been reduced by much more than I predicted.”

Humans May Emotionally Bond With Robots

Big Think writes:

  • Human-like robots may creep us, at first, but roboticists believe the more like us they appear, the more likely we’ll feel comfortable around them.
  • Some studies suggest that we could develop feelings for robots, despite them not being human.
  • As the loneliness epidemic continues, such robots may fill certain people’s social voids.

This is not so crazy. After all, I heard about a guy who married his iPhone.

Robots Company Anki Shuts Down

Robotics company Anki announced that it’s shutting down, and close to 200 employees would be paid a week of severance. The company said it was left without “significant funding” to support its goals.

“Despite our past successes, we pursued every financial avenue to fund our future product development and expand on our platforms,” a company spokesperson said. “A significant financial deal at a late stage fell through with a strategic investor and we were not able to reach an agreement. We’re doing our best to take care of every single employee and their families, and our management team continues to explore all options available.”

Sad to see. I remember first seeing Anki announced at Apple’s keynote back in 2013.

Apple Gets Low Marks on Trust From Survey Respondents

A new survey makes grim reading for tech giants. It found that users gave a number of firms, including Apple, low marks when asked whether they trust them.  Interestingly, Amazon came out on top, Cult of Mac reported. It looks like Tim Cook’s privacy message is not quite getting through yet.

All seven of the tech giants mentioned in a YouGov survey received jarringly negative results from an undisclosed number of respondents from the U.S. and United Kingdom. The survey, sponsored by Tresorit, which offers encrypted file sharing, shows Amazon as most trusted, but with just 28 percent. Microsoft was second with 24 percent, Apple was third with 22 percent, Facebook and Google each had 13 percent, while Dropbox and Instagram were at the bottom with single digits.

Mozilla Says Cities Can Help Save The Open Internet

International bodies like the EU have made some effort to protect the open internet recently. However, it is also happening at a more local level too. The Mozilla Foundation told Fast Company about the important action being taken by cities.

“Cities are a place to shape what we want from the internet, which might be faster and more powerful than what national governments can do,” says Mark Surman, the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation. He points to an example from 2015, when the New York City Department of Education was able to require Amazon to make its e-books accessible to blind people, even though the company had been ignoring the same request from the National Federation for the Blind for years. How? By making it a stipulation of the city’s $30 million contract to create an e-book store for teachers in 1,800 schools.

Silicon Valley Lobbyists Want to Limit California Consumer Privacy Act

Silicon Valley lobbying groups are trying to gut the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, gives residents of California the ability to request the data that businesses collect on them, demand that it be deleted, and opt out of having that data sold to third parties, among other things. But last week, the California Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection advanced a series of bills that would either amend CCPA or carve out exemptions for certain categories of businesses.

I have a couple of opinions here. I think groups affected by a certain bill or law should have the right to voice their opinion. On the other hand I feel uneasy by corporate lobbying focused on donating or influencing political campaigns where there is a conflict of interest.

Toyota Retrofits Older Vehicles for Apple CarPlay

Owners of Toyota’s Camry and Sienna vehicles will be able to add Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa as part of a retrofit.

Toyota says it will be notifying Camry and Sienna owners and “encouraging them to contact their dealer” about the retrofit; the installation will be done at dealerships. We reached out to Toyota to ask if the retrofit costs anything, and a spokesperson for the brand said there “may be a small service charge” and that dealers will be able to provide more information. Toyota doesn’t say how long it will actually take to complete the installation.

This Algorithm Could Erase Your Criminal Records

This month, a California judge erased thousands of criminals records with the help of an algorithm. The creators of it say they’re just getting started.

It discards any record involving a violent crime, as such records do not qualify. For those that remain, the tool automatically fills out the necessary paperwork. In other words, the algorithm replaced the process being done manually at the expungement clinics.

Working with San Francisco’s raw data, Code For America was able to identify 8,132 eligible criminal records in a matter of minutes – in addition to the 1,230 found manually already. They dated as far back as 1975, the year in which the city started digitising its files.

Tony Fadell - iPhone Co-Creator Discusses His Adventures in Asia

Tony Fadell, the co-creator of the iPhone, left Apple in 2010. Since then he has founded smart-home company Nest, and been on adventures around the world. He spoke to Bloomberg News about his current time in Asia, studying startups.

Fadell discovered his wanderlust as a young employee of Apple spinoff General Magic in the early 1990s, when business trips to Sony’s Tokyo headquarters took him outside North America for the first time. “I was like, ‘Whoa!” he recalls. A few years later, he spent 16 weeks backpacking across Latin America, then traveled the Middle East in similar fashion. “If you are a designer or entrepreneur, you have to see different ways of living,” he says. “It’s the sights, sounds and smells that inspire you.”

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