Indholdsfortegnelse for #346 i AppleMagazine

Last week, we looked at how Apple’s continued push for innovation can nonetheless be stymied by the company’s heavy reliance on the likes of Samsung, Intel and Qualcomm. These are all examples of companies which produce components for Apple devices but, at one point or another, have landed a place in the Cupertino firm’s bad books. Recently, however, Apple has been relinquishing its dependence on such partners by taking more control over the parts that go into its devices. HOW THE QUALCOMM QUARREL COULD BE EXTINGUISHED In many ways, Apple has long taken pride in providing seamlessly integrated products and services. It is, after all, still the only major player to hold a firm grip over both the hardware and software of its smartphones, with Google’s own Pixel devices yet…

THE NEXT BIG LEAP At Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, all eyes were on iOS 12. The staple of every keynote speech, Apple’s next-generation operating system had everyone on the edge of their seats, and when Tim Cook and co announced some of the new features set for launch this year, developers and technology fans alike were overjoyed. iOS 12, set to launch this fall, has a distinct focus on performance and device management but also brings new features such as Group FaceTime calls, Siri Shortcuts, ARKit 2 and much more. Today, AppleMagazine gives you an exclusive look into the world’s most advanced operating system and rounds up some of the features you can expect when iOS 12 is released. We’ll also give you an introduction to…

A federal judge approved the $85 billion mega-merger of AT&T and Time Warner on Tuesday, a move that could usher in a wave of media consolidation while shaping how much consumers pay for streaming TV and movies. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon green-lit the merger without adding major conditions to the deal. The Trump Justice Department had sued to block the $85 billion merger, arguing that it would hurt competition in cable and satellite TV and jack up costs to consumers for streaming TV and movies. Now, the phone and pay-TV giant will be allowed to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, “Game of Thrones,” coveted sports programming and other “must-see” shows. The Justice Department could decide to appeal the ruling, however. “The impact from…

The female-led reboot “Ocean’s 8” stole the box-office crown from “Solo: A Star Wars Story” with $41.6 million in ticket sales at U.S. and Canada theaters over the weekend, according to final figures Monday. The Warner Bros.-Village Roadshow production, which cost about $70 million to make, debuted slightly above expectations and set a high mark for the “Ocean’s” franchise, not accounting for inflation. Reviews were so-so for the gender-swap installment, starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway. The audience, which was 69 percent female, gave it a B-plus CinemaScore. The fast-falling “Solo” slid to second with $15.7 million in its third weekend. The horror thriller “Hereditary,” starring Toni Collette, debuted in fourth place with $13.6 million, setting a company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like “The…

Zulily has gone from selling mostly children’s clothing to offering items from pillows to designer purses to chicken coops. Now, the site geared to young moms has its eye on doggy treats, electronics and goods that need to be reordered frequently, like toilet paper and paper towels. The site, which is owned by the parent company of home shopping network QVC, has also been creating videos through Facebook Live, showing its followers how to use hair extensions, makeup or other products it sells. Not everything has changed at Zulily. While some flash-sale sites have stumbled, it is still deal-focused and adds new products every morning that typically disappear 72 hours later, making shoppers feel the need to buy an item before it’s gone. It had 6.1 million active customers at…

A NASA rover on Mars has fallen silent as a gigantic dust storm envelops the planet and blots out the sun. Flight controllers tried late Tuesday night to contact Opportunity, but the rover did not respond. The storm has been growing since the end of May and now covers one-quarter of the planet. Controllers expect it will be several more days before there’s enough sunlight to recharge Opportunity’s battery through its solar panels. NASA says the battery is likely so low that only a clock is still working, to wake the spacecraft for periodic power-level checks. NASA launched the twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit in 2003 to study Martian rocks and soil. Spirit hasn’t worked for several years. Opportunity, however, has kept exploring well past its expected mission lifetime.…

EVIL TWINS  RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, SEASON 10 (UNCENSORED) ANGELINA LEAVES HER MARK!  JERSEY SHORE: FAMILY VACATION, SEASON 1 FIRST LIGHT  MARVEL’S CLOAK & DAGGER, SEASON 1 FAMILY TIES  SOUTHERN CHARM, SEASON 5 YOU BROKE THE PENAL CODE  THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY, SEASON 10 #LIZATOO  YOUNGER, SEASON 5 SUICIDE SPRINTS  MARVEL’S CLOAK & DAGGER, SEASON 1 HONG KONG  ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN, SEASON 11 1402  THE BACHELORETTE, SEASON 14 WEST VIRGINIA  ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN, SEASON 11…

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he’s optimistic the city will continue to draw investors after Brexit as a survey showed Britain’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment dimmed last year. The U.K. slipped to third place in a survey of 450 global investors by EY, the accounting and consulting partnership. Some 52 percent said Britain was an attractive place to invest, down 3 percentage points from the previous year. Germany topped the survey at 66 percent, followed by France at 56 percent. While the survey found declining investment in London’s financial services sector, traditionally the city’s economic powerhouse, Khan highlighted the recent success of the technology industry. Foreign direct investment funded 320 projects in Britain last year, an increase of 23 percent from 2016, EY said. Two-thirds of…

If technology giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon face a common threat to their dominance, it probably lies in a single word: trust. In some respects, these companies are riding high. They have woven themselves into the fabric of our daily lives, making their services indispensable for daily tasks like keeping in touch with family and friends, watching TV and buying cat food. Revenues are up and profits are soaring. But they’ve also drawn the attention of regulators in Europe and the U.S. thanks to carelessness with consumer data and other problems. Facebook’s leaky data controls, for instance, let Cambridge Analytica mine the profiles of up to 87 million people in an attempt to swing elections. The social network has also had to beef up manual oversight to clamp down…

Electric car maker Tesla Inc. is laying off about 3,600 workers mainly from its salaried ranks as it slashes costs in an effort to deliver on CEO Elon Musk’s promise to turn a profit in the second half of the year. In an email to workers on Tuesday, Musk said the cuts amount to about 9 percent of the company’s workforce of 40,000. Tesla would not say how much money the layoffs would save, but said no factory workers would be affected as the company continues to ramp up production of its lower-priced Model 3 compact car. The move is part of an organizational restructuring that Musk announced earlier in the year. “Tesla has grown and evolved rapidly over the past several years, which has resulted in some duplication of…

Comcast will likely bid for Fox’s entertainment business, now that a federal judge has cleared AT&T’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner. If Comcast succeeds in outbidding Disney for Fox, a major cable distributor would control even more channels on its lineup and those of its rivals. There are fears that it could lead to higher cable bills or hinder online alternatives. But U.S. District Judge Richard Leon cleared the AT&T deal despite similar concerns. The ruling signaled that federal regulators might have a hard time stopping companies from getting bigger by gobbling up rivals and the content they own. Comcast isn’t likely the only mega-media bid in the works. There will probably be a rush to consolidate. Even if a company doesn’t need to get bigger right away, it…

Please Stand By A young autistic woman (Dakota Fanning) runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her manuscript to a “Star Trek” writing competition. FIVE FACTS: 1. Alice Eve (Audrey) played Carol Marcus in Star Trek into Darkness (2013). 2. The production teams of both Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager allowed amateur writers to submit episode scripts for consideration, some of which were used in both series while they were on air. 3. The name tags of Wendy’s “Geeksquad” friends at the mall use the same front as the opening titles of Star Trek (1966). 4. The suits worn in Wendy’s fantasy sequences of Kirk and Spock walking through the desert are the same suits worn in the Star Trek (1968) episode “The…

“The Incredibles” writer/director Brad Bird has said that his characters’ powers are all born of stereotypes. Dad is strong, mom is stretched in a million directions, teenage girls put up shields, little boys are full of boundless energy and babies are unpredictable. It’s why he decided that for the sequel, “Incredibles 2 ,” a buoyant and quick-witted romp, he’d pick up right where we left off, in that parking lot after Dash’s track meet where a new threat emerges from underground. No matter that in reality, 14 years had actually passed. Animation is not bound by time or aging actors. For the rest of us, however, 14 years is still 14 years. And in the past 14 years, the business of Hollywood has become the business of superhero movies. It’s…

World Cup referees must ensure all the time used for video review is played at the end of each half — even if a stoppage takes 10 minutes. FIFA’s instructions to more than 100 match officials in Russia were outlined Tuesday, two days ahead of the often-contentious technology making its World Cup debut. “All the minutes, all the seconds, lost by VAR (video assistant referees) will be added at the end,” Massimo Busacca, FIFA head of refereeing, said at a news conference. “We don’t want to lose any seconds lost by any interruption.” The process for reviewing one of the most complex incidents that can be reviewed — a running confrontation involving all players — will take as long as needed. “We will take all the possible time to see…

Barrick Gold Corp., the largest gold mining company in the world, has started testing autonomous hauling trucks in a partnership with a neighboring mine in northeast Nevada and a Utah-based company that’s using new technology to retrofit existing haul fleets. Barrick announced last week that it began testing the autonomous trucks at its Arturo Joint Venture operation. The Elko Daily Free Press reported. “The goal is to use advances in automation technology to help Barrick prove and deliver improvements in safety, efficiency and production,” said Matt Majors, superintendent of mining operations and project manager for autonomous haulage. Surface testing will begin with autonomous haulage at the Arturo mine, a joint venture operation between Barrick and Premier Gold Mines Ltd. Barrick and Premier have partnered with Autonomous Solutions Inc. to retrofit…

The Trump administration slapped sanctions on several Russian companies and businessmen for engaging in cyberattacks and assisting Russia’s military and intelligence services with other malicious activities. The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on five Russian firms and three executives from one of them under legislation passed last year and an executive order aimed at punishing efforts to hack into U.S. computer systems. The sanctions freeze any assets that they may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them. “The United States is engaged in an ongoing effort to counter malicious actors working at the behest of the Russian Federation and its military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. He said the sanctions targeted…

Germany’s transport minister says the government is ordering automaker Daimler to immediately recall 238,000 vehicles equipped with software that turns off emissions controls under certain conditions. Minister Andreas Scheuer made the statement Monday after a meeting with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. Scheuer said that Daimler was willing to work “with cooperative transparency” with the government and “at maximum speed.” Scheuer said the recall was ordered after “intensive and hours-long negotiations” with Daimler. The affected vehicles include the Mercedes-Benz Vito delivery van and the Mercedes GLC 220d and C220d. Europe-wide some 774,000 vehicles are affected, the ministry said. The ministry statement did not say whether those cars outside of Germany would be recalled. Diesels have been under heavy scrutiny since U.S. authorities caught Volkswagen using illegal engine control software that turned…

Seattle leaders repealed a tax on large companies such as Amazon and Starbucks after a backlash from businesses, a stark reversal from a month ago when the City Council unanimously approved the effort to combat a growing homelessness crisis. A divided crowd chanted, jeered and booed at the council meeting, drowning out the leaders as they cast their 7-2 vote. Many shouted, “Stop the repeal,” as others unfurled a large red banner that read, “Tax Amazon.” An opposing group held “No tax on jobs” signs. The vote showed Amazon’s ability to aggressively push back on government taxes, especially in its affluent hometown where it’s the largest employer with more than 45,000 workers and where some have criticized it for helping cultivate a widening income gap that is pricing lower-income workers…

The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson will receive about $650,000 from NASA to promote science, technology engineering and math education. NASA announced this week that the Cosmosphere was one of three applicants to receive funds after 43 groups submitted proposals. The Hutchinson News reports the Cosmosphere’s $650,594 will be used to refurbish 12 historic Apollo-era mission control consoles that will be used in traveling interactive exhibits for classes that will be offered free to Kansas students. Cosmosphere executive vice president Tracey Tomme says she hopes to have first console on the road before April 2019. NASA used the consoles at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during missions from the 1960s through the early 1990s. The Cosmosphere obtained the consoles shortly after they were decommissioned.…

Your ability to watch and use your favorite apps and services could start to change — though not right away — following the official demise Monday of Obama-era internet protections. Any changes are likely to happen slowly, as companies assess how much consumers will tolerate. The repeal of “net neutrality” took effect six months after the Federal Communications Commission voted to undo the rules, which had barred broadband and cellphone companies from favoring their own services and discriminating against rivals such as Netflix. Internet providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast had to treat all traffic equally. They couldn’t slow down or block websites and apps of their choosing. Nor could they charge Netflix and other video services extra to reach viewers more smoothly. The rules also barred a broadband…

Lost & Found Jorja Smith Lost & Found is a reference to travels between Smith’s hometown of Walsall and London. By bringing refreshing vulnerability to hip-hop and R&B, she turns heartbreak into beauty on “Goodbyes” and “Tomorrow”, shows her grime IQ on “Blue Lights” and drops Lauryn Hill-like bars on “Lifeboats (Freestyle)”. Fans of Lorde or FKA Twigs should check out “Teenage Fantasy” and “The One”. FIVE FACTS: 1. Jorja appeared on two tracks of Drake’s 2917 playlist project ‘More Life’. 2. She was the opening act for Bruno Mars on his 24k Magic World Tour in 2017. 3. She won the BRITs Critics’ Choice award in 2018, beating fellow female musicians Mabel and Stefflon Don. 4. Amy Winehouse is one of her biggest inspirations and she credits Winehouse’s debut…

“Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons” (Dey Street Books), by Mike Reiss with Mathew Klickstein. When television’s longest-running cartoon show first hit the airwaves, most of its writers and producers gave it six weeks at best. The one optimist in the crew figured it might last 13 weeks. That was nearly three decades and some 640 episodes ago. As the first prime-time cartoon show since “The Flintstones,”“The Simpsons” has managed to maintain solid ratings, offer creatively offbeat humor and entertain viewers in dozens of countries across the globe. Writer Mike Reiss was among those with little hope for the show’s prospects when he signed on in the late 1980s for want of better options to advance his comedy career. But concerns that…

The head of the Marine Corps says it’s time the U.S. military branch known for its fierce, young warriors becomes a little more mature. The Marine Corps is considering offering bonuses and other perks to entice older, more experienced Marines to re-enlist as it builds up its cyber operations to defend the nation, especially against cyberattacks from Russia and China. About 62 percent of Marines are 25 years old or younger with many serving only four years. The move marks a historical change that could transform a force made up primarily of high school graduates lured by the bravado and physical challenges of joining a branch that prides itself on being the “tip of the spear,” the first to go into battle and knock in doors. It’s part of the…

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano may be disrupting life in paradise with its bursts of ash and bright-orange lava, but it also has scientists wide-eyed, eager to advance what’s known about volcanoes. The good news is: Volcanoes reveal secrets when they’re rumbling, which means Kilauea is producing a bonanza of information. While scientists monitored Big Island lava flows in 1955 and 1960, equipment then was far less sophisticated. Given new technology, they can now gather and study an unprecedented volume of data. “Geophysical monitoring techniques that have come online in the last 20 years have now been deployed at Kilauea,” said George Bergantz, professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington. “We have this remarkable opportunity ... to see many more scales of behavior both preceding and during this…

County officials in northeastern Illinois are concerned about the potential environmental impacts of the planned Foxconn manufacturing plant in neighboring Wisconsin. The Lake County Board unanimously passed a resolution calling for Wisconsin officials to reconsider waiving environmental regulations as part of incentives for the Taiwanese company, the Lake County News-Sun reported. Suburban Chicago’s Lake County borders Wisconsin’s southern state line. The change in pollution standards “will compromise the environmental integrity and resiliency of natural resources” in the county, said Chairman Aaron Lawlor. He said moves by federal and Wisconsin officials to reduce air pollution standards in five southeastern Wisconsin counties and the decision to allow special regulatory treatment and diversion of Lake Michigan water will have numerous ecological impacts, such as decreasing air quality and increasing flooding. The board’s resolution…