Innehållsförteckning för #142 från AppleMagazine

LG Display Co. has developed an 18-inch flexible display that can be rolled into the shape of a thin cylinder, a step toward making a large display for flexible TVs. The South Korean display panel maker said Friday the flexible display has a resolution of 1200 pixels by 810 pixels and maintains its function when it is rolled up. While that resolution would fall within the range of high-definition, images on the display would not look as sharp as the latest flat displays that boast ultra-high definition. LG touted its technology as a significant advance, saying the cylinder’s diameter would be just 6 centimeters (2.4 inches). It means LG Display could produce TVs that are larger than 50 inches diagonally and can be rolled up. It is based on OLED…

Amazon is asking the Federal Aviation Administration permission to use drones as part of its plan to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less. The news sent shares of the nation’s largest e-commerce company up nearly 6 percent on Friday. The online retailer created a media frenzy in December when it outlined a plan on CBS’ “60 Minutes” to deliver packages with self-guided aircrafts that seemed straight out of science fiction. In a letter to the FAA dated Wednesday, Amazon said it is developing aerial vehicles as part of Amazon Prime Air. The aircraft can travel over 50 miles per hour and carry loads of up to 5 pounds. About 86 percent of Amazon’s deliveries are 5 pounds or less, the company said. “We believe customers will love…

Apple Inc has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve U.S. state and consumer claims the iPad manufacturer conspired with five major publishers to fix e-book prices, according to court records filed Wednesday. The settlement, which would provide $400 million for consumers, is conditioned on the outcome of a pending appeal of a New York federal judge’s ruling last year that Apple was liable for violating antitrust laws. A ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversing the judge could, under the settlement, either reduce the amount Apple pays to $70 million, with $50 million for consumers, or eliminate payments altogether. “While we cannot predict the outcome of the appeal with certainty, we are confident in the case we made against Apple at trial,” Connecticut…

Unexplained rash? Check your iPad. It turns out the popular tablet computer may contain nickel, one of the most common allergy-inducing metals. Recent reports in medical journals detail nickel allergies from a variety of personal electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones. But it was an Apple iPad that caused an itchy body rash in an 11-year-old boy recently treated at a San Diego hospital, according to a report in Monday’s Pediatrics. Nickel rashes aren’t life-threatening, but they can be very uncomfortable, and they may require treatment with steroids and antibiotics if the skin eruptions become infected, said Dr. Sharon Jacob, a dermatologist at Rady Children’s Hospital, where the boy was treated. Jacob, who co-wrote the report, said the young patient had to miss school because of the rash. The boy…

YES! Jason Mraz YES! is the fifth studio album of pop rock singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, and sees him adopt a more acoustic, intimate sound. “Love Someone” has already been released as its lead single, Mraz performing an acoustic version of the song for Time. FIVE FACTS: 1. YES! is Jason Mraz’s first album since 2012’s Love Is a Four Letter Word. 2. Mraz first came to prominence on the San Diego coffee house scene in 2000. 3. He won two Grammy Awards in 2010, for “Make It Mine” and “Lucky”. 4. Mraz has said the album title mostly refers to those who have said “yes” to him 5. According to the artist, “When I let go in a song I feel like the mental chatter, anything that might show up…

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing an audio reading device to be worn on the index finger of people whose vision is impaired, giving them affordable and immediate access to printed words. The so-called FingerReader, a prototype produced by a 3-D printer, fits like a ring on the user’s finger, equipped with a small camera that scans text. A synthesized voice reads words aloud, quickly translating books, restaurant menus and other needed materials for daily living, especially away from home or office. Reading is as easy as pointing the finger at text. Special software tracks the finger movement, identifies words and processes the information. The device has vibration motors that alert readers when they stray from the script, said Roy Shilkrot, who is developing the device at…

Samsung Electronics Co. said it has suspended business ties with a Chinese supplier that allegedly hired children. The South Korean company, which is the world’s biggest smartphone maker, said in its blog Monday that it had found possible evidence of child labor and illegal hiring at Dongguan Shinyang Electronics Co. Samsung said last week it would urgently look into the Chinese supplier following a New Yorkbased watchdog’s report that it hired at least five children under the age of 16. China Labor Watch said children as well as minors under 18 worked at Shinyang for three to six months to meet production targets during a period of high demand. The watchdog said the child workers were paid for 10 hours a day but worked 11 hours. The report detailed 15…

Many in the movie industry feared the need to convert to digital could be the death knell for drive-ins, but drive-in operators are finding creative ways to afford the switch. Drive-in movie theater operators say more than ,200 of the remaining 348 drive-ins in the country have made the expensive conversion from film to digital, which typically costs more than $70,000. Theater owners say conversions escalated quickly in 2013 and will help keep the drive-ins in • business for now, promising news for an industry that peaked in the 1950s and x60s, then with more than 4,000 drive-in theaters nationwide. Some drive-ins are raising money using crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter while others are taking advantage of financing programs or renting out their theaters as flea markets during off-hours. Ry…

iOS #01 - Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores By Glu Games Inc. Category: Games Requires iOS 5.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #02 - Timberman By Pawel Jedrysiak Category: Games Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 - Kim Kardashian: Hollywood By Glu Games Inc. Category: Games Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #04 - Guess The Emoji : Emoji Pops By Conversion, LLC Category: Games Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #05 - No Brakes By Totebo Ltd Category: Games…

Hewlett-Packard’s interim chairman, Ralph Whitworth, has resigned from the company’s board to concentrate on personal health issues. Whitworth’s resignation is effective on Wednesday. The technology products and services company said that its board will discuss appointing a new chairman at its next meeting. Whitworth became HP’s interim chairman in April 2013 after former chairman Ray Lane stepped down from his post. At the time that Lane stepped down, HP also announced that directors John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson were leaving the board. The shake-up was spurred by disgruntled stockholders unhappy with HP’s performance. HP has been working on a turnaround of its business amid slumping PC sales in recent years, cutting expenses and focusing on more profitable areas such as software and services. Like other PC makers, the company…

Swiss drugmaker Novartis has struck an agreement with Google to develop “smart” contact lenses that would help diabetics track their blood glucose levels or restore the eye’s ability to focus. The device for diabetics would measure glucose in tear fluid and send the data wirelessly to a mobile device, Novartis said. The technology is potentially life-changing for many diabetics, who prick their fingers as many as 10 times daily to check their body’s production of the sugar. Success would allow Novartis to compete in a global blood-sugar tracking market that is expected to be worth over $12 billion by 2017, according to research firm GlobalData. Diabetes afflicts an estimated 382 million people worldwide. The second approach is for presbyopia, in which aging eyes have trouble focusing on close objects. Novartis…

Google Inc’s Nest Labs on Tuesday unveiled an industry group to encourage makers of smart home gadgets like locks and light bulbs to use Thread, a new standard for devices to communicate on a network. The attempt by Nest, a smart thermostat maker that Google bought in January for $3.2 billion, to lead the way on how future household devices to speak to each other, underscores the importance Google puts on areas like cars and the home. It follows similar initiatives by Qualcomm Inc, Intel Corp and other technology companies. The new Thread Group includes Samsung Electronics and chip companies ARM Holdings, Freescale Semiconductor and Silicon Labs. Big Ass Fans and lock maker Yale are also members of the group, which will certify Threadcompatible products. Thread is a networking protocol…

IMPROVEMENTS GIVE MUCHMALIGNED APP FRESH HOPE Simply mention the two words “Apple Maps” to any iGadget user, and you’ll typically get some tutting and a shake of the head in response. Why? Well, it all dates back to the moment in late 2012 when the Cupertino company opted to cease supporting Google’s mapping database. Instead, iOS 6 users got a completely in-house Apple mapping application to play with. Of course, the new Apple Maps wasn’t the first time an official Maps app had been offered to iPhone and iPad owners, but Google had formerly powered the backend, Apple simply being in charge of the design of the app. However, clearly eager to end its reliance on Google’s mapping data, Apple got to work on the construction of its own database…

WHY AND HOW THE CUPERTINO FIRM IS SO MUCH ‘GREENER’ TODAY Look at the headlines bandied about today, and you could be forgiven for thinking that Apple has only ever been as green as the fruit that gives it its name. We are, of course, talking about the legendary Cupertino firm’s relationship with the environment. Just consider the annual shareholder meeting earlier this year, at which CEO Tim Cook - in what a writer for the Mac Observer described as “the only time I can recall seeing Tim Cook angry” - staunchly rebuffed the suggestions of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) that the company was wasting its time on paying lip service to such a thing as “environmental sustainability”. The NCPRR memorably questioned Apple’s connections to “certain…

iOS #01 - Minecraft - Pocket Edition By Mojang Category: Games / Price: $6.99 Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #02 - Heads Up! By Warner Bros. Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 - Monument Valley By ustwo™ Category: Games / Price: $1.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #04 - Blek By Denis Mikan Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized…

Snowpiercer Chris Evans plays Curtis Everett, one of the last survivors of humanity climbing aboard a globe-spanning super train in a postapocalyptic ice age. He is also, however, prepared to take the monumental risk of leading a revolt for control of the engine and with it, the future of the planet. FIVE FACTS: 1. Snowpiercer is the English language debut of South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. 2. It is based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. 3. The film stars Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, Jamie Bell and Ewen Bremner. 4. Asked about the “endgame” of Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho commented: “A film is just a film. It’s really about the beauty of the shot and the excitement of watching something…

A quick sale of a block of billionaire Carlos Slim’s vast telecoms empire to a foreign company may be the fastest path to lower prices, broader coverage and better service for Mexican consumers. Controlling around 70 percent of Mexico’s mobile market and more than 60 percent of landlines, Slim’s America Movil has been blamed for overcharging consumers for patchy service since he bought a former state-run phone monopoly in the early 1990s. But industry experts said the asset divestiture plan America Movil announced last week to escape tougher Mexican regulations could shake up the telecommunications market by bringing in foreign telecom companies that could accelerate price drops. “If they sell a big chunk, we will see more operators who will pressure the companies that are already in the market and…

The House voted Tuesday to make permanent a moratorium that prevents state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet. Under current law, the moratorium expires Nov. 1, exposing Internet users to the same kind of connection fees that often show up on telephone bills. “This legislation prevents a surprise tax hike on Americans’ critical services this fall/’ said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “It also maintains unfettered access to one of the most unique gateways to knowledge and engine of self-improvement in all of human history.” The moratorium was first enacted in 1998. State and local governments that already had Internet taxes were allowed to keep them under the current moratorium. But under the bill passed Tuesday, those jurisdictions would no longer be…