Innehållsförteckning för #455 från AppleMagazine

Presidential adviser Ivanka Trump unveiled a White House-backed national ad campaign highlighting alternative ways to start a career, an initiative targeting students, mid-career workers and the millions of people who are now unemployed because of the coronavirus. Called “Find Something New,” the campaign is backed by Apple Inc. and IBM Corp. It was quickly bashed on social media as being tone deaf and inadequate for the times. The Trump administration has long emphasized skills-based job and vocational training as an alternative to two- or four-year college degree programs for high school graduates, arguing that college isn’t for everyone and that a degree isn’t required for many jobs. The campaign had been in the works for some time, but gained new urgency after efforts to slow the coronavirus outbreak left millions…

Computer chip maker Analog Devices is buying Maxim Integrated in an all-stock deal that will create a company worth about $68 billion, and strengthens its position in the analog semiconductor sector. The $20 billion acquisition would also give Analog a more defined roll in the development technology for 5G networks and self-piloted vehicles. Maxim stockholders will receive 0.630 of a share of Analog common stock for each share of Maxim common stock they hold at the transaction’s closing, according to the announcement. Analog stockholders will own approximately 69% of the combined company, while Maxim stockholders will own about 31%. Two Maxim directors will join Analog’s board once the deal is complete, including Maxim President and CEO, Tunç Doluca. The deal is expected to close next summer, but requires the approval…

French gaming giant Ubisoft is parting ways with its creative director and two other executives and promising zero tolerance for “toxic” staff behavior following an internal investigation of misconduct and media reports of sexual harassment and other workplace abuse. In a statement, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the developer of “Assassin’s Creed” and other games “has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees.” “This is unacceptable, as toxic behaviors are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised — and never will,” Guillemot said. Ubisoft announced the immediate resignation of Serge Hascoet as the firm’s powerful chief creative officer. Hascoet joined Ubisoft in 1987, the year after Guillemot founded the company with his four brothers. Ubisoft had previously…

First Cow With a group of vicious hunters in pursuit, two travelers – a talented cook and a Chinese immigrant – in the 1820s Northwest seek to make a fortune, and realize how they could surreptitiously use a wealthy landowner’s prized dairy cow to fulfill that dream. FIVE FACTS: 1. This is the 10th film directed by Kelly Reichardt, who is noted for her minimalist portrayals of working-class characters in modest rural communities. 2. The movie is an adaptation of the novel The Half Life by Jonathan Raymond, who co-wrote the screenplay with Reichardt. 3. Slow Elk was suggested as an alternative title for this film, as that’s how cattle were known to Oregon’s First People. 4. The world premiere of First Cow was held at the Telluride Film Festival…

For all the painful absences of this summer, it has been a season blessedly bereft of superheroes. No, they’re not all bad. And there is much of the normal rhythms of the movies’ main-event months to be nostalgic for. But one thing I haven’t missed is the unending business of franchises — their perpetual erection, expansion and, occasionally, hopeless collapse. For better or worse, world building is on us this summer. And that has, in many ways, been a good opportunity for further examining the kinds of stories that get told and who tells them. Netflix’s “The Old Guard,” on the surface, seems like it gives us what the summer has been missing. It’s a starry, big-budget adaptation of a graphic novel about a band of immortal warriors led by…

What is contact tracing, and how does it work with COVID-19? The goal of contact tracing is to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus, and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say contact tracing is key to containing the virus and allowing places to reopen more safely. But the process isn’t easy. After a person tests positive for the virus, a contact tracer would get in touch with the person and attempt to determine where they have been and who they were around. The focus is on close contacts, or people who were within 6 feet of the infected person for at least 10 minutes or so. Those people would then be asked to self-isolate, monitor themselves for symptoms and get…

A European Union court on Wednesday delivered a hammer blow to the bloc’s attempts to rein in multinationals’ ability to strike special tax deals with individual EU countries when it ruled that Apple does not have to pay 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes to Ireland. The EU Commission had claimed in 2016 that Apple had struck an illegal tax deal with Irish authorities that allowed it to pay extremely low rates. But the EU’s General Court said that ”the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage.” “The Commission was wrong to declare” that Apple “had been granted a selective economic advantage and, by extension, state aid,” said the Luxembourg-based court, which is the second-highest in the EU. The…

Britain backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the U.K.’s new high-speed mobile phone network amid security concerns fueled by rising tensions between Beijing and Western powers. Britain said it decided to prohibit Huawei from working on the so-called 5G system after U.S. sanctions made it impossible to ensure the security of equipment made by the Chinese company. The U.S. had also threatened to sever an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Britain because of concerns that Huawei’s involvement could allow the Chinese government to infiltrate U.K. networks. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told Parliament the decision would delay the rollout of 5G technology and increase costs by up to 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion), but that it had to be done. “This has not been an easy decision,…

Amazon has a new cure for long supermarket lines: a smart shopping cart. The cart, which Amazon unveiled this week, uses cameras, sensors and a scale to automatically detect what shoppers drop in. It keeps a tally and then charges their Amazon account when they leave the store. No cashier is needed. It’s the latest attempt by Amazon to shake up the supermarket industry and offer a solution to long checkout lines. The online shopping giant opened a cashier-less supermarket in Seattle that uses cameras and sensors in the ceiling to track what shoppers grab and charge them as they leave. Amazon.com Inc. also has roughly 25 cashier-less convenience stores with similar technology. The cart, called Amazon Dash Cart, will first show up at a new Los Angeles supermarket Amazon…

At this year’s virtual WWDC, Apple announced plans to move away from Intel-based Macs to custom silicon, perhaps one of the biggest changes to the Mac since its introduction in 1984. By further unifying the hardware and software of MacBooks, Mac Minis and iMacs in a similar manner to the iPhone, it could revolutionize the way Apple does computing forever… CHANGING THE GAME Speaking at June’s Worldwide Developers Conference, held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was keen to stress the huge importance of the Mac, and the ways in which it’s changed our world. “The Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing,” he said, before announcing the transition to Apple Silicon. He called the moment a “historic day…

Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Three countries — the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates — are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning this week, in the most sweeping effort yet to seek signs of ancient microscopic life while scouting out the place for future astronauts. The U.S., for its part, is dispatching a six-wheeled rover the size of a car, named Perseverance, to collect rock samples that will be brought back to Earth for analysis in about a decade. “Right now, more than ever, that name is so important,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said as preparations went on amid the coronavirus outbreak, which will keep the launch guest list to a minimum. Each spacecraft will…

Legends Never Die Juice WRLD The rapper known off-stage as Jarad Anthony Higgins has made guest appearances on releases from Eminem, G Herbo and YNW Melly since Juice WRLD’s tragic death in December 2019 – and now, his first posthumous album, the life-affirming Legends Never Die, has arrived. FIVE FACTS: 1. Higgins was born on December 2, 1998. 2. Ironically, his protective mother did not let him listen to hip hop in his childhood, although he was weaned on rock and pop music featured on video games like Guitar Hero. 3. As a child and teenager, Higgins heavily used drugs, including the recreational drug cocktail lean in sixth grade. 4. He started to develop his musical artistry during his high-school years, with his first track, “Forever”, arriving on SoundCloud in…

With tens of millions of Americans out of work and many businesses shut down or operating under restrictions due to the coronavirus, three of the nation’s biggest banks set aside nearly $30 billion in the second quarter to cover potentially bad loans that were fine only a few months ago. The results from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup on Tuesday offer perhaps the broadest glimpse yet into how badly the pandemic is impacting the financial health of American consumers and businesses. Bank executives, in conference calls with analysts and reporters, said they underestimated how long the pandemic would last and its impacts on the overall economy. Bank customers ranging from credit card holders to homeowners to oil and gas companies are in danger of defaulting due to the downturn.…

The wind blowing out at Wrigley Field. The tricky breeze in San Francisco. The heat in Los Angeles. The weather is important business in baseball. But what kind of business is still being decided. Weather Applied Metrics has a contract with Marquee Sports Network to develop graphics that show the effect of the weather on the flight of balls for home games for the Chicago Cubs this summer — assuming there is a season amid the coronavirus pandemic. It is planning to install weather stations at Wrigley Field by the end of next week. It had a pilot program for Red Sox broadcasts last year. But it’s also heading into the third season of a deal with another major league team it declined to identify that decided to keep the…

Amid pervasive backsliding on social distancing, Britain has made masks mandatory in shops and France is weighing whether to require people to wear them in public places. Scientists say the two countries’ governments should have done so ever since they started easing lockdowns — like many other European nations did – instead of exposing their populations to the risk of infections from mass dance parties and summer vacationers who think there’s no longer anything to worry about. Whether to make masks mandatory isn’t just a matter of debate in the United States, where infection rates are still climbing fast. After weeks of prevarication and days of confused messaging, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said that masks will be required in stores starting July 24. Johnson’s office said “growing evidence…

“Excuse me, can I ask what you’re doing here?” a resident in a southeast Washington neighborhood asks as Sean Kennedy and Erin Gleeson get out of their truck and scour the streets. The sign on their back windshield, “Bees Onboard,” gives them away. Kennedy, 58, and Gleeson, 36, are beekeepers. They and their colleagues have been deemed essential workers by the District of Columbia government in the middle of a pandemic. On this day April, the pair is responding to a phone call about a swarm of honeybees. At first glance it appears as if it might be a bad tip. Kennedy looks down a fence line while Gleeson walks across the street and past a few houses. “Let’s check the alley,” Kennedy says, and quickly they’re back in their…

Robots that can cook - from flipping burgers to baking bread - are in growing demand as virus-wary kitchens try to put some distance between workers and customers. Starting this fall, the White Castle burger chain will test a robot arm that can cook french fries and other foods. The robot, dubbed Flippy, is made by Pasadena, California-based Miso Robotics. White Castle and Miso have been discussing a partnership for about a year. Those talks accelerated when COVID-19 struck, said White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson. Richardson said the robot can free up employees for other tasks like disinfecting tables or handling the rising number of delivery orders. A touch-free environment that minimizes contact is also increasingly important to customers, he said. “The world’s just reshaped in terms of thoughts…

Last friday’s widespread crashes of popular apps running on the iPhone’s iOS operating system — including Tinder, Spotify and Pinterest — serve as a reminder that Facebook is still tracking you through your phone using sophisticated software, even if you’re not browsing the social network. Users of the apps reported crashes when they tried to open them up. Facebook attributed the problem, which was quickly fixed, to a bug in its software development kit, or SDK, a tool developers use to integrate their apps with Facebook. The integration allows people to use their Facebook credentials to log in to apps for dating, music or anything else. Google, Apple and other companies also offer SDKs to developers. It also allows the app developers to send data from their app to Facebook,…

Peacock, one of the last major streaming services to launch in the U.S., was supposed to get a big boost this summer by carrying the Olympics. That was out the window once the coronavirus pandemic delayed the Games until 2021. Hollywood’s virus-related production shutdown also slowed down the original shows available, and the service, from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, also won’t initially work with the two most popular TV-streaming gadgets, Roku or Amazon Fire — the same boat HBO Max found itself in when it started up in late May. So now Peacock, launched this week, is hoping that blaring “free” in an ad campaign for the service will entice viewers wary of adding yet another video subscription to their stack, even in today’s stay-at-home world. The service will feature hundreds of…

He’s Forrest Gump. He’s Mr. Rogers. He’s Woody. But with all the famous titles Tom Hanks has owned, few have fit as snugly and as smoothly as “captain” — whether it’s fending off Somali pirates in “Captain Phillips,” landing a plane on the Hudson in “Sully,” finding his way back to Earth in “Apollo 13,” or commanding WW II troops in “Saving Private Ryan.” Now Hanks, our square-jawed Everyman, “America’s Dad” even when his characters don’t have children, is playing a captain again, in the taut new naval thriller on Apple TV+ — yet another of his forays into World War II, this time in the treacherous North Atlantic. And let’s face it, there’s something soothing merely in the sight of Hanks wearing a helmet that says “CAPT” in these…

On one side are parents saying, let kids be kids. They object to masks and social distancing in classrooms this fall — arguing both could hurt their children’s well-being — and want schools to reopen full time. On the other side are parents and teachers who call for safeguards that would have been unimaginable before the coronavirus pandemic: part-time school, face coverings for all or a fully online curriculum. The impassioned tug-of-wars have put educators in the middle of an increasingly politicized debate on how best to reopen schools this fall, a daunting challenge as infections spike in the U.S. “Don’t tell me my kid has to wear a mask,” said Kim Sherman, a mother of three in the central California city of Clovis who describes herself as very conservative…

GOING BACK TO CALIYELLOWSTONE, SEASON 3 NO MUSHROOM FOR ERRORBELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN, SEASON 5 DRIVE ME CRAZY LIKE A ROULETTE WHEEL90 DAY FIANCE: THE OTHER WAY, SEASON 2 DRIVE ME CRAZY LIKE A ROULETTE WHEEL90 DAY FIANCE: HAPPILY EVER AFTER?, SEASON 5 NOT FEELIN’ JOVANITHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY, SEASON 12 UNTIL WE LEAVE AGAINTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS, SEASON 10 THE CHARLES FAMILY BACKYARD BALLRUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS, SEASON 5 (UNCENSORED) AN ACCEPTABLE SURRENDERYELLOWSTONE, SEASON 3 YOU’RE THE INDIAN NOWYELLOWSTONE, SEASON 3 FREIGHT TRAINS AND MONSTERS YELLOWSTONE, SEASON 3…

The coronavirus has cancelled business plans all over the world but Europe’s push into electric cars isn’t one of them. Sales of battery-powered and hybrid cars have held up better than the overall market amid a deeply painful recession, mainly thanks to the action of governments. The 27-country European Union is moving ahead with a major shift in transportation as part of the bloc’s efforts against climate change. Under regulatory pressure carmakers are rolling out a slew of new electric models so they can meet tougher limits on greenhouse gases that come into full force next year. Battery-only models are becoming more affordable, especially as sales are supported by substantial government subsidies. As sales of internal combustion cars have fallen, demand for battery-only cars and hybrids that combine electric motors…