Indholdsfortegnelse for #345 i AppleMagazine

Apple is more than familiar with the unique challenges posed by patents. The purpose of a patent is to protect an individual or organization’s right to exclusively make, use or sell an invention. That sounds simple; however, in practice, patents have brought various headaches for tech titans, not least Apple. This likely helps explain why Apple is moving even more responsibilities for iPhone production in-house, as the following instances of patent pain further demonstrate. SAMSUNG FOR YOUR SUPPER When observers of the tech world follow Apple, they seemingly never have to wait long for another story about patent struggles for the Cupertino firm. Perhaps the most high-profile example in recent weeks has been that of Apple’s recent hard-won victory over Samsung in the long-running legal fight between the two major…

With a Planet Earth-style introduction documenting the “great migration made by one of the world’s most mysterious species”, also known as software developers, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d tuned into National Geographic rather than the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4. But the good-humored video raised early-morning spirits in the McEnery Convention Center and set Tim Cook up for another impressive keynote. For Apple enthusiasts, developers and critics, WWDC 2018 was always going to be a quieter state of affairs than previous events, following rumors Apple was scaling back features inits operating systems to work on performance and security enhancements. But that doesn’t mean to say that this year’s conference wasn’t as impressive or innovative as predecessors; in fact, 2018 is set to bring some of the biggest…

Two technology giants announced major new investments in self-driving vehicles, bringing the world a step closer to a time when autonomous cars are a part of everyday life — a reality that General Motors aims to achieve in some places as early as next year. The deals, and other ongoing negotiations, show that the technology is authentic and it’s accelerating. “It’s all starting to coalesce into something that’s more real,” said Navigant Research analyst Sam Abuelsamid, who closely follows autonomous vehicle developments. SoftBank, a giant Japanese tech investment firm, announced it would spend $2.25 billion for a 20 percent stake in GM’s autonomous vehicle business. Then Waymo, Google’s self-driving operation, said it would buy up to 62,000 more minivans from Fiat Chrysler to expand its soon-to-start ride-hailing venture. Not to…

A Wrinkle In Time After Meg’s father disappears, three mysterious beings send Meg, her brother and her friend to space to find the scientist. In an epic adventure, they are transported to worlds beyond anything they could imagine. FIVE FACTS: 1. The cast and crew filmed in New Zealand for two weeks, where they were treated to a traditional Maori powhiri and karakia by the indigenous peoples. 2. The filmmakers have compared the flim to fantasy stories District 9 (2009) and Bridge to Terabithia (2007). 3. In the book, identical twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, belong to the Murry family, but they do not appear in the film. 4. A video leaked at the end of 2016, showing the team doing the mannequin challenge on set. 5. This is the…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has rebuffed a shareholder attempt to overhaul the electric car maker’s board and strip him of his role as chairman, despite worries about the company’s shaky finances and inability to meet its production goals for its first mass-market sedan. All three directors seeking to remain on Tesla’s nine-member board were re-elected during the company’s annual meeting held Tuesday in Mountain View, California. Directors Antonio Gracias, James Murdoch and Elon’s brother, Kimbal Musk, won by “a wide margin,” according to Tesla. CtW Investment Group, an activist firm that represents labor union pension funds, had spearheaded a rebellion seeking to oust the trio from the board on the grounds that they didn’t know about the auto industry at a critical time in Tesla’s existence. The company said a…

Every morning, 92-year-old Sidney Kramer wraps a blood pressure cuff around his arm and steps on a scale, and readings of his heart health beam to a team of nurses — and to his daughter’s smartphone — miles from his Maryland home. Red flags? A nurse immediately calls, a form of telemedicine that is helping Kramer live independently by keeping his congestive heart failure under tight control. “It’s reassuring both psychologically and physically. The way he’s put it to me, it’s like having a doctor appointment every morning,” said Miriam Dubin, Kramer’s daughter. The vast majority of older Americans and their caregivers are ready to give virtual health care a try: Nearly 9 in 10 adults ages 40 and over would be comfortable using at least one type of telemedicine…

A young venture capital firm based in Greenwich believes it has a big competitive advantage. Founded in 2016 and launched last year, 1843 Capital — led by Tracy Chadwell and Alison Andrews Reyes — specializes in technology startups, but it differentiates itself primarily by looking to invest in companies with “diverse leadership teams that include at least one woman,” Chadwell said. A growing pile of recent studies indicate both women’s significance in helping startups succeed and the broad gap between the amount of venture capital dollars given to men versus women. Yet 1843 Capital is one of few firms taking advantage of that disparity, according to Matt McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations, the state-backed venture fund. “There’s fairly compelling evidence that women make great CEOs and more diverse teams are…

The PGA Tour broadened its international reach this week in a $2 billion agreement with Discovery Inc., to deliver golf content directly to consumers in 220 markets outside the United States over the next 12 years. Nine months after the PGA Tour chose not to opt out early of its U.S. network deals, it formed an alliance to turn over its content outside of the U.S. to Discovery, a company that already is reaching audiences around the world through its Eurosport network and other channels. The tour had been exploring its own network. “Discovery is the largest international media company,” Commissioner Jay Monahan said from the tour’s New York office. “They have content experience, distribution experience, direct-to-consumer experience that, candidly, nobody else has. So they can do for the PGA…

Facebook is shutting down its ill-fated “trending” news section after four years. The company claims the tool is outdated and wasn’t popular. But the trending section also proved problematic in ways that would presage Facebook’s later problems with fake news, political balance and the limitations of artificial intelligence in managing the messy human world. When Facebook launched “trending” in 2014 as a list of headlines to the side of the main news feed, it was a straightforward move to steal users from Twitter by giving them a quick look at the most popular news of the moment. It fit nicely into CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge just a year earlier to make Facebook its users’ “personal newspaper.” But that was then. “Fake news” wasn’t yet a popular term, and no foreign…

As Kathy Helgerson slipped the pair of MINDVR goggles over Rita Strauss’ head, the reaction was instant. “It looks like Midnight!” Strauss, 87, said with glee. “My tomcat.” It’s moments like this that lead Helgerson, Strauss’ daughter and founder of “Simple Steps to Technology” to say she has “the best job in the world.” “It is so powerful, I can’t even tell you,” Helgerson said, tears welling in her eyes at the spark of recognition from her mom, who has Alzheimer’s. “It brings up those memories of the past. ... If you had asked my mom about (the cat) normally, she would have forgotten about it.” Two years ago, Helgerson made it her mission to infuse new energy and experiences into the lives of elderly individuals like her mother, connecting…

President Donald Trump’s technology adviser says the administration is committed to advancing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. But Michael Kratsios dodged questions about what Trump himself thinks about AI. Trump’s lack of public emphasis on both the economic promise and potential dangers of automation has contrasted with other world leaders who have made a vocal push to get their countries ahead. Kratsios was grilled Tuesday about Trump’s commitment to technological research during MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference about the future of work. He says a downsized White House Office of Science and Technology gets it closer to its historic average after it was significantly expanded by President Barack Obama. The office has fewer than 60 people, about half the number under Obama. Its top job remains unfilled.…

Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes’ new album has been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth the wait. He last album, ‘Illuminate’, was released back in September 2016 and his third album again brings the much loved sound we expect from the singer. FIVE FACTS: 1. The new album sold 182,000 total copies in the first week of release. 2. To announce the official release date, Mendes hosted a 9 hour live video stream on YouTube! 3. Rumors sparked that Niall Horan would feature on the album, but this was not the case. Perhaps, we will see a collaboration between the two on Niall’s next solo album! 4. The album was recorded over 3-4 months in Malibu, California. 5. The album has already reached number 1. Vibras…

Microsoft is paying $7.5 billion for the popular coder hangout GitHub as the maker of Windows further embraces the types of open-source projects it used to shun. CEO Satya Nadella said the all-stock deal pairs Microsoft with the “world’s leading software development platform,” a destination where developers around the world go to share and review each other’s code. As Microsoft built its business on proprietary software such as the Windows operating system, it came to be seen as an antagonist to the open-source philosophy of free software written by a collaborative community of developers. The company has been working for years to shed that reputation, especially after Nadella took over in 2014. “Developers will be at the center of solving the world’s most pressing challenges,” Nadella said in a blog…

Ball State University is teaming up with Turner Classic Movies to offer a free online class on the history of Hollywood musicals. The class Mad About Musicals runs through the month of June and will be taught by Professor Vanessa Ament. The university says she will also provide on-air introductions for dozens of musicals that will run on the network on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the month. The class focuses on the history of the musical genre and its evolution with culture and technology. Ament was a sound reproduction artists and voice actor in films including “Platoon,” “Predator” and “Die Hard.” More than 44,000 participants enrolled in Turner Classic Movies’ past three online courses. Online: Enrollment…

Solar energy is gaining traction in Nebraska as a growing number of cities adopt the technology, and state officials are looking for ways to help the trend along. The technology has become so popular that some cities have had to expand their recently built solar farms or build new ones to keep pace with customer demand. Many of the cities are taking advantage of the Nebraska Public Power District’s SunWise Community Solar Program, approved in 2016 to help cities and villages adopt solar power in a central location for residents to use. The program has helped launch new solar farms in Scottsbluff, Venango and Kearney since 2017, and more than half a dozen other cities have expressed interest, said NPPD General Retail Manager Tim Arlt. Separately, Fremont is moving forward…

Visa says a problem that left people across Europe unable to use their cards was caused by a hardware fault, not a cyberattack. The card payments company says services are back to normal and its systems are working at “full capacity” on Saturday (02). It says the problem was caused by “a hardware failure within one of our European systems” and wasn’t the result of “unauthorized access.” Consumers in Britain, Ireland and other European countries reported having credit and debit card payments declined on Friday (01), and many businesses said they couldn’t process Visa transactions. The bank HSBC said Friday that the “industry-wide issue” affected Visa payments, though ATM machines were still working.…

Facebook is at the center of another privacy furor, this one over its sharing of user data with device makers such as Apple, Amazon, Samsung and others over the past decade The social network acknowledges the data sharing deals, which it says it’s — according to a New York Times report — it has struck with at least 60 device makers since 2007. But it says there’s nothing scandalous about them. The arrangements raise a number of questions, among them whether Facebook failed to get the explicit consent of users before sharing their data. If so, that could place it in violation of a 2011 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. Facebook denies it shared user data without consent. These device-maker deals could raise concerns similar to those in…

It’s never been clear whether robotics company Boston Dynamics is making killing machines, household helpers, or something else entirely. For nine years, the secretive firm — which got its start with U.S. military funding — has unnerved people around the world with YouTube videos of experimental robots resembling animal predators. In one, a life-size robotic wildcat sprints across a parking lot at almost 20 miles an hour. In another, a small wheeled rover nicknamed SandFlea abruptly flings itself onto rooftops — and back down again. A more recent effort features a slender dog-like robot that climbs stairs, holds its own in a tug-of-war with a human and opens a door to let another robot pass. These glimpses into a possible future of fast, strong and sometimes intimidating robots raise several…

Box office for “Solo: A Star Wars Story” tumbled to $29.4 million in its second weekend in theaters, bringing its North American grosses to $149 million. That’s still short of the $155 million opening weekend take for “Rogue One,” the other Star Wars spinoff film. “Deadpool 2” took second place in its third weekend with $23.2 million. It was followed by the new opener “Adrift,” a survival at sea drama that’s based on a true story. “Adrift” took in $11.6 million. Fourth place went to “Avengers: Infinity War,” with $10.5 million. The superhero pic has now grossed $643 million from North American theaters — second in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films only to “Black Panther,” which is now at $699.1 million. “Book Club” rounded out the top five with $7…

Four years after Indiana’s dispatch centers began adopting text-to-911 technology, residents in all 92 of the state’s counties can now send texts during emergencies if they’re unable to speak to dispatchers. Indiana’s dispatch centers now receive an average of between 500 and 600 text-to-911 calls every day and the technology is exceeding expectations statewide, said Ed Reuter, the executive director of the Statewide 911 Board. “Indiana is the nation’s leader,” he told. While calling 911 remains the first and best option, Reuter said texting is encouraged for deaf callers and those who are hearing- or speech-impaired; those who can’t speak due to medical conditions such as a stroke; or situations such as a home invasion where speaking would be unsafe. Indiana’s 911 centers received about 11 million calls last year,…

A boulder-size asteroid disintegrated harmlessly over Africa, just hours after its weekend discovery. It’s only the third time scientists have spotted an incoming asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. The previous times were in 2008 and 2014. The asteroid, dubbed 2018 LA, was discovered out near the moon’s orbit early Saturday morning, aiming straight for Earth. NASA reported the latest episode Sunday night. Asteroid trackers at NASA and elsewhere quickly determined the rock — about 6 feet across (2 meters) — was too small to pose any danger. It burned up in the Saturday (02) evening sky over Botswana, eight hours after first being noticed. Video posted on YouTube, from a farm just across the border in South Africa, showed a fireball swiftly descending and getting bigger, and…

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Chinese phone maker Huawei said Wednesday it has never collected or stored Facebook user data, after the social media giant acknowledged it shared such data with Huawei and other manufacturers. Huawei, a company flagged by U.S. intelligence officials as a national security threat, was the latest device maker at the center of a fresh wave of allegations over Facebook’s handling of private data. Chinese firms Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL were among numerous handset makers that were given access to Facebook data in a “controlled” way approved by Facebook, according to a statement Tuesday from Francisco Varela, Facebook’s vice president of mobile partnerships. The development marked the latest privacy gaffe for Facebook since allegations emerged in March that political consultant Cambridge Analytica had improperly harvested data from tens of millions…