Innehållsförteckning för #535 från AppleMagazine

It’s a key part of President Joe Biden’s plans to fight major ransomware attacks and digital espionage campaigns: creating a board of experts that would investigate major incidents to see what went wrong and try to prevent the problems from happening again — much like a transportation safety board does with plane crashes. But eight months after Biden signed an executive order creating the Cyber Safety Review Board it still hasn’t been set up. That means critical tasks haven’t been completed, including an investigation of the massive SolarWinds espionage campaign first discovered more than a year ago. Russian hackers stole data from several federal agencies and private companies. Some supporters of the new board say the delay could hurt national security and comes amid growing concerns of a potential conflict…

The internet watchdog Citizen Lab has been remarkably effective in calling to account governments and private sector firms that use information technology to put people in peril. Its digital sleuths at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs are best known for exposing abusive targeted espionage, particularly through the use of hyper-intrusive spyware from Israel’s NSO Group. Its Pegasus tool has been used to hack and surveil dozens of journalists, human rights activists and dissidents globally. In November, the U.S. government blacklisted NSO Group and Apple sued it and notified Pegasus victims. Citizen Lab’s work elsewhere is less known. It exposes digital espionage campaigns and insecure software, most recently an app the Chinese government created for athletes, journalists and other foreigners attending the Winter Olympics. An interview with…

The Biden administration announced policy changes to attract international students specializing in science, technology, engineering and math — part of the broader effort to make the U.S. economy more competitive. The State Department will let eligible visiting students in those fields, known as STEM, complete up to 36 months of academic training, according to a notice in the Federal Register. There will also be an initiative to connect these students with U.S. businesses. Homeland Security will add 22 new fields of study — including cloud computing, data visualization and data science — to a program that allows international graduates from U.S. universities to spend up to three additional years training with domestic employers. The program generated about 58,000 applications in fiscal 2020. The programs are designed to ensure that the…

The U.S. supply of computer chips has fallen to alarmingly low levels, raising the prospect of factory shutdowns, the Commerce Department reported this week. Companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory — a sharp drop from 40 days in 2019, according to a department survey of 150 companies. The chips used in the production of automobiles and medical devices are especially scarce. Demand for chips, the department said, was up 17% last year from 2019. Citing the results, the Biden administration called on Congress to pass stalled legislation that would provide $52 billion for domestic semiconductor production. “The semiconductor supply chain remains fragile, and it is essential that Congress pass chips funding as soon as possible,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.…

Demand for Microsoft’s cloud-computing services and work software helped boost its quarterly profits by 21% as the pandemic continued to keep many office workers at least partly at home. The Redmond, Washington company this week reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $18.8 billion. It posted revenue of $51.7 billion for the October-December period, up 20% from a year earlier. In a call with investors, CEO Satya Nadella said the company is transitioning from a period of pandemic-fueled demand to one in which digital technology can help overcome economic constraints to “drive productivity while keeping costs down.” “The other area we are seeing strength is gaming,” Nadella said. “That’s where we have doubled down in terms of our consumer category.” Microsoft last week announced its plans to buy high-profile game publisher Activision…

Borrego While on a research mission in the Borrego desert, young botanist Elly (Lucy Hale) witnesses the crash of a plane piloted by drug mule Tomas (Leynar Gomez) – who, after finding her, takes her hostage and forces her on a dangerous journey towards a remote drop-off point. FIVE FACTS: 1. Other members of the acting cast include Nicholas Gonzalez as local sheriff Jose, and Jorge A. Jimenez as Guillermo, who participates locally in the drug supply chain. 2. Hale and Gonzalez both previously appeared in the teen drama TV series Pretty Little Liars. 3. The film was inspired by one of director Jesse Harris’s childhood trips to California’s Anza-Borrego Desert. 4. “I wanted to do this film because it was unlike any project I’ve been a part of,” Hale…

The world’s biggest, most powerful space telescope arrived at its observation post 1 million miles from Earth on Monday, a month after it lifted off on a quest to behold the dawn of the universe. On command, the James Webb Space Telescope fired its rocket thrusters for nearly five minutes to go into orbit around the sun at its designated location, and NASA confirmed the operation went as planned. The mirrors on the $10 billion observatory still must be meticulously aligned, the infrared detectors sufficiently chilled and the scientific instruments calibrated before observations can begin in June. But flight controllers in Baltimore were euphoric after chalking up another success. “We’re one step closer to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. And I can’t wait to see Webb’s first new views…

Facebook’s parent company Meta said it has created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today. The social media giant said it hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today. Facebook said it believes the computer will be the fastest in the world once it is fully built around the middle of the year. Supercomputers are extremely fast and powerful machines built to do complex calculations not possible with a regular home computer. Meta did not disclose where the computer is located or how much it is costing to build. The computer, which is already up and running but is still being built, is called AI…

Music has helped to transform Apple in recent decades, from the launch of the original iPod to modern developments like Apple Music, the HomePod mini, and AirPods Pro. For music fans, the Cupertino company offers a great deal, and the chances are you don’t know about all of the hidden features, tools, and accessories Apple offers to delve deeper into music. THE STREAMING BATTLE Since its launch six years ago, Apple Music has made a significant dent in the industry. The latest data suggests Apple holds a 15% share of the global streaming subscription market, with Spotify ahead with a 31% share, and other players like Amazon Music, Tencent Music, and YouTube Music climbing the ranks as the market becomes increasingly fragmented and globalized. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a…

New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams, plans to convert his first paycheck into two cryptocurrencies, which he has been hyping as a potential economic engine for the city. The Democrat’s office announced that Adams’ first salary payment will be deposited with Coinbase, an online platform used for buying cryptocurrency, and then converted into Ethereum and Bitcoin. “New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations,” Adams said in a statement. “Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe.” The city noted in its news release that federal labor rules bar the city from paying employees in…

Pablo, meet Crypto. Heirs of Pablo Picasso, the famed 20th-century Spanish artist, are vaulting into 21st-century commerce by selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never before been seen publicly — riding a fad for “crypto” assets that have taken the art and financial worlds by storm. For an exclusive interview before the formal launch this week, Picasso’s granddaughter, Marina Picasso, and her son Florian Picasso opened up their apartment — which is swimming in works from their illustrious ancestor — in an upscale Geneva neighborhood. There they offered up a glimpse, however tantalizingly slim, of the piece behind what they’re billing as an unprecedented fusion of old-school fine art and digital assets. They’re looking to cash in on and ride a wave of…

The SAT exam will move from paper and pencil to a digital format, administrators announced this week, saying the shift will boost its relevancy as more colleges make standardized tests optional for admission. Test-takers will be allowed to use their own laptops or tablets but they’ll still have to sit for the test at a monitored testing site or in school, not at home. The format change is scheduled to roll out internationally next year and in the U.S. in 2024. It will also shave an hour from the current version, bringing the reading, writing and math assessment from three hours to about two. “The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the New…

CBS News says it is retooling its streaming service to better incorporate programs and personalities from the television network. The CBS service is debuting a new evening newscast and prime-time lineup, from a newly-constructed Manhattan-based studio, part of what promises to be an aggressive year of building for news-based products. The hourlong evening newscast, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern, will feature a rotating cast of anchors and originate from New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The streaming service will continue to air a rerun of Norah O’Donnell’s “CBS Evening News” later in the evening. For two hours beginning at 8 p.m., the service will choose from a number of programs that key off of TV, different ones each evening. They include “Person-to-Person,” an O’Donnell-hosted interview series, and documentaries under the…

With 192 lasers and temperatures more than three times hotter than the center of the sun, scientists hit — at least for a fraction of a second — a key milestone on the long road toward nearly pollution-free fusion energy. Researchers at the were able to spark a fusion reaction that briefly sustained itself — a major feat because fusion requires such high temperatures and pressures that it easily fizzles out. The ultimate goal, still years away, is to generate power the way the sun generates heat, by smooshing hydrogen atoms so close to each other that they combine into helium, which releases torrents of energy. A team of more than 100 scientists published the results of four experiments that achieved what is known as a burning plasma in Wednesday’s…

As the United States grapples with the 5G rollout affecting airlines, a European Union watchdog warned the EU faces much bigger economic and security threats unless member countries step up cooperation. The alarm bells are included in a special report on the 27-nation bloc’s preparations for 5G, the fifth and next generation of wireless communications. 5G is projected to propel the world into a new digital age -- one with greater technological innovations but also vulnerabilities. The study by the European Court of Auditors has a two-pronged clarion call, saying Europe is falling behind North America and Asia in the rollout of 5G networks and the EU needs to beef up its strategy to counter accompanying national-security risks. “There are considerable delays in the member states’deployment of 5G networks and…

Chipmaker Intel said it will invest $20 billion to build a new factory in Ohio, an attempt to help alleviate a global shortage of chips powering everything from phones to cars to home appliances while also signaling the giant company’s commitment to manufacturing crucial technology products in the U.S. The move could also create a new technology hub in central Ohio as related businesses that support chip manufacturing open new facilities and bring expertise to the region. Intel said two planned factories, or fabs, will support its own line of processors, as well as its new “foundry” business, which will build chips designed by other firms. Existing chip foundries turn out a vast number of custom-designed chips, mostly in Asia. The business is currently dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.,…

Professionals have a major piece of advice for those who traded cryptocurrency for the first time last year: Take your tax prep seriously. The IRS has been zooming in on cryptocurrency reporting with increasing interest in recent years. And the last thing you want is to lose money and time reconciling your tax liability, says Douglas Boneparth, a New York City-based certified financial planner. So as tax season gets into full swing, here’s a quick guide to which cryptocurrency activity is reportable, how it’s generally taxed and the best ways to prepare. WHAT YOU NEED TO REPORT TO THE IRS The IRS treats virtual currencies as property, which means they’re taxed similarly to stocks. If all you did was purchase cryptocurrency with U.S. dollars, and those assets have been sitting…

Netflix delivered its latest quarter of disappointing subscriber growth during the final three months of last year, a trend that management foresees continuing into the new year as tougher competition is undercutting the video streaming leader. The Los Gatos, California, company added 8.3 million worldwide subscribers during the October-December period, about 200,000 fewer than management had forecast. Besides releasing its fourth-quarter results, Netflix also projected an increase of 2.5 million subscribers during the first three months of this year, well below analysts’ expectations for a gain of 4 million, according to FactSet Research. The disappointing news caused Netflix’s stock price to plunge by about 20% in extended trading after the numbers came out, deepening a steep decline during the past two months. It capped a challenging year for Netflix after…

La Fuerza – EP Christina Aguilera “This isn’t my first language, but once it’s in you, it never leaves you,” Christina Aguilera explained to Apple Music about why she opted to make her new Spanish-language extended play La Fuerza, the Spanish title of which translates into English as ‘The Force’. FIVE FACTS: 1. “La Fuerza represents being a strong force of nature, having had the career I’ve had over the last couple of decades,” Aguilera said. 2. For “Pa Mis Muchachas”, the lead single from the EP, she collaborated with Becky G., NICKI NICOLE and Nathy Peluso. 3. Meanwhile, Aguilera teamed up with Puerto Rican singer Ozuna for the track “Santo”. 4. The second single released from La Fuerza was the piano ballad “Somos Nada”. 5. Reflecting on the EP,…

The District of Columbia and three states are suing Google for allegedly deceiving consumers and invading their privacy by making it nearly impossible for them to stop their location from being tracked. In the lawsuit filed this week in a District of Columbia court, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleges Google has “systematically” deceived consumers about how their locations are tracked and used. He also says the internet search giant has misled users into believing they can control the information the company collects about them. “In reality, consumers who use Google products cannot prevent Google from collecting, storing and profiting from their location,” the lawsuit says. Google has “an unprecedented ability to monitor consumers’ daily lives.” Google makes it impossible for users to opt out of having their sensitive and…

Luxury automaker Bentley said this week it is pouring billions into upgrading manufacturing to accelerate its electric vehicle development plan, joining other auto brands shifting away from gasoline engines. U.K.-based Bentley Motors said that it’s investing 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion) into sustainability efforts over the next decade. The company said the money will be used to secure the company’s “first step into electrification at the production plant” in Crewe, south of Manchester, which employs 4,000 people. Under the electrification program, Bentley will abandon the powerful 12-cylinder gasoline engines that the marque’s luxurious vehicles are known for in favor of battery power. The first model is scheduled to roll off the production line in 2025 and by 2030 all of Bentley’s model lineup will be electric. Bentley, which is owned…