Innehållsförteckning för #410 från AppleMagazine

MAJOR CHALLENGES FOR THE EAST ASIAN MANUFACTURERS In last week’s issue, we looked at the wave of Chinese-branded smartphones entering global territories outside East Asia and how these devices compare to Apple’s offerings in their features and software. While there’s now a long list of Chinese smartphone purveyors, two brands that particularly stand out are Huawei and Xiaomi, which are now both vulnerable to the escalating trade war waged by the Trump administration against imports from the People’s Republic. Fortunately for Huawei and Xiaomi, they have grown to such an extent – both as companies and in terms of smartphone market share – that they can afford to weather the storm of this trade conflict. However, this isn’t to say that their hard-earned edge in the global market isn’t under…

Researchers say suspected nation-state hackers infected Apple iPhones with spyware over two years in what security experts called an alarming security failure for a company whose calling card is privacy. A mere visit to one of a small number of tainted websites could infect an iPhone with an implant capable of sending the smartphone owner’s text messages, email, photos and real-time location data to the cyberspies behind the operation. “This is definitely the most serious iPhone hacking incident that’s ever been brought to public attention, both because of the indiscriminate targeting and the amount of data compromised by the implant,” said former U.S. government hacker Jake Williams, the president of Rendition Security. Announced by Google researchers, the last of the vulnerabilities were quietly fixed by Apple by February but only…

Facebook said that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would be violating the company’s rules if agents create fake profiles to monitor the social media of foreigners seeking to enter the country. “Law enforcement authorities, like everyone else, are required to use their real names on Facebook and we make this policy clear,” Facebook spokeswoman Sarah Pollack told in a statement. “Operating fake accounts is not allowed, and we will act on any violating accounts.” Pollack said the company has communicated its concerns and its policies on the use of fake accounts to DHS. She said the company will shut down fake accounts, including those belonging to undercover law enforcement, when they are reported. The company’s statement followed report that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had authorized its officers to…

Two surveys of Chinese manufacturing show demand is weak amid a mounting tariff war with Washington over trade and technology. A monthly purchasing managers’ index released by a business magazine, Caixin, rose to 50.4 from July’s 49.9 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity increasing. That indicates “renewed improvement” but said a gauge of new orders fell to its lowest level this year, the magazine said. A separate survey released by an industry group, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, showed activity declining to 49.5 from July’s 49.7. It said market demand was “relatively weak.” Chinese exporters are struggling in the face of U.S. tariff hikes. Exports to the United States, their biggest market, fell 6.5% in July. Washington and Beijing stepped up their fight…

It can be a cheesy thing when a novel is split up and spread out over a handful of films, but Stephen King’s “It” is not one of those books. Andy Muschietti’s first crack at King’s 1,100-page doorstop, 2017’s “It,” dealt with the first half: the Losers Club, a band of “Stranger Things”-like adolescent outcasts, battling the shape-shifting demon clown Pennywise (a wonderfully gangly Bill Skarsgard) in the Maine town of Derry. “It Chapter Two” takes up the book’s second half when those kids, now grown, are called back 27 years later to Derry after Pennywise returns. That timespan gives Muscietti’s “Chapter Two” some deeper meanings to play with: how many of our darkest fears don’t change so much from childhood, how the brutalities of life bring new horrors, how…

Paul Hildreth peered at a display of dozens of images from security cameras surveying his Atlanta school district and settled on one showing a woman in a bright yellow shirt walking a hallway. A mouse click instructed the artificial intelligence-equipped system to find other images of the woman, and it immediately stitched them into a video narrative of where she was currently, where she had been and where she was going. There was no threat, but Hildreth’s demonstration showed what’s possible with AI-powered cameras. If a gunman were in one of his schools, the cameras could quickly identify the shooter’s location and movements, allowing police to end the threat as soon as possible, said Hildreth, emergency operations coordinator for the Fulton County School District. AI is transforming surveillance cameras from…

In the age of Uber Eats and GrubHub, delivering pizza for the local Domino’s may seem like a throwback. But for drivers who want more predictable hours and pay — and discounts on food — restaurants may be the better bet. Despite pressure from third-party apps, a few big chains continue to use their own drivers, and they’re hiring. Panera Bread, which has 10,000 drivers in the U.S., expects to hire more after a deal it signed late last month with GrubHub, Uber Eats and DoorDash. The apps will let users place orders but Panera’s drivers will deliver the food. Domino’s, which has around 120,000 drivers in the U.S., plans to build 2,000 more stores over the next eight years. Each Domino’s location employs around 20 to 25 drivers. Jimmy…

On the dairy farm of the future, the cows are going wireless. The bovine residents of a British agricultural technology research center are helping to test next generation mobile technology aimed at helping make dairy farming more efficient. The herd’s 180 cows are fitted with wireless monitoring collars that work like fitness trackers, recording their movements and eating habits, and sending data to the cloud using fifth generation, or 5G, mobile network signals. From there, an algorithm analyzes the information, notifying farmers and veterinarians through a smartphone app if there are any fluctuations that could indicate an illness or other health condition that needs more attention. The goal is to boost productivity and save manpower by allowing farmers to keep an eye on their herds remotely. “Having the data available…

Thousands of miles from the union halls of Pennsylvania and Michigan, organized labor is flexing its muscles in a pitched battle with Big Tech. And the Democratic Party’s 2020 class isn’t being shy about picking sides. In a rare injection of presidential politics into a state policy debate, virtually every major Democratic White House hopeful except Joe Biden has waded into a California clash between labor unions and tech giants such as Uber and Lyft over the very definition of work in a changing economy. In the run-up to Labor Day, Democrats lined up behind a labor-backed bill that would make it harder for tech companies to classify workers as independent contractors, who aren’t entitled to minimum wage or workers’ compensation. It’s a debate with national implications that labor unions…

Credit card companies want to turn your unused credit line into cash that you can borrow for things like home improvements or unexpected expenses. But accepting this loan offer may not be the best choice for your wallet or your credit score. In recent months, two of the largest credit card issuers, Citi and Chase, have announced they’ll offer credit card loans to eligible cardholders. Citi is offering its Citi Flex Loan, while Chase plans to launch My Chase Loan in late 2019. The new products appear to be aimed at taking a share of the ballooning market for personal loans, which hit a record $143 billion in the first quarter of 2019, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion, an increase of 19.2% year over year. Credit card loans are…

The United States and China put in place their latest tariff increases on each other’s goods, potentially raising prices Americans pay for some clothes, shoes, sporting goods and other consumer items before the holiday shopping season. President Donald Trump said U.S.-China trade talks were still on for September. “We’ll see what happens,” he told reporters as he returned to the White House from the Camp David presidential retreat. “But we can’t allow China to rip us off anymore as a country.” he 15% U.S. taxes apply to about $112 billion of Chinese imports. All told, more than two-thirds of the consumer goods the United States imports from China now face higher taxes. The administration had largely avoided hitting consumer items in its earlier rounds of tariff increases. But with prices…

John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum Veteran assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run, having killed a member of international assassin’s guild the High Table without authorization. A $14-million bounty has been placed on his head, giving plenty of hitmen and hitwomen strong incentive to track him down, but Japanese assassin Zero (Mark Dacascos) and ex-assassin Sofia (Halle Berry) assist his escape. FIVE FACTS: 1. This is the third John Wick film after 2014’s John Wick and 2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2. 2. The only actors to have appeared in all three John Wick films are Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick. 3. Halle Berry broke three ribs during the filming of this movie. 4. The Parabellum part of the title is derived from the Latin saying “Si…

Never before has one studio so dominated summer at the movies. The Walt Disney Co. accounted for about half of all ticket sales in U.S. and Canada theaters on the season, which came to a close last Sunday with the Gerard Butler action thriller “Angel Has Fallen” topping the box office for the second weekend. Summer ticket sales finished 2% behind last year, according to data firm Comscore, a slight downturn that came despite an unprecedented display by Disney. The studio’s approximate $2.2 billion in domestic summer box office is greater than that of all the major studios combined. Summer, which for Hollywood runs from the first weekend in May to Labor Day, traditionally ends with a whimper as few new releases seek to draw audiences over the holiday weekend.…

The U.S. and Poland signed an agreement to cooperate on new 5G technology as concerns grow about Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki signed the deal in Warsaw, where Pence is filling in for President Donald Trump, who scrapped his trip at the last minute because of Hurricane Dorian. The signing comes during a global battle between the U.S. and Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of network infrastructure equipment, over network security and fears of Chinese access. The U.S.-Poland agreement states: “Protecting these next generation communications networks from disruption or manipulation and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States, Poland, and other countries is of vital importance.” Both countries pledged to endorse the principles developed by…

Seven European mobile payment systems said they are joining forces to better develop cross-border contactless payments. The move is seen as an attempt to create a regional standard for smartphone payments that does not require Apple, Google, Visa or Mastercard. Mark Wraa-Hansen, CEO of Denmark’s MobilePay system, says the European Mobile Payment System Association combines 25 million registered users, about one million merchant acceptance points and more than 350 partner banks. Wraa-Hansen said the association will focus on making it possible to use any of the seven mobile payments seamlessly across Belgium, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland and four Nordic nations. The alliance members are MobilePay (Denmark and Finland), Banccontact Payconiq (Belgium), Bluecode (Germany and Austria), SIBS (Portugal), Swish (Sweden), VIPPS (Norway) and TWINT (Switzerland). The EMPSA said more countries and…

The government agency that manages Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has downgraded its outlook for the corals’condition from“poor”to “very poor”due to warming oceans. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s condition report, which is updated every five years, is the latest bad news for the 345,400 square kilometer (133,360 square miles) colorful coral network off the northeast Australian coast as climate change and coral bleaching take their toll. The report issued last week finds the greatest threat to the reef remains climate change. The other threats are associated with coastal development, land-based water runoff and human activity such as illegal fishing. “Significant global action to address climate change is critical to slowing the deterioration of the reef’s ecosystem and heritage values and supporting recovery,” the report said. “Such actions will complement…

Ten years ago, if you wanted to watch a blockbuster movie or play the latest gaming title, you’d need to head to the theatre or buy a new console. Now, every title is ready to watch and play at the touch of a button, on every device you own. This week, we delve deeper into entertainment overload, and explore how Apple and others are transforming the industry… CONTENT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Where Netflix and Amazon Prime must work hard to persuade consumers to download their app and part with their cash, Apple has the benefit of baking its upcoming entertainment products directly into its ecosystems, as it’s been doing with Apple TV ahead of the launch of Apple TV+. Consumers can access content from their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac,…

Google’s video site YouTube has been fined $170 million to settle allegations it collected children’s personal data without their parents’ consent. The Federal Trade Commission fined Google $136 million and the company will pay an additional $34 million to New York state to resolve similar allegations. The fine is the largest the agency has yet leveled against Google, although it is tiny compared to the $5 billion fine the FTC imposed against Facebook this year for privacy violations. The FTC has been investigating YouTube for the way it handles the data of kids under the age of 13. Young children are protected by a federal law that requires parental consent before companies can collect and share their personal information. “YouTube touted its popularity with children to prospective corporate clients,” FTC…

Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei accused U.S. authorities on Wednesday of attempting to break into its information systems and of trying to coerce its employees to gather information on the company. Huawei, which faces mounting American pressure including possible loss of access to U.S. technology over accusations the company is a security risk, said in a statement that Washington has used “unscrupulous means” in recent months to disrupt its business. American officials have given no evidence to support claims Huawei might aid Chinese spying, accusations the company denies. The United States, Australia, Japan and some other governments have imposed restrictions on use of Huawei technology. Huawei Technologies Ltd. is the No. 2 global smartphone brand and the biggest maker of network gear for phone companies. Export controls announced by the…

Up Next (Live From Apple Piazza Liberty) Bad Bunny This is a live recording of the Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny’s intimate performance that took place this summer at Apple’s Piazza Liberty store in Milan, as part of the Up Next Live series of concerts. If you missed this gig by the Latin trap and reggaeton singer, you can now hear what the emerging fuss is all about. FIVE FACTS: 1. Bad Bunny’s off-stage name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. 2. Apple Music’s Up Next Live is a series of gigs focused on up-and-coming artists. 3.“The impact [of being part of Up Next] can be seen in everything, in numbers, in plays, in shows,” Bad Bunny observed in the press release announcing his Up Next Live show. 4. The setlist…

Joaquin Phoenix is having a hard time defining the Joker, but then again, he doesn’t really want to. The actor spent eight months exploring how a struggling stand-up comedian named Arthur Fleck becomes Batman’s antagonist, the villain with a chilling laugh and a love of chaos. Preparing for the role involved losing quite a bit of weight, studying personality disorders and practicing the laugh over and over again. “(It’s) very difficult to distill into a soundbite,” Phoenix said Saturday in advance of the world premiere of “Joker” at the Venice International Film Festival. The film is competing for the Golden Lion award at the prestigious festival before launching in theaters on Oct. 4. The extreme weight loss — reportedly over 50 pounds — led to a kind of madness that…

PILOTDOOM PATROL, SEASON 1 HOLDING OUT FOR A SHEROYOUNGER, SEASON 6 BREAKDOWN IN BEVERLY HILLSTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY, SEASON 14 THE BRITISH ARE COMING!THE CHALLENGE: WAR OF THE WORLDS 2THIRTY DAYS LATERJERSEY SHORE: FAMILY VACATION, SEASON 2 SOUTHERN CHARM REUNION, PT. 2SOUTHERN CHARM, SEASON 6 604BBACHELOR IN PARADISE, SEASON 6 CONSTRUCTION CRITICISMMILLION DOLLAR LISTING: NEW YORK, SEASON 8 VIENEN POR TIQUEEN OF THE SOUTH, SEASON 4 THE TRANSFORMATION BEGINS DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS: MAKING THE TEAM, SEASON 14…

A computer breakdown briefly disrupted all air traffic in France and caused a cascade of delayed flights in multiple countries Sunday (01), the last day of European summer holidays. Hundreds of flights were delayed at airports from Britain to Morocco and beyond. Hours after the problem with a French automatic flight plan system was fixed, schedules still lagged elsewhere. A spokesman for French civil aviation authority DGAC said the cause of the morning breakdown was being investigated. The problem had “no impact on flight security” and was fixed before midday, allowing traffic to resume, the spokesman said. He wasn’t authorized to be publicly named under the authority’s rules. But DGAC temporarily halted all air traffic under French control, which included planes flying over France. The directive covered planes going in…