Innehållsförteckning för #471 från AppleMagazine

Two years ago, California became the first state to pass a sweeping digital privacy law seen as the strongest of its kind in the United States. Voters are now deciding whether to refine and expand that law, or leave it as is. If approved, Proposition 24 would update a 2018 law that gave Californians the right to know what information companies collect about them online, the right to get that data deleted and the right to opt out of the sale of their personal information. The new measure would triple the fines for companies that violate kids’ privacy or break laws on the collection and sale of children’s private information. It would create a dedicated state agency to enforce the new law, with an annual budget of $10 million. It…

Tesla recently made headlines with the beta launch of its Full Self-Driving system. That system comes with a disclaimer saying, “It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the wheel and pay extra attention to the road.” Tesla’s system has impressive capabilities, but it’s definitely not hands-free driving. A few years ago, news stories seemed to say that autonomous vehicles were just a few years away. Well, it’s been a few years and autonomous vehicles are, alas, still in the future. Right now, there is no car on sale that can drive itself without requiring the driver to pay attention to the road and be prepared to take control of the vehicle. In fact, some automakers have slowed down their…

A federal judge has postponed President Donald Trump’s threatened shutdown of the popular short-form video app TikTok, siding with a Pennsylvania comedian and two other TikTok creators who say Trump’s order hampers their free speech. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone blocked an upcoming Commerce Department action that would have effectively banned TikTok in the U.S. by cutting it off from vital technical services. The Trump administration has said TikTok is a security threat, citing its Chinese owner, ByteDance, and the possibility that the Chinese government could spy on users. Trump’s executive order was set to take effect Nov. 12, but is now on hold as the lawsuit proceeds. This is not the first court challenge to Trump’s attempted crackdown on TikTok. Another federal judge in September postponed a Trump administration…

The Craft: Legacy Teenager Lily (Cailee Spaeny) finds herself struggling in her personal and school life until she makes friends with three aspiring teenage witches – Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone) and Lourdes (Zoey Luna) – who reckon she would make a good addition to their coven. FIVE FACTS: 1. This is a follow-up to the 1996 supernatural horror film The Craft. 2. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics upon its theatrical release, that film has since been established as a cult classic. 3. Appropriately, The Craft: Legacy was released just a few days before Halloween. 4. The first film’s director and co-writer Andrew Fleming returned for the sequel, albeit as an executive producer, as Zoe Lister-Jones took over as sole director and writer for Legacy. 5. David Duchovny,…

If it didn’t actually exist, “Holidate” would sound like one of those fake movies within a movie. A couple of attractive singles decide on a low-stakes, no-commitment arrangement to be each other’s dates on holidays? It’s a perfect rom-com concept in that it’s equal parts ridiculous and shamefully appealing. Slot in some very pretty people (Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey), a drunken aunt (Kristen Chenoweth) some bawdy dialogue and a picturesque and unbelievably warm Chicago where it’s possible to wear spaghetti straps at Easter and it practically makes itself. Unfortunately, like so many that have come before, it’s pretty terrible too (and that’s taking into account the rom-com curve). “Holidate,” available now on Netflix, is one of those extremely self-aware and cynical romantic comedies where the lead characters are neither…

Luxury sportscar maker Ferrari this week reported its profits remained flat in the third quarter as it recovers lost production from the coronavirus shutdown. The company based in the northern Italian city of Maranello said net profit was 171 million euros ($200 million) in the quarter, compared with 169 million in the same period last year. Shipments were down by 161 units, to 2,313 vehicles. Ferrari said it is still working on recovering the 2,000 vehicle production loss during Italy’s seven-week shutdown. Revenues sank by 3% to 888 million euros, from 915 million euros in the same period last year. Car revenues rose on sales of the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 special editions models, which continue to be delivered on schedule, while sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were hit…

The European Union is set to propose new laws to rein in the power of big tech companies, including measures to ensure customers are protected, smaller rivals are treated fairly, and illegal content is dealt with, the bloc’s digital and antitrust chief said this week. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager outlined two draft laws that the EU’s executive Commission plans to introduce in early December. They amount to a sweeping overhaul of digital regulations, though the final version will depend on negotiations with the EU Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member states. The first, the Digital Services Act, aims to update EU e-commerce rules by making tech companies take more responsibility for dangerous products, such as requiring them to check sellers’ ID in order to weed out “dodgy traders.” But…

Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services prevailed at the ballot box in their expensive gamble to keep drivers classified as independent contractors. The titans of the so-called gig economy bankrolled the most expensive ballot measure in California history to exempt drivers from being classified as company employees eligible for benefits and job protections. The measure had more than 58% of the nearly 11 million votes counted so far. Proposition 22 pitted the gig companies, including DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart, against labor unions. More than $225 million was spent — the vast majority by the companies. The ballot question overrides lawmakers and the courts to keep drivers independent and able to set their own hours. If the companies’ had lost, it would have upended their business model and…

As antitrust battles continue to dominate Silicon Valley, Apple is using its initiative, planning for a future where multibillion-dollar tie-ups aren’t acceptable. In a perhaps surprising move, the Cupertino company has reportedly begun ramping up efforts to launch its own search engine tech to rival that of Google’s, a course of action that could change the face of search. SEARCH HISTORY: THE APPLE AND GOOGLE DEAL For a number of years, consumers have been complaining that Siri just doesn’t come close to rival smart assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Echo, and it’s clear to see why. It might be true that Apple spearheaded the smart speaker and assistant market when Siri was added to iPhones back in 2011, but the truth is that the company has failed to invest…

The International Space Station was a cramped, humid, puny three rooms when the first crew moved in. Twenty years and 241 visitors later, the complex has a lookout tower, three toilets, six sleeping compartments and 12 rooms, depending on how you count. Monday marks two decades of a steady stream of people living there. Astronauts from 19 countries have floated through the space station hatches, including many repeat visitors who arrived on shuttles for short-term construction work, and several tourists who paid their own way. The first crew — American Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko — blasted off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 31, 2000. Two days later, they swung open the space station doors, clasping their hands in unity. Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL who served…

Positions Ariana Grande In contrast to her previous studio album, the reflective Thank U, Next, Ariana Grande’s sixth studio long-player Positions has a flirty and exuberant tone. It’s a sign that the Florida-born singer is moving on from the grueling challenges that inspired this album’s early-2019 predecessor. FIVE FACTS: 1. Grande started her musical career on Broadway with the 2008 musical 13. 2. Her fame soared in the early 2010s when she played the role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon TV series Victorious and Sam & Cat. 3. She signed to her current record label, Republic Records, in 2011 after the label’s executives saw YouTube videos showing her singing ability. 4. Her debut studio album, Yours Truly, arrived in 2013 and reached the summit of the U.S. Billboard 200…

Netflix is raising most of its U.S. prices by 8% to 13% as its video streaming service rides a wave of rising popularity spurred by government-imposed lockdowns that corralled people at home during the fight against the pandemic. The increases imposed boost the cost of Netflix’s most popular U.S. streaming plan by $1 to $14 per month, while a premium plan that allows more people to watch the service on different screens simultaneously will now cost $2 more at $18 per month. Netflix’s basic U.S. plan remains at $9 per month. It marks Netflix’s first price changes in the U.S. since an increase rolled out early last year. New U.S. subscribers will be charged the higher prices immediately, while the increases will affect existing customers in phases during the next…

The overall economic measure of a monthly survey of Midwest business leaders hit a 16-year high for October, but the manufacturing sector of the economy remains stunted from the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index released this week. The overall index of improved to 70.2 in October from September’s already strong 65.1. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth, while a figure below 50 indicates decline. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, said that the index mirrored national survey results showing that the manufacturing sector has been expanding. “Even so, current output in the regional and U.S. manufacturing sectors remains below preCOVID-19 levels,” Goss said. “More than three of four supply managers reported negative COVID-19 impacts.” Job growth remains…

The planned stock market debut of the world’s biggest online finance company, Ant Group, was suspended in Shanghai and Hong Kong, disrupting a record-setting $34.5 billion initial public offering that highlighted China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Shanghai stock exchange cited regulatory changes in Ant’s industry and a possible failure to meet disclosure requirements but gave no details. Ant said later it would suspend its Hong Kong debut due to the Shanghai suspension. Shares were to have started trading on both exchanges. The suspension followed a meeting between regulators and Ant executives including founder Jack Ma, China’s richest entrepreneur. Ma also founded Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce company by sales volume, which spun off its Alipay payments service to create the company that became Ant Group. “Views regarding…

When asked about Google, Bryan Clayton voices a familiar lament among small business owners. “You keep getting squeezed further and further down the search results page,” says Clayton, CEO of GreenPal, a company that operates an app to help homeowners find lawn care. “As a startup, you don’t have a million-dollar advertising budget.” The Justice Department sued Google on Oct. 20 for anticompetitive behavior, saying the company’s dominance in online search and advertising harms rivals and consumers. Owners such as Clayton have a different beef. What’s unfair about Google, they say, is the way it gives the greatest prominence in search results to the companies that spend the most on advertising. Companies covet the top spots in Google search results — the first page of rankings, and the top of…

Airbnb is setting up an endowment fund to support its 4 million hosts as part of its upcoming initial public offering. The San Francisco-based home-sharing company said it will set aside 9.2 million shares for the endowment, which will start funding projects when its value tops $1 billion. “As we prepare for Airbnb to become a public company, we want to institutionalize our commitment to hosting, and our investment in the host community,” Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in an open letter to hosts. Airbnb will name a 15-member host advisory board that will meet monthly with Airbnb leadership and decide which projects to fund. The company said its initial board, which it will introduce soon, will be made up of leaders from the host community. Eighty-five percent…

More U.S. patients will soon have free, electronic access to the notes their doctors write about them under a new federal requirement for transparency. Many health systems are opening up records this week, the original deadline. At the last minute, federal health officials week gave an extension until April because of the coronavirus pandemic. Britta Bloomquist of Duluth, Minnesota, has been reading her clinical notes for years, first struggling through red tape and more recently clicking into a secure online patient website. “It means information about your care can no longer be hidden from you. And you have a say in your care,” said Bloomquist, 32, who has a rare type of arthritis that took years to diagnose. WHAT’S CHANGING? Patients have long had a right to their medical records,…

More than a few Halloweens ago — two dozen to be exact — came a film that looked like a treat but ended up as a trick. “The Craft” was about four teenage witches who eventually turned their powers against each other and lost everything, leaving the film with a conventional, conservative message: Don’t unleash your power. It was deflating. Now comes — well, its not entirely clear. A reboot? A sequel? A continuation and a re-imagining? It doesn’t matter at all. Blumhouse’s “The Craft: Legacy” is a vastly better, smartly crafted version that’s woke, feminist and very 2020. It’s the story’s best self. Director and writer Zoe Lister-Jones leaves little nods to the original 1996 film — snakes, butterflies, chants and a pagan deity called Manon — but has…

The days of airlines blocking seats to make passengers feel safer about flying during the pandemic are coming closer to an end. JetBlue is the latest to indicate it is rethinking the issue. A spokesman for the carrier said that JetBlue will reduce the number of seats it blocks after Dec. 1 to accommodate families traveling together over the holidays. Southwest Airlines said last week that it will stop limiting the number of seats it fills after Dec. 1. Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines say they will lift caps on seating early next year. The pandemic and resulting border restrictions caused U.S. air travel to plunge 95% in April. Some airlines promised to block middle seats to create more distance between passengers. Others, notably United Airlines and American Airlines,…

Julia Wiggin was still shivering after running out to hang up the weekend’s marquee — “Ghostbusters,”“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” — at her Northfield Drive-in near Hinsdale, New Hampshire. “It’s cold,”Wiggin said on a bitter, wet morning. “It’s definitely time we closed.” After a historic season, winter is coming at the drive-in. Summer and early fall have seen their simple, old-fashioned lots transformed into a surprisingly elastic omnibus of pandemic-era gathering. It has hosted concerts and comedy shows, business conferences and Sunday services, graduations and weddings. Dodger fans watched their team win the World Series from a drive-in in their stadium’s parking lot. Red-carpet premieres that would normally consume Lincoln Center uprooted to drive-ins. (At one, Bill Murray joked that he’d visit every car.) Even the campaign trail joined the trend, leading…

More than a million tons a year of America’s plastic trash isn’t ending up where it should. The equivalent of as many as 1,300 plastic grocery bags per person is landing in places such as oceans and roadways, according to a new study of U.S. plastic trash. In 2016 — the last year enough data was available and before several countries cracked down on imports of American waste — the United States generated 46.3 million tons (42 million metric tons) of plastic waste, by far the most in the world. Between 2.7% and 5.3% of that was mismanaged — not burned, placed in landfills or otherwise disposed of properly, according to a study in journal Science Advances. Between 1.2 million and 2.5 million tons (1.1 million to 2.2 million metric…