Innehållsförteckning för #555 från AppleMagazine

The pressure was on. Someone, somewhere, was attacking computer systems so customers couldn’t reach certain websites. In a windowless room in Denver, Zack Privette had worked all morning with his security team to figure out what the cyber strangers were up to. “What’s happened is that we have an attacker who has been going through our different websites and they found a vulnerability into our active directory and …,” Privette explained to Richard Mac Namee, identified as chief operating officer of the company under attack. “OK, I’m not technical. What does that mean?” interrupted Mac Namee, who is really the director of the new Cybersecurity Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver. And he’s actually quite technical. This was a simulation. The makeshift “Cyber Range” command center inside MSU Denver’s…

Bridging the digital divide has become a priority for Louisiana since the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the crucial role high-speed internet plays in the state’s education and economic systems. Using federal funds, the state launched a $180 million program last year to provide underserved areas with high-speed internet. In March the Acadiana area welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris to Ville Platte to announce another $30 million federal grant to build fiber internet across 11 rural towns in the area. Although major federal investments are aiming to bridge that gap, the funds can only go so far without an increase in the number of workers capable of building and installing high-speed internet infrastructure, The Advertiser reported. “We have so much work today that we can’t keep up. We’d almost…

Wall Street is back in the claws of a bear market as worries about inflation and higher interest rates overwhelm investors. The Federal Reserve has signaled it will aggressively raise interest rates to try to control inflation, which is the highest in decades. Throw in the war in Ukraine and a slowdown in China’s economy, and investors have been forced to reconsider what they’re willing to pay for a wide range of stocks, from high-flying tech companies to traditional automakers. Big swings have become commonplace and this week was no exception. The last bear market happened just two years ago, but this would still be a first for those investors that got their start trading on their phones during the pandemic. Thanks in large part to extraordinary actions by the…

Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes of vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 involving Teslas, according to statistics released by U.S. safety regulators this week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned against using the numbers to compare automakers, saying it didn’t weight them by the number of vehicles from each manufacturer that use the systems, or how many miles those vehicles traveled. Automakers reported crashes from July of last year through May 15 under an order from the agency, which is examining such crashes broadly for the first time. “As we gather more data, NHTSA will be able to better identify any emerging risks or trends and learn more about how these technologies are performing in the real world,” said Steven Cliff, the agency’s administrator. Tesla’s crashes happened…

SpaceX cleared a key hurdle this week for its plan to launch a gigantic, futuristic rocketship into orbit from Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration concluded an environmental review of Elon Musk’s Starship base. The agency saw no significant environmental concerns, but is requiring more than 75 actions to reduce impacts to the region. It’s no guarantee a launch license will be issued since other factors such as safety and financial responsibility requirements still must be met at the Boca Chica site, according to the FAA. After the latest news, SpaceX tweeted: “One step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.” At nearly 400 feet (120 meters), Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built and meant to carry people to the moon and Mars. NASA intends to use…

The enduring, collective love for “Jurassic Park” is immensely hard to explain. Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film implanted itself into our cultural consciousness as a kind of platonic ideal of a blockbuster. And it wasn’t just the 10-year-olds having a formative experience at the movie theater. Most everyone, it seems, including those who were adults at the time and those who wouldn’t be born for another decade or more, has a story about just how much that movie means to them. It doesn’t even matter how many times you watch it, or how much better special effects get: “Jurassic Park” never tarnishes, it just remains perfectly preserved in amber. It’s hard to fault anyone for trying to recapture that magic — a filmmaker, a studio, or an audience looking for a…

A European Union court on Wednesday invalidated a decision by the bloc’s executive arm to fine technology company Qualcomm more than $1 billion in an antitrust case. In overruling the European Commission, the Luxembourg-based General Court cited “a number of procedural irregularities” that affected the American company’s defense rights and rejected the commission’s “analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm.” European regulators fined Qualcomm $1.23 billion in 2018 after concluding the chip and software maker bribed Apple to exclusively use its products in iPhones and iPads, thereby stifling competition. Without providing specifics, EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said at the time that Qualcomm had doled out “billions of dollars” to Apple during 2011-2016. The regulators contended Qualcomm secretly paid Apple to use its chips for connecting to high-speed cellular networks as…

A technology company that wants to bring broadband to more remote areas and monitor methane and other emissions from the oil and gas industry launched one of its airships from the New Mexico desert this week as part of a key test on the way to commercial operations. Sceye Inc. is developing a high-altitude platform station that company officials hope will provide an option other than satellites and airplanes for boosting internet connectivity and collecting data on everything from industrial pollution to wildfire threats. It took a couple of hours for the unmanned helium-filled station to reach the stratosphere. It will maintain its position there for 24 hours, a milestone that will bring Sceye closer to commercial operations over the next 18 to 24 months. Founder and CEO Mikkel Vestergaard…

At this year’s WWDC, Apple lifted the lid on the next generation M-series chip: M2, which extends the remarkable features of M1, with industry-leading power efficiency, a unified memory architecture, and custom technologies that unlock a whole host of possibilities for the Mac. INTRODUCING THE M2 CHIP Apple changed the game for the Mac when it announced the M1 chip in 2020, and since the launch of the first MacBook Pro and Mac mini, we’ve come a long way. Alongside the launch of the M1 Pro and the M1 Max, we’ve recently seen the launch of the first M1-powered iPad, and the M1 Ultra, which offers professional computing performance for the next generation of videographers, coders, and professionals. The M1 was built on the architecture of the A14 chip used…

Tesla proposed a three-for-one split of its stock, a move that will make a single share of the electric car maker more accessible to investors but not affect the company’s overall market value. Tesla Inc. made the announcement in its annual proxy statement, which also said Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison will not be standing for re-election to the company’s board. The company said in late March that was planning to split its stock for the second time in two years. At that time the shares were trading at over $1,000 each. But Tesla’s stock has fallen about 39% since early April, shortly after its CEO Elon Musk started raising the idea of buying Twitter. Shares in the company headquartered in Austin, Texas, closed at $696.69. Share splits are used by…

Internet Explorer is finally headed out to pasture. Microsoft will no longer support the once-dominant browser that legions of web surfers loved to hate — and a few still claim to adore. The 27-year-old application now joins BlackBerry phones, dial-up modems and Palm Pilots in the dustbin of tech history. IE’s demise was not a surprise. A year ago, Microsoft said that it was putting an end to Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022, pushing users to its Edge browser, which was launched in 2015. The company made clear then it was time to move on. “Not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications,”Sean…

Twelve Carat Toothache Post Malone After the pandemic struck, the singer-songwriter born Austin Post relocated to a house in the Los Angeles beach city of Malibu and, with the help of magic mushrooms and fresh salt air, wrote most of what has become his fourth studio album attached to his Post Malone moniker. FIVE FACTS: 1. This studio album is Post Malone’s first since Hollywood’s Bleeding in 2019. 2. “I felt so cramped,” Post recalled to Apple Music about how the onset of the pandemic gave him claustrophobia. 3. “It was just so freeing,” he said of his later decision to set up home in Malibu, adding: “It was like, ‘I’m not scared to express myself or make music or write songs.’” 4. Post Malone recently released his theme song…

A reality show inspired by Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” is coming to the streaming service, but with far less dire consequences promised for contestants. In the South Korean-produced drama, players’ lives were at stake. With “Squid Game: The Challenge,” the “worst fate is going home empty-handed,” Netflix said Tuesday in announcing the reality show. The 10-episode competition will include 456 players vying for a “life-changing reward of $4.56 million,” Netflix said in a release. They’ll compete in games inspired by the drama series along with new challenges aimed at whittling down the field. “For this round, the Front Man is in search of English-language speakers from any part of the world,” the release said, a reference to the overseer of the drama’s deadly game. The game show, which will…

China’s factory output rebounded in May, adding to a recovery from the latest COVID-induced economic slump after controls that shut down Shanghai and other industrial centers eased. Industrial production rose 0.7% over a year earlier, recovering from April’s 2.9% contraction, government data showed. Consumer spending edged up compared with April but was lower than a year ago. The data suggest a “lockdown recovery got underway across most parts of the economy,” said Sheana Yue of Capital Economics in a report. China’s case numbers in its latest wave of infections are low, but the ruling Communist Party’s “zero-COVID” strategy that aims to isolate every person with the virus shut down most businesses in Shanghai starting in late March and suspended access or imposed other restrictions on other industrial cities. That fueled…

The sleek four-wheeled carts look familiar enough, but not even UPS knows precisely how to describe what could be the delivery giant’s latest way to get packages to your door. UPS unveiled a battery-powered, four-wheeled cycle to more efficiently haul cargo in some of the world’s most congested streets and to reduce its carbon footprint. The company is trying to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The slimmed-down vehicles don the company’s gold-colored logo and accompanying stripe on a dark brown background. But the “eQuad” — as the company calls it — garnered amusement from passersby. Ian Lagowitz had never seen one and walked over to give it a look. “It’s funny looking,” he said, “but it’s probably good for the city, right?” Mohammad Islam called the vehicle “cool stuff,” and…

Coinbase Global says it plans to cut about 1,100 jobs, or approximately 18% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring in order to help manage its operating expenses in response to current market conditions. The cryptocurrency trading platform said in a regulatory filing that it expects to have about 5,000 total employees at the end of its current fiscal quarter on June 30. The company reported last month that active monthly users fell by 19% in the first quarter amid the decline in crypto values. Cryptocurrencies soared early in the pandemic as ultralow rates encouraged some investors to pile into the riskiest investments. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has tumbled and briefly fell below $21,000 in Asia this week, down from a peak of $68,990 late…

Major automakers are asking Congress to lift the cap on how many people can receive tax credits for buying a hybrid or fully electric vehicle. Currently the number of tax credits allowed is capped at 200,000 per company. General Motors and Tesla have already reached the cap and Toyota is close to it. In a letter to leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, the chief executives of Ford, Toyota, GM and Stellantis asked that tax credits be extended to anyone who seeks to buy a qualified vehicle. Automakers want the cap lifted until “the EV market is more mature,” they said, without giving a time frame. “Eliminating the cap will incentivize consumer adoption of future electrified options and provide much-needed certainty to our customers and domestic workforce,” the…

A summer road trip used to be a cost-effective, easy getaway. This year, soaring gas prices and expensive rental cars might make you think twice about hitting the road. According to the American Automobile Association, a federation of motor clubs throughout North America, the average gas price was $4.60 per gallon nationally before Memorial Day weekend. Some experts believe the national average might even top $5 later in the summer. Plus, rental car prices hit record highs during the pandemic, up 38.6% in February 2022 versus February 2020, according to a NerdWallet analysis of U.S. Consumer Price Index inflation data. But those roadblocks don’t necessarily mean you have to put the brakes on travel completely. You might just have to shift your road trip plans. Here’s how. CONSIDER CHANGING YOUR…

Everything Everywhere All At Once Overwhelmed Chinese-American mother and laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is being audited by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) when the multiverse inexplicably ruptures, leading her to connect with other versions of herself from parallel universes. FIVE FACTS: 1. Jamie Lee Curtis also appears as Deirdre Beaubeirdre, an auditor for the IRS. 2. This film marks the first time in 20 years that Ke Huy Quan – here playing Evelyn’s husband Waymond – plays a major on-screen role, after Quan had temporarily retired from acting. 3. In one scene, Waymond tells Evelyn to “snap out of it” – a reference to Quan’s character of Short Round in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 4. In an interview, Daniel Radcliffe revealed that although…

More workers are following experts’advice in saving for retirement, even when finances feel precarious. It’s happening because 401(k) plans are using a simple human trait to guide us: our inclination to do nothing. More workers are putting more money into their 401(k) accounts, and they’re more often putting it into a reasonable mix of investments. That’s according to Vanguard’s latest look at the nearly 5 million accounts of 401(k) and similar plans that it keeps records on. Even amid heavy uncertainty about the economy last year, retirement savers socked away an average of 7.3% of their pay, not including employer matches, according to Vanguard. That’s the same level as a year earlier, when the pandemic first struck and threw everything into doubt. And it’s up from 6.9% in 2012. Vanguard…

The Interior Department said it will phase out sales of plastic water bottles and other single-use products at national parks and on other public lands over the next decade, targeting a major source of U.S. pollution. An order issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calls for the department to reduce the purchase, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging on 480 million acres of federally managed lands, with a goal of phasing out the products by 2032. The order directs the department to identify alternatives to single-use plastics, such as compostable or biodegradable materials or 100% recycled materials. “As the steward of the nation’s public lands, including national parks and national wildlife refuges, and as the agency responsible for the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants and…