Innehållsförteckning för #477 från AppleMagazine

And now, for our annual look at the year in pop culture…. Oh, wait. This was 2020. The year everything stopped cold. Well, not really. Truth is, people turned to culture of all kinds in 2020 — highbrow and lowbrow — to satisfy varied and sometimes conflicting needs: Distraction, inspiration, consolation, escapism, hope. And those needs evolved: If we began lockdown in March by addictively binge-watching the darkly bizarre “Tiger King,” by early winter we were transfixed by a different sort of animal: the graceful octopod of “My Octopus Teacher,” extending her tentacles to make connections that seemed achingly poignant in a time when mere hugs between humans are taboo. And while live entertainment was tragically curtailed due to the raging pandemic, performers often found their own stages, in endlessly…

Google users in the U.S., Europe, India and other parts of the world were briefly unable to access their Gmail accounts, watch YouTube videos or get to their online documents during an outage this Monday. Tens of thousands of complaints popped up around 7 a.m. Eastern along the East Coast of the U.S. The vast majority of those people, about 90%, could not log in, according to the site Downdetector. The inability to sign in prevented users accessing other platforms through Google, including mobile video games. The disruption was an early jolt on the East Coast for parents who were waking children up for school. Millions of students are relying on Google for online instruction during the pandemic, including platforms like Google Docs. The problem appeared to cleared up just…

A number of retailers, including J.C. Penney, Lowe’s and Kohl’s, are telling shoppers they need to place their online orders soon or else pay expedited shipping fees if they want to get their packages delivered in time for the holidays. The earlier-than-usual deadlines come as more people turn to online shopping during the pandemic, creating a logjam for shipping companies as well as delivery delays. For some retailers, like H&M and Lego, the deadlines have passed. Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Communications, part of Publicis Groupe SA, estimates that a majority of retailers have pushed up deadlines by at least a day or two, and about a quarter by at least a week. Meanwhile, behemoths like Walmart, Target and Best Buy haven’t had to make big changes…

evermore Taylor Swift Only five months after the surprise arrival of her reflective eighth studio album folklore, Taylor Swift has released her second studio album recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, evermore – with bands Bon Iver, HAIM and the National all making guest appearances. FIVE FACTS: 1. When announcing the new album on Instagram, Swift called evermore a “sister record” to folklore . 2. She admitted that, after folklore, “we just couldn’t stop writing songs,” adding that she had sought to “travel further into the forest of this music”. 3. Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn co-wrote three of evermore’s tracks and is credited under the pseudonym “William Bowery”. 4. The album’s first single, “willow”, was released on the same day as the album itself: December 11, 2020. 5. The Apple Music…

Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. It’s been filled with gloom and doom(scrolling), but some celebrities and those inspired by them have tried to brighten a bleak year. Some like singer Dolly Parton donated money to fight the coronavirus, John Krasinski put a spotlight on good news at a crucial time and DJ D-Nice played music to dance away your anxiousness about the unfolding pandemic. Here are a few examples of those efforts to make 2020 a little better for others. DOLLY’S VACCINE DONATION In April, shortly after the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, country music icon Dolly Parton donated $1 million toward researching the virus at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The singer’s donation was used…

While lockdown life has kept time standing still for nearly everyone through 2020, Wall Street has been locked in at super fast-forward. The stock market tumbled through years’ worth of losses in just over a month this spring, only to turn around and pack an entire bull market’s worth of gains into less than nine months. Even within the span of a few hours, the market in 2020 would sometimes careen to a loss that would have been remarkable for a full year. Consider one day in March, when the S&P 500 plunged 12% after President Donald Trump acknowledged a recession may be on the way because of the pandemic. That was a worse loss than the index has suffered in 45 of the last 50 full years. The good…

Jewish Americans from a variety of branches of the faith are celebrating Hanukkah with smaller-than-usual gatherings this year, in hopes of keeping the year-end holiday safe but still joyful as coronavirus cases spike across the country. Many Jewish Americans are already accustomed to more intimate celebrations of a holiday focused more on the home than on the synagogue, including Haredim or ultra-Orthodox communities. So the recent successful Supreme Court challenge to New York restrictions on in-person worship by some Orthodox groups won’t mean much as far as their Hanukkah plans. But celebrating Hanukkah during a pandemic still poses a challenge to some Jewish Americans, for whom the holiday has risen in prominence in part because its social elements and timing line up with non-Jewish holidays such as Christmas. That has…

More than 100 countries — responsible for about two-thirds of the world’s heat-trapping gases — have announced plans to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” in coming decades to help curb man-made climate change. The target has also been embraced by companies, states and cities wanting to help stop the planet from getting too hot for human comfort. China made a splash in September promising “carbon neutrality” by 2060, and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has promised America would be there by 2050. But what exactly does “net zero” mean? Does it mean no more smokestacks? And is it any more than creative accounting? WHY NET ZERO? Carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas, is produced by animals, including humans, and is absorbed by plants and the oceans. But burning…

Tech giant Oracle Corp. said it will move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas, and let many employees choose their office locations and decide whether to work from home. The business software maker said it will keep major hubs at its current home in Redwood City, California, and other locations. “We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work,” the company said in a regulatory filing. The move comes the same week that Tesla founder Elon Musk announced that he has moved to Austin. Musk had criticized California officials for restrictions designed to limit the coronavirus pandemic. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly boasted about Oracle’s decision. “Oracle just announced they have moved their headquarters to…

An autonomous vehicle company acquired this year by Amazon has unveiled a four-person “robo-taxi,” a compact, multidirectional vehicle designed for dense, urban environments. The carriage-style interior of the vehicle produced by Zoox Inc. has two benches that face each other. There is no steering wheel. It measures just under 12 feet long, about a foot shorter than a standard Mini Cooper. It is among the first vehicles with bidirectional capabilities and four-wheel steering, allowing for better maneuverability. It has a top speed of 75 miles per hour. The vehicle is being tested in the company’s base of Foster City, California, as well as Las Vegas and San Francisco, Zoox said. Zoox, based Foster City in Silicon Valley, was founded in 2014 and acquired by Amazon in June. It operates as…

Could Facebook be forced to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram? That’s what the U.S. government is seeking in a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit filed last week, the same day dozens of states sued the social media giant on similar grounds. Whatever happens, experts expect a long-drawn out battle that Facebook is prepared to defend vigorously — and with enormous resources. Lawmakers of both major parties are also calling for stronger oversight of Facebook and other tech-industry giants. They argue that the companies’ massive market power is out of control, crushing smaller competitors and endangering consumer privacy and choice. Facebook insists that its services provide useful benefits for users and that complaints about its power are misguided. Here are some questions and answers about what the government actions against Facebook mean. WHAT…

The Walt Disney Co.’s streaming plans shifted into hyper speed, as the studio unveiled a galaxy’s worth of new streaming offerings including plans for 10 “Star Wars” series spinoffs and 10 Marvel series that will debut on Disney+. In a virtual presentation for investors, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek laid out super-sized ambitions for it direct-to-consumer efforts, leaning heavily on some of the company’s biggest brands. Over the next few years, Disney is planning to premiere directly on Disney+ not just an armada of “Star Wars” and Marvel series but 15 live-action, Pixar and animated series, and 15 live-action, Pixar and animated movies. Chapek said Disney+ subscribers worldwide have reached 86.8 million, up from 74 million last month. The service has easily exceeded most forecasts, reaching that number 13 months…

Governments and major corporations worldwide are scrambling to see if they, too, were victims of a global cyberespionage campaign that penetrated multiple U.S. government agencies and involved a common software product used by thousands of organizations. Russia, the prime suspect, denies involvement. Cybersecurity investigators said the hack’s impact extends far beyond the affected U.S. agencies, which include the Treasury and Commerce departments, though they haven’t disclosed which companies or what other governments were targeted. WHAT HAPPENED? The hack began as early as March when malicious code was snuck into updates to popular software that the monitors computer networks of businesses and governments. The malware, affecting a product made by U.S. company SolarWinds, gave elite hackers remote access into an organization’s networks so it could steal information. It wasn’t discovered until…

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China’s market regulator on Monday said it fined Alibaba Group and a Tencent Holdings-backed company for failing to seek approval before proceeding with some acquisitions. It also is launching a review of a merger of two online streaming platforms in the latest tightening of controls over the internet sector. In a statement, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said Monday that it fined Alibaba 500,000 yuan ($76,500) for increasing its stake in department store company Intime Retail Group to 73.79% in 2017 without seeking approval. China Literature, an online publisher and e-book company spun off by Tencent, was fined the same amount for also not seeking approval for its acquisition of New Classics Media. Separately, Shenzhen Hive Box, backed by Chinese courier firm SF Express, was censured over its acquisition…

Apple has begun spelling out what kinds of personal information is being collected by the digital services displayed in its app stores for iPhones and other products made by the trendsetting company. Starting Monday, the additional disclosures will begin to appear in apps made for iPads, Mac computers and Apple’s TV streaming device, as well as its biggest moneymaker, the iPhone. Apple announced the changes were coming six months ago as part of an effort to help its customers gain a better understanding of how apps monitor their habits, tastes and whereabouts. In many instances, the data scooped up by apps is used to sell ads targeted at a particular person’s interest and location, especially if their services are being offered for free. The increased transparency about the collection and…

It’s hard to go wrong with a gift from Apple. Whether you’re looking to treat your daughter to the latest iPad, your husband to a new Apple Watch, or get grandma set up with a HomePod mini, Apple’s ever-expanding ecosystem means there’s something for everyone. To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together an exclusive gift guide jam-packed with Apple goodies… CELEBRATE WITH THE STARS OF THE SHOW Let’s face it: 2020 has been a challenging year for us all. The COVID-19 pandemic has cost us more than 1.5 million lives worldwide, wreaked havoc to the global economy, and put a temporary stop to socializing, retail, and hospitality. It’s no surprise to learn, therefore, that a fifth of Americans say they are planning to spend more this Christmas than…

Songbird In 2024, the world still faces the coronavirus pandemic, with COVID-19 having mutated. Motorbike courier Nico (KJ Apa), who is immune to the virus, is romantically involved with artist Sara (Sofia Carson), who he attempts to save after she is thought to have become infected. FIVE FACTS: 1. Work on Songbird began in March 2020, after its director and co-writer Adam Mason received a call from his writing partner Simon Boyes about an idea for a COVID-inspired film. 2. “It’s a dystopian, scary world, but it’s a romantic movie about two people who want to be together, but they can’t,”Mason told Entertainment Weekly about the plot . 3. The movie was shot in Los Angeles from July 8 and made in only 17 days. 4. The strict safety measures…

“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin and Nobel laureate and “Beloved” author Toni Morrison will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame as part of a posthumous class of Black honorees that also includes Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were widely used in biomedical research; Barbara Hillary, the first Black woman to travel to both the North and South Poles, and civil rights activists Barbara Rose Johns Powell and Mary Church Terrell. The evening ceremony will be the first in a series of planned virtual inductions meant to correct a lack of diversity among honorees, hall officials said in a news release. “In order to openly acknowledge and amend the disparities within the nomination pool, the virtual induction series will recognize and induct other marginalized women of achievement including those…

Internet providers in New Hampshire will receive more than $25 million in federal funding over 10 years to expand broadband access across in rural parts of the state, the Federal Communications Commission announced this week. The funding comes from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, an FCC initiative to expand high-speed internet in areas that now have little or no access. More than $20 billion is being awarded nationwide over 10 years. New Hampshire is among many states with rural populations that have struggled with limited internet access during the pandemic. In August, the state announced it would use $16 million in federal virus relief to expand broadband access. Four companies won bids through the FCC program to expand broadband access in New Hampshire. It’s estimated to bring high-speed internet access…

Japan’s space agency said it has confirmed the presence of black soil samples inside a capsule that the spacecraft Hayabusa2 brought back from a distant asteroid last week. The pan-shaped capsule, 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, was dropped by Hayabusa2 from space onto a spot in a sparsely populated Australian desert on Dec. 6. It arrived in Japan last Tuesday for research that will hopefully provide insights into the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its scientists opened the capsule and found an unspecified amount of sandy black particles. “It’s obviously from Ryugu,(asterisk) the asteroid, JAXA said in a statement. JAXA said it will continue an initial examination ahead of fuller studies of the samples later. The samples were gathered…

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden pledged to rejoin the Paris climate accord on the first day of his presidency, as world leaders staged a virtual gathering to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the international pact aimed at curbing global warming. Heads of state and government from over 70 countries took part in the event — hosted by Britain, France, Italy, Chile and the United Nations — to announce greater efforts in cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming. The outgoing administration of President Donald Trump, who pulled Washington out of the Paris accord, wasn’t represented at the online gathering. But in a written statement sent shortly before it began, Biden made clear the U.S. was waiting on the sidelines to join again and noted that Washington was key to…