Innehållsförteckning för #397 från AppleMagazine

OPENING OF APPLE’S DEVELOPER EXTRAVAGANZA DIDN’T DISAPPOINT So, with just one day done at WWDC 2019 at the time of writing, we’ve already been inundated with a host of exciting updates to the software we love. In fact, so much happened in the first few hours of the event that the only way we can really cover it effectively is by writing two articles. So, to get straight into Part One, what exactly went down at San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center on June 3? As usual, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off with a detailed two-hour keynote. CEO Tim Cook took to the stage first, but it was senior vice president of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, who released the most important news in Apple software development that we’ve heard…

Half of U.S. adults consider fake news a major problem, and they mostly blame politicians and activists for it, according to a new survey. A majority also believe journalists have the responsibility for fixing it. Differences in political affiliation are a major factor in how people think about fake news, as Republicans are more likely than Democrats to also blame journalists for the problem. The question of how to deal with made-up or misleading stories has embroiled politicians, civil-rights organizations and tech companies in the aftermath of misinformation campaignsby Russians and others aimed at undermining democratic institutions in the U.S . and Europe. A survey from the Pew Research Center, released this week, finds that 68% of U.S. adults believe fake news affects confidence in government institutions. Misinformation was cited…

Is Big Tech headed for a big breakup? The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are moving to investigate Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple over their aggressive business practices, and the House Judiciary Committee has announced an unprecedented antitrust probe , promising “a top-to-bottom review of the market power held by giant tech platforms.” In addition, at least two 2020 presidential hopefuls have expressed support for breaking up some of technology’s biggest players amid concerns they have become too powerful. Experts say breakups are unlikely in the short term, and Rep. David Cicilline, the Rhode Island Democrat who leads the subcommittee pursuing the House investigation, called such measures a “last resort.” But even without that, Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple could face new restrictions on their power. Google,…

If the sweet, animated 2016 film “The Secret Life of Pets” was mostly for kids, its new sequel might be for another segment of the audience altogether — whoever is buying the tickets. Amid the cute critter shenanigans, this one has plenty of lessons for the parents. Most of the same gang is back this time: Kevin Hart as the fluffy white bunny Snowball, Eric Stonestreet as the goofy giant Newfoundland, Lake Bell as the laconic cat Chloe and Jenny Slate as the plucky Pomeranian Gidget. This time, though, our main hero terrier Max is voiced by Patton Oswalt, replacing the disgraced Louis CK. Both films in the franchise deal with a new addition to the family. In the first, it was a new dog that allowed the filmmakers to…

A top European Union legal adviser said that social media networks like Facebook could be ordered to take down anywhere in the world any text, photo or other media ruled to be defamatory by a court. The U.S. social network said the opinion risks letting countries undermine freedom of expression beyond their borders. The case concerns a Facebook user who shared an online article on their personal page about Austrian Greens politician Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek. The user put a disparaging comment about Glawischnig-Piesczek under a “thumbnail” photo from the article so she took legal action to make Facebook stop the comment from spreading. An Austrian court ruled that the comments were intended to insult and defame the politician and Facebook removed access to them in Austria. In his legal opinion, EU…

Russia’s leading internet company said that it’s committed to data privacy as it responded to reports that the national intelligence agency is pressuring it into handing over encryption keys. Arguably Russia’s most successful internet company, privately owned Yandex is vulnerable to the 2016 law that requires online companies to store all personal user data in Russia and be prepared to share it with authorities. Leading business daily RBC wrote that Yandex has been under pressure by the intelligence agency FSB to hand over encryption keys to its email service and file hosting service. Yandex, which runs Russia’s most popular search engine and email service, among other things, did not refute the reports, saying merely that concerns over national security should not infringe on user privacy. “It is possible to comply…

The International Air Transport Association is lowering its 2019 profit forecast for the airline industry amid rising fuel prices and weakening world trade. The Montreal-based IATA said airlines are expected to earn $28 billion this year, down from the $35.5 billion it had predicted in December. “Margins are being squeezed by rising costs right across the board, including labor, fuel, and infrastructure,” the industry body said in a statement at its annual meeting in Seoul. It said competition among airlines remains stiff and “weakening of global trade is likely to continue as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies,” primarily affecting the cargo business, although passenger traffic could also be hit if tensions rise. Addressing concerns over two deadly passenger plane crashes involving Boeing’s 737 Max model, IATA’s director-general said the disasters…

An Ohio fund that has provided millions of dollars for technology projects, startups and research is running out of money, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said this week. He told a group of investors that the $180 million remaining in the Third Frontier fund won’t sustain current operations for “much longer,”The Plain Dealer reported. Husted was asked how he feels about Third Frontier while giving a presentation to investors with the North Coast Angel Fund. “I think we’ve learned what’s worked from the Third Frontier program, I think we’ve learned what maybe wasn’t as successful,” Husted said. “Those lessons, I believe, can serve as the foundation for what the future of it might be.” He didn’t specify what that might look like, but suggested lawmakers might be motivated to support whatever…

Building a supercomputer to appease the world’s most advanced developers, graphic artists, filmmakers and photographers was never going to be easy, but Apple pulled it off in 2006 with the Mac Pro. Now, 13 years later, Apple has reinvented one of its most powerful computers and introduced a whole host of features, far beyond expectations. This week, we lift the lid on the new Mac Pro, an extreme high-end computer reinventing the desktop PC… NEXT-LEVEL POWER It’s rare for Apple to sandwich in new hardware announcements between software unveils at its WWDC conference, but this year was different. With an auditorium packed full of devoted iOS and macOS developers, it was the perfect opportunity for Apple to show off a completely overhauled, breakthrough Mac Pro, designed to push the limits…

A government watchdog says the FBI has access to about 640 million photographs — including from driver’s licenses, passports and mugshots — that can be searched using facial recognition technology. The figure reflects how the technology is becoming an increasingly powerful law enforcement tool, but is also stirring fears about the potential for authorities to intrude on the lives of Americans. It was reported by the Government Accountability Office at a congressional hearing in which both Democrats and Republicans raised questions about the use of the technology. The FBI maintains a database known as the Interstate Photo System of mugshots that can help federal, state and local law enforcement officials. It contains about 36 million photographs, according to Gretta Goodwin of the GAO. But taking into account the bureau contracts…

A Star Is Born Veteran singer Jack Maine (Bradley Cooper) sees the natural talent in struggling, dispirited singer Ally (Lady Gaga), and decides to nurture it. It isn’t long before their relationship turns from professional to romantic; however, while Ally’s career starts to take off, Jack’s sees a downward spiral as he is engulfed by personal demons. FIVE FACTS: 1. This film is a remake of the 1937 original of the same name, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. 2. After talks about remaking the film began in 2011, various big-screen stars, including Beyoncé, Christian Bale, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, were linked with the project. 3. It was not until 2016 that Bradley Cooper agreed to star in and direct the film and Lady Gaga joined the…

California has a new level of cooperation with the Pentagon as it tries to avoid another deadly, destructive fire season, Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week, downplaying friction with President Donald Trump’s administration. The Defense Department has agreed to provide information from a Cold War-era military satellite to help spot new wildfires, and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan gave the California National Guard blanket approval through year’s end to use unmanned drones to map fires, count destroyed houses and spot survivors. “We finally got a breakthrough with the Pentagon,” Newsom said as he opened a day-long Emergency Management Preparedness Summit intended to help state and local officials better prepare for wildfires and other disasters. Officials are searching for ways to avoid fires like the one that devastated the Northern California…

German chipmaker Infineon is buying U.S.-based Cypress Semiconductor Corp. for more than $10 billion. Infineon will pay $23.85 for each outstanding share of Cypress in the deal, which is expected to close late this year or early in 2020. The companies said the sale price represents a 46% premium to Cypress’s share price over the past six weeks. Infineon said Monday the acquisition will make it the eighth biggest chipmaker in the world and the leading supplier of chips to the automotive sector. The companies expect cost synergies of 180 million euros ($201 million) per year by 2022. Shares in the San Jose, California-based Cypress jumped more than 20% in premarket trading. The company, which specializes in wireless and USB technology, had $539 million in revenue in the first quarter.…

Russia is requiring dating app Tinder to hand over data on its users — including messages — to the national intelligence agencies, part of the country’s widening crackdown on internet freedoms. The communications regulator said that Tinder was included on a list of online services operating in Russia that are required to provide user data on demand to Russian authorities, including the FSB security agency. Tinder, an app where people looking for dates swipe left or right on the profiles of other users to reject or accept them, will have to cooperate with Russian authorities or face being completely blocked in the country. The rule would apply to any user’s data that goes through Russian servers, including messages to other people on the app. Tinder didn’t respond to a request…

A report on Chinese manufacturing suggested that Beijing’s trade war with the Trump administration is causing domestic economic damage. Surveys of manufacturers across Asia for May showed that business confidence has been shaken by the conflict over President Donald Trump’s demands that Beijing change its industrial planning strategy and find other ways to redress its perennially huge trade surpluses. But in a move that could ratchet back some tensions, the world’s largest association of technology professionals said it is lifting a research cooperation restriction it had imposed on employees of Chinese tech giant Huawei. A private survey, the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, for China held steady at 50.2 in May, just above the 50 level that distinguishes between expansion and contraction. But business confidence slipped to its…

Samsung Electronics’ Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has vowed to keep up robust investments in key businesses as South Korea’s leading company weathers slowing demand and the impact of trade clashes between Washington and Beijing. In a weekend meeting with top Samsung executives, Lee called for “unwavering focus on long-term, fundamental leadership in technology” and reaffirmed plans to invest 133 trillion won ($112 billion) to strengthen the company’s presence in the non-memory chip market. Samsung also last year announced a three-year plan to invest 180 trillion won ($152 billion) to strengthen its memory chip segment and other key sectors and hire 40,000 more people in the process. “In this rapidly changing environment, we need to keep our unwavering focus on the long-term, fundamental leadership in technology,” Lee said in a statement…

Apple, beset by falling iPhone sales, announced upcoming changes to its phone and computer software intended to highlight its new digital services and to further position it as a defender of personal privacy. The revisions previewed Monday during a conference in San Jose, California, included a new feature that will let people log into apps and other services with an Apple ID instead of relying on similar sign-in options from Facebook and Google — two companies that mine data to sell advertising. Apple said it won’t collect tracking information about users from that service. As part of that feature, Apple will also let users mask their true email addresses when signing into apps and services. That will involve faux email address that automatically forward to the user’s personal email. When…

A New York school district has finished installing a facial recognition system intended to spot potentially dangerous intruders, but state officials concerned about privacy say they want to know more before the technology is put into use. Education Department spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said that department employees plan to meet with Lockport City School officials about the system being tested this week. In the meantime, she said, the district has said it will not use facial recognition software while it checks other components of the system. The rapidly developing technology has made its way into airports, motor vehicle departments, stores and stadiums, but is so far rare in public schools. Lockport is preparing to bring its system online as cities elsewhere are considering reining in the technology’s use. San Francisco in…

SHE IS COMING Miley Cyrus Although this is American singer Miley Cyrus’s second extended play (EP) overall, it is just the first of an intended trilogy of EPs set to form her seventh studio album, She Is Miley Cyrus, due for release later this year. SHE IS COMING has a strong pop and R&B tone with rock and trap touches. FIVE FACTS: 1. This EP is the artist’s first since The Time of Our Lives in 2009. 2. Cyrus’s first public performances of “Cattitude”, “D.R.E.A.M.” and “Mother’s Daughter” were at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2019. 3. “Cattitude” features RuPaul, while Ghostface Killah guest-stars on “D.R.E.A.M.”. 4. Producers involved in the making of SHE IS COMING include Mark Ronson, Mike Will Made…

Google, the tech giant known universally for its search engine, also has fingers in a number of other pies, like online advertising, email messaging and video. That gives U.S. antitrust enforcers, who have reportedly evinced a new interest in pursuing competition charges against Google, lots to look at. Governments around the world are becoming increasingly unnerved by the power amassed by major technology companies — with the dominance of Google in search, Facebook in social networking and Amazon in e-commerce raising the sharpest concerns. In the most dramatic scenario, a case might be made for breaking the companies into smaller pieces. The U.S. Justice Department is readying an investigation of Google’s business practices in search and other areas, and whether they violate antitrust law, according to news reports. Neither the…

1504THE BACHELORETTE, SEASON 15 UNHAPPY CAMPERKEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS, SEASON 16 WILL YOU BURY ME?SUMMER HOUSE, SEASON 3 HERE TO HELPFEAR THE WALKING DEAD, SEASON 5 THE BIG EASY SHOW DOWNTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC, SEASON 4 EPISODE 1LUTHER, SEASON 5 BACK IN THE BIG EASY, BABY!SOUTHERN CHARM NEW ORLEANS, SEASON 2 ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE90 DAY FIANCE: THE OTHER WAY, SEASON 1 SEVERED TIES90 DAY FIANCE: HAPPILY EVER AFTER?, SEASON 4 IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S MIAMI THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY, SEASON 11…

China on Wednesday launched a rocket from a mobile platform at sea for the first time, sending a five commercial satellites and two others containing experimental technology into space. The Long March 11 rocket blasted off from a launch pad aboard a commercial ship in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Shandong province, marking the 306th launch of a rocket in the Long March series, but the first one at sea. China is the third country after the U.S. and Russia to master sea launch technology. Sea launches offer advantages such as the ability to position closer to the equator, requiring less fuel to reach orbit and thereby lowering overall launch costs. It also reduces the possibility of damage on the ground from falling rocket debris. The official Xinhua…