Innehållsförteckning för #415 från AppleMagazine

MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE BECOMES MORE EMBEDDED INTO APPLE’S ECOSYSTEM You probably don’t need to have been watching the recent technology headlines very closely to appreciate that Apple and Spotify haven’t always been best buddies lately. However, it also can’t be denied that both of these tech and media giants have benefitted greatly from each other’s resources and ecosystems. That’s why it’s so great to see the announcement of new features effectively bringing the two of them closer together, especially as far as ordinary music fans are concerned. IT’S NOW EVEN EASIER TO APPRECIATE SPOTIFY ON AN APPLE DEVICE Monday saw Spotify reveal several new developments that could make a big difference to how users engage with the streaming service. Perhaps the most eye-catching one comes courtesy of the company’s iOS…

Samsung provided the latest sign of the tough times afflicting computer chipmakers as it braced investors for a sharp drop in profit. The sobering forecast this week wasn’t entirely unexpected, given an industrywide glut that has forced chipmakers to slash prices to clear out inventory. Although Samsung also makes smartphones and an array of other devices, it also is among the world’s largest chip suppliers. Chipmakers are suffering the consequences from misreading industry demand for their products. The industry invested heavily in 2016 and 2017 to ramp up production in anticipation of being flooded with orders for chips used in smartphones, internet-connected cars and other products. Instead, smartphone sales have been dwindling as a lack of innovation and rising prices have caused consumers to hold on to their existing devices…

It’s time to bid farewell to iTunes, the once-revolutionary program that made online music sales mainstream and effectively blunted the impact of piracy. That assumes, of course, that you still use iTunes — and many people no longer do. On iPhones, the functions have long been split into separate apps for music, video and books. Mac computers follow suit this week with a macOS update Catalina. Music-subscription services like Spotify and Apple Music have largely supplanted both the iTunes software and sales of individual songs, which iTunes first made available for 99 cents apiece. Apple is now giving iTunes its latest push toward the grave. For anyone who has subscribed to Apple Music, the music store will now be hidden on the Mac. Sidelining the all-in-one iTunes in favor of…

Two Americans and a British scientist won a Nobel Prize on Monday for discovering details of how the body’s cells sense and react to low oxygen levels, providing a foothold for developing new treatments for anemia, cancer and other diseases. Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr. of Harvard University, Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University and Peter J. Ratcliffe at the Francis Crick Institute in Britain and Oxford University won the prize for advances in physiology or medicine. The scientists, who worked largely independently, will share the 9 million kronor ($918,000) cash award, said the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. They “revealed the mechanism for one of life’s most essential adaptive processes,” the Nobel committee said. Cells can encounter lowered oxygen not only from situations like living at high altitudes, but…

SuperM The 1st Mini Album SuperM The debut extended play (EP) by the K-pop supergroup features the single “Jopping”, and showcases the seven-piece’s vocal and rap skills across five tracks, plus two instrumentals. FIVE FACTS: 1. SuperM is a group consisting of seven members from the three SM Entertainment boy groups Shinee, Exo and NCT. 2. The ‘M’ in the group’s name stands for MATRIX & MASTER, implying the ‘Super’ synergy of the members. 3. The group’s members are Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, and Taeyong, Mark, Ten and Lucas from the NCT sub-units NCT 127 and WayV, respectively. 4. The group’s members have been touted as the “Avengers of K-pop” . 5. “Jopping” was produced and co-written by London-based duo LDN Noise, noted for their work…

A Tlingit clan hat was welcomed back to southeast Alaska with ceremony and dance after spending more than a century away. A ceremony Sept. 25 included both an original sculpin hat that was taken in 1884 from Sitka and became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s collection, and a newer replacement hat, which was given to the Kiks.adi clan. “It’s like seeing an old friend come around the corner when you thought you’d never see them again,” said clan leader Ray Wilson in an interview with the Juneau Empire. During part of the ceremony at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, Wilson donned the new hat. The team-up and technology that led to the new hat and ceremony are unprecedented as far as the Smithsonian is aware. “As far as we know, it’s never…

The EU’s powerful antitrust chief said she’s weighing up stronger measures to curb anticompetitive behavior because huge fines that she has levied on tech multinationals aren’t working. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager didn’t offer specifics on possible actions she’s considering, although she downplayed the idea of breaking up companies. Vestager is arguably the world’s most powerful technology regulator. She made a name for herself by hitting Silicon Valley giants with eyepopping fines, including nearly $10 billion in penalties for Google in three antitrust cases. “You’re right to say that fines are not doing the trick and fines are not enough because fines are for illegal behavior in the past,” Vestager told European Union lawmakers. “Some of the things we will look into are even stronger remedies for competition to pick…

Permits were issued last week for the construction and operation of four new solar projects that are expected to offset carbon dioxide emissions in the state by 459 million pounds — the equivalent of driving more than 44,000 cars for a year. “Virginia is adopting solar technology at record rates, and we are building an economy that is cleaner and greener as a result,” Gov. Ralph Northam stated in a press release announcing the permits, issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The four new solar projects will produce an additional 192 megawatts of electricity. On average, 1 megawatt of solar energy can provide 190 homes with electrical power, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The newly announced solar projects will consist of the following: • Danville Farm,…

PayPal has pulled out of Facebook’s digital currency project, known as Libra, a blow to the social media company that has faced stronger-than-expected scrutiny over its proposed creation of an alternative payments system. The digital payments company said it is withdrawing from the Libra Association so it can focus on its existing businesses. “Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities,” PayPal said. Facebook has presented Libra as a currency that could be used for digital payments, particularly outside the U.S. It would be backed by real currency, unlike other digital currencies like Bitcoin or Etherium. The Libra Association, based in Switzerland, was supposed to give the currency project a comfortable arm’s length distance…

Where we’d once enjoy a concert with our own eyes, we now film every moment to share online, and where we’d once gossip about the news, we now have access to 24/7 content at the touch of a button, with live commentary from the people who matter. This week, we delve deeper into our ever-changing world, exploring the downsides, as well as new possibilities… THE SELFIE GENERATION Perhaps the most obvious indicator of today’s ever-changing times is social media and the selfie generation. Millennials and Gen Z have built careers off of the back of Instagram and YouTube, sharing their every moment with their fans, generating an income through adverts, sponsorship deals and merchandising. Huda Kattan, for example, has amassed a following of almost 40 million by posting makeup tutorials…

Dr. Anna Nguyen spoke with none of the five patients she treated on a recent weekday morning. She didn’t even leave her dining room. The emergency physician nevertheless helped a pregnant Ohio woman handle hip pain, examined a Michigan man’s sore throat and texted a mom whose son became sick during a family trip to Mexico. Welcome to the latest wrinkle in health care convenience: the chat diagnosis. Nguyen’s company, CirrusMD, can connect patients with a doctor in less than a minute. But such fast service comes with a catch: The patient probably won’t see or talk to the doctor, because most communication takes place via secure messaging. “We live in a consumer-driven world, and I think that consumers are becoming accustomed to being able to access all types of…

The United States is blacklisting a group of Chinese tech companies that develop facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technology that the U.S. says is being used to repress China’s Muslim minority groups. A move this week by the U.S. Commerce Department puts the companies on a so-called Entity List for acting contrary to American foreign policy interests. The blacklist effectively bars U.S. firms from selling technology to the Chinese companies without government approval. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a written statement that the U.S. government “will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China”. The blacklisted companies include Hikvision and Dahua, both of which are global providers of video surveillance technology. Hikvision said in a statement that it respects human rights and strongly opposes the Trump…

Will Smith is usually an asset for a movie. He’s the kind of true movie star whose charisma can elevate even the most mediocre material. You’d think then that it would be a good thing to have not just one but two Will Smiths in a movie if you can. That was at least part of the idea behind ”Gemini Man .”The action film from Ang Lee also uses state of the art de-aging technology to create a basically believable 20-something version of Smith and has billed itself as a “true event film” that “redefines action cinema.” Those are some lofty claims, but unfortunately its biggest accomplishment seems to be in sapping all the charm out of Smith (twice!). For all the hype about the modern technology, the story is…

A global economic body has proposed overhauling the way multinationals - particularly tech giants - are taxed to make sure they pay their fair share in countries where they do significant business. The plan from the Paris-based the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises 134 countries, comes after France and the United States agreed in August to find a way to better tax digital businesses by mid-2020. The proposal, which applies to multinationals in all sectors, would re-allocate some tax revenue to countries where big companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple “have significant consumer-facing activities and generate their profits,” the OECD said. Currently, multinationals tend to pay most of their tax in the country where they are based. That’s particularly true for business carried out online, such…

Lego is looking to keep its plastic bricks out of the trash. The Danish toymaker is testing a way for customers to ship their unwanted bricks back and get them into the hands of other kids. It said that customers in the U.S. can print out a mailing label on its site, dump their used Lego bricks in a box and ship them off for free. Lego said the pieces will be cleaned, put in a box and given to Teach for America, a nonprofit that will donate them to classrooms across the United States. Some bricks will be also sent to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston for their after-school programs. Lego said if the test is successful, it may expand the program beyond the U.S. next year.…

While small and mid-sized businesses are increasingly targets for cybercriminals, companies are struggling to devote enough resources to protect their technology from attack. That’s one of the findings of an annual survey of companies released by the Poneman Institute, which researches data protection, and Keeper Security, a manufacturer of password protection software. The survey found that 76% of the 592 U.S. companies surveyed had experienced a cyberattack in the previous 12 months. That was up from 70% in a survey in 2018, and 63% in a 2017 survey. The most common attacks were phishing and social engineering scams, cited by 57% of companies. These are invasions that target unsuspecting computer, smartphone and tablet users with realistic-looking emails; if a user clicks on a link or attachment in the email, malicious…

Boeing plans to invest $20 million in Virgin Galactic as the space tourism company nears its goal of launching passengers on suborbital flights. The companies announced the investment this week, saying they will work together on broadening commercial access to space and transforming global travel technologies. Virgin Galactic has conducted successful test flights of its winged rocket ship at Mojave, California, and is preparing to begin operations at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Test flights will be conducted there before passenger flights begin. Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides says the company is projecting commercial flights by mid-2020. Virgin Galactic announced in July it intends to go public through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. Boeing’s investment is in return for shares, so it is contingent on that transaction…

If you’re reading this on a mobile phone or laptop computer, you might thank this year’s three laureates for the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on lithium-ion batteries. Yet the batteries developed by the British, American and Japanese winners that make those devices possible are far more revolutionary than just for on-the-go computing and calling. The breakthroughs the three achieved also made storing energy from renewable sources more feasible, opening up a whole new front in the fight against global warming. “This is a highly-charged story of tremendous potential,” said Olof Ramstrom of the Nobel committee for chemistry. The prize announced this week went to John B. Goodenough, 97, a German-born American engineering professor at the University of Texas; M. Stanley Whittingham, 77, a British-American chemistry professor at…

Toy Story 4 Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang are joined by Forky, a spork that has been made into a toy. They subsequently embark on a road trip with Bonnie that shows just how big the world can be for a toy FIVE FACTS: 1. Toy Story 4 is the fourth installment of the computer-animated Toy Story series, and the sequel to 2010’s Toy Story 3. 2. Most of the series’ previous voice actors, including Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, reprised their roles for the film. 3. Don Rickles intended to reprise his role as Mr. Potato Head, but died in April 2017. On his family’s request, he was featured in the film through the use of archival recordings . 4. Other members of…

A small-batch box set of film, music and memorabilia will be released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” the movie that captured Jackson’s final concert rehearsals before his death. Only 1,000 numbered copies will be made of the set that is available for presale at the Jackson online store and will be released on Dec. 11, Sony Music and the Jackson estate announced. Each will include four LPs on translucent-blue vinyl, a 3-D Blu-Ray disc of the film, a 60-page coffee table book and a ticket for a July 24, 2009 concert at O2 Arena in London that was never held because Jackson died 18 days before the shows was scheduled to begin. The film, which had the highest global box office gross of any…

Consumer products giant Unilever, whose brands include Dove soaps and Lipton teas, said it aims to halve its use of non-recycled plastics by 2025. The move, which appears crafted to resonate with younger, more environmentally aware consumers, will require a “fundamental rethink” in the company’s packaging policies, said CEO Alan Jope. Unilever aims to achieve the goal by reducing its use of all plastics by 100,000 metric tons and using more recycled plastic. The multinational previously pledged to make all its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 and to use at least 25% recycled plastic in packaging by that year. The company also said it aims to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells by 2025. “Plastic has its place, but that place is not in…

Apple became the latest company targeted for Chinese pressure over protests in Hong Kong when the ruling Communist Party’s main newspaper criticized the tech giant this week for a smartphone app that allows activists to report police movements. HKmap.live, designed by an outside supplier and available on Apple Inc.’s online store, “facilitates illegal behavior,” People’s Daily said in a commentary. “Is Apple guiding Hong Kong thugs?” the newspaper said. Beijing has pressed companies including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways to take the government’s side against the protests, which are in their fourth month. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. HKmap.live allows users to report police locations, use of tear gas and other details that are added to a regularly updated map. Another version is available for smartphones…