Innehållsförteckning för #624 från AppleMagazine

On the picket lines at a Ford factory west of Detroit, many striking workers don’t think the electric vehicle revolution is coming for their jobs — at least not in the near future. But just in case, they’re backing United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain’s quest to unionize EV battery factories at Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis, matching a breakthrough concession made by General Motors last week. So far, neither Ford nor Stellantis has agreed to the change, which would pull employees at all 10 U.S. battery factories proposed by Detroit automakers into national contracts with the UAW, all but assuring they’ll be unionized. Fain also wants workers at the plants to make top UAW assembly plant wages, which now are $32 per hour. With the UAW strike now in…

As soon as the federal pandemic relief started arriving at America’s schools, so did the relentless calls. Tech companies by the dozens wanted a chance to prove their software was what schools needed. Best of all, they often added, it wouldn’t take a dime from district budgets: Schools could use their new federal money. They did, and at a tremendous scale. Analysis of public records found many of the largest school systems spent tens of millions of dollars in pandemic money on software and services from tech companies, including licenses for apps, games and tutoring websites. Schools, however, have little or no evidence the programs helped students. Some of the new software was rarely used. The full scope of spending is unknown because the aid came with few reporting requirements.…

Boeing deliveries of new airline jets slumped in the third quarter as the company struggled with production problems that are cutting into its ability to generate cash. Boeing said this week that it delivered 27 planes in September, including 15 of its bestseller, the 737 Max. That was far behind European rival Airbus, which delivered 55 planes last month. It brought the Arlington, Virginia, company’s quarterly total to 105 deliveries, down from 112 in the same period last year. Boeing gets the largest share of the purchase price when it delivers planes, so the dip hurts cash flow. The pace of Max deliveries is also falling short of the company’s goal of producing 38 new 737s per month. Production and deliveries of the Max and the 787 Dreamliner have been…

The disquieting root of Chloe Domont’s slinky, slick feature debut “Fair Play” lies in the face of Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) as he learns that his fiance Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) has been given the promotion at their Wall Street hedge fund he thought was his. “Congratulations,” he says with a grin that looks more like a grimace. “That’s amazing.” Ehrenreich, a cunning actor here given a part to chew on, conveys the moment with the just right mix of of support for Emily and shattering woundedness. Up to this point, we’ve seen Emily and Luke as only a swoon-worthy romantic pair deeply in love with one another. In the film’s breezy opening moments, they slip away from a party to have sex in a bathroom. After, Luke kneels to propose. But…

Taiwan authorities are investigating four Taiwan-based companies suspected of helping China’s Huawei Technologies to build semiconductor facilities. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said that the investigation will determine if the companies have violated regulations prohibiting sales of sensitive technologies and equipment to China. The Ministry of Economic Affairs summoned the semiconductor and factory services suppliers for questioning after a report by Bloomberg said they were working with Huawei as it builds a network of computer chip plants. The investigation also will study whether the companies exported any any sensitive technologies or products with military applications that are included in Taiwan’s list of Strategic High-Tech Commodities, Taiwan’s China News Agency and other reports said. They said semiconductor material reseller Topco Scientific Co.; cleanroom constructor L&K Engineering Co.; construction and design…

The notion that hundreds or even thousands of electric-powered air taxis could be whisking people over jammed roads is inching away from science fiction and closer to reality. Battery technology is improving enough for eVTOLs – short for electric vertical takeoffs and landings, the name given to these aircraft that can act like helicopters near the ground but fly like small planes. The bigger question may be whether there is a profitable business in producing them. JoeBen Bevirt is an evangelist for the new industry and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Inc., which delivered its first eVTOL to the Air Force last month. Bevirt insists that his Santa Cruz, California-based company, whose largest shareholder is Toyota (11%), can meet an ambitious target of entering commercial air taxi service…

Since its debut, the Tesla Model 3 has been a revelation in the EV market, setting new standards for what consumers can expect from an electric saloon. Tesla is now set to launch a revamped version of this groundbreaking vehicle, which promises many improvements, including a longer range, updated styling, a redesigned interior, and an accessible price tag. STUNNING DESIGN While the basic silhouette of the Tesla Model 3 remains largely the same, the new 2024 facelift brings several aesthetic improvements that are hard to ignore. The most noticeable change is in the headlights. The new, slimmer design resembles those on the Tesla Roadster, adding a touch of sportiness to this family saloon. The front bumper has also been streamlined. Gone are the separate fog lights and multiple vents, replaced…

Starting next year, people who want to buy a new or used electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle will be able to get U.S. government income tax credits at the time of purchase. Eligible buyers, including those that bought an EV or hybrid this year, have had to wait until they filed their federal income tax returns to actually get the benefits. The Treasury Department says the near-instant credits of $7,500 for an eligible new vehicle and $4,000 for a qualifying used vehicle should lower purchasing costs for consumers and help car dealers by boosting EV sales. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the credits, buyers can transfer the credits to dealers, which can apply them at the point of sale starting Jan. 1. Plus, the government says people can…

Amazon is heading into one of its biggest sales events of the year — Prime Day — with a lawsuit hanging over its head that accuses it of preventing sellers from hawking their merchandise at lower prices on other sites. The Federal Trade Commission’s long-awaited antitrust case is the agency’s most aggressive move yet to tame the market power of Amazon, a company that’s become synonymous with online shopping and fast deliveries. Under chair Lina Khan, the agency hasn’t been shy about taking big swings against some of America’s biggest companies and testing the limits of competition law to reverse what many of her supporters see as decades of weak antitrust enforcement. But that approach has also led to some high-profile setbacks, most notably in the FTC’s bid to block…

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The “Mona Lisa” has given up another secret. Using X-rays to peer into the chemical structure of a tiny speck of the celebrated work of art, scientists have gained new insight into the techniques that Leonardo da Vinci used to paint his groundbreaking portrait of the woman with the exquisitely enigmatic smile. The research, published this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, suggests that the famously curious, learned and inventive Italian Renaissance master may have been in a particularly experimental mood when he set to work on the “Mona Lisa” early in the 16th century. The oil-paint recipe that Leonardo used as his base layer to prepare the panel of poplar wood appears to have been different for the “Mona Lisa,” with its own distinctive chemical signature,…

New York would restrict the way online platforms like Instagram and YouTube can collect and share children’s personal information and let parents keep their kids from being bombarded by “addictive” feeds from accounts they don’t follow, under legislation proposed this week. The bills offered by state leaders are aimed at protecting young people from features designed to keep them endlessly scrolling, endangering their mental health and development, Attorney General Letitia James said. “Young New Yorkers are struggling with record levels of anxiety and depression, and social media companies that use addictive features to keep minors on their platforms longer are largely to blame,” James said. “This legislation will help tackle the risks of social media affecting our children and protect their privacy.” The regulations sought by James and Gov. Kathy…

Jeep maker Stellantis says it will build a second electric vehicle battery factory in Kokomo, Indiana, that will create 1,400 new jobs. The $3.2 billion joint venture plant with South Korea’s Samsung SDI is to start production early in 2027. Construction already is underway on the companies’ first joint venture factory in Kokomo, which is scheduled to open early in 2025. That $3.1 billion plant announced in May of 2022 also is expected to create about 1,400 new jobs. The city of Kokomo, which is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Indianapolis, made a compelling case to locate the second factory there, Stellantis Chief Operating Officer for North America Mark Stewart said in a statement this week. Samsung SDI CEO Yoon-ho Choi said Kokomo will be the company’s largest…

Tourists at the Acropolis this holiday season can witness the resolution of one of the world’s most heated debates on cultural heritage. All they need is a smartphone. Visitors can now pinch and zoom their way around the ancient Greek site, with a digital overlay showing how it once looked. That includes a collection of marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon more than 200 years ago that are now on display at the British Museum in London. Greece has demanded they be returned. For now, an app supported by Greece’s Culture Ministry allows visitors to point their phones at the Parthenon temple, and the sculptures housed in London appear back on the monument as archaeologists believe they looked 2,500 years ago. Other, less widely known features also appear: Many of…