Innehållsförteckning för #224 från AppleMagazine

Twitter is now using spam-fighting technology to seek out accounts that might be promoting terrorist activity and is examining other accounts related to those flagged for possible removal, the company announced Friday. The announcement demonstrated efforts by Twitter to automatically identify tweets supporting terrorism, reflecting increased pressure placed by the U.S. government for social media companies to respond to abuse more proactively. Child pornography has previously been the only abuse that was automatically flagged for human review on social media, using a different kind of technology that sources a database of known images. Twitter also said Friday it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts for threatening or promoting terrorist acts, mainly related to Islamic State militants, in the last eight months. Social media has increasingly become a tool for recruitment…

Apple for the first time is accepting banged up iPhones as a trade-in from those wanting to upgrade. Until now, Apple offered credit to iPhone owners only if the device had an intact screen and working buttons. Apple hopes that with more leeway, applicable only to iPhone 5 and later models, more people will upgrade to new iPhones. Apple Inc. has told investors that it may book its first revenue decline in 13 years when it reports quarterly earnings in April due in part to weakness in the global economy. But the smartphone market has matured as well after a yearslong streak of blistering hot demand. Apple relies on the iPhone for two-thirds of its revenue. Tech blogs have speculated about an iPhone 7 to be released in the fall…

President Barack Obama said Saturday that he will ask the Republican-led Congress to double spending on research and development into clean energy by 2020. But the request is unlikely to be fulfilled. GOP lawmakers scoff at the science behind climate change and dismiss Obama’s pleas for the issue to be dealt with urgently. In an unusual twist in Obama’s final year in office, the Republican leaders of the House and Senate budget committees have said they will not hold a customary hearing on the president’s budget proposal the day after they receive it. Obama on Tuesday plans to send to Congress the spending blueprint for the budget year that begins Oct. 1. The release will come on the day when New Hampshire voters get their say in the first presidential…

Michael “Burnie” Burns hears a discrepancy. Before greeting moviegoers at the debut of his film, the writer-actor is eavesdropping on all the big-budget movie trailers playing ahead of his much smaller crowdfunded concoction, “Lazer Team.” Suddenly, a roar from a monster in one of the previews literally rattles the theater’s walls. “I bet the sound budget for that was bigger than the whole budget for my movie,” the bearded Internet personality says with a grin. Despite its modest price tag, there’s a hefty amount of enthusiasm for the $2.5 million sci-fi comedy about a group of dolts bestowed with alien technology. “Lazer Team” was the most funded original film in Indiegogo’s history, and it’s been selling out hundreds of theaters for fan screenings since Jan. 27. However, many more devotees…

Spotlight This biographical drama movie sees a group of investigative journalists, known as the “Spotlight” team, attempt to uncover the truth about allegations of child abuse within the Catholic Church. FIVE FACTS: 1. The movie is based on a real life event, which soon spun into an international scandal. 2. Spotlight is directed by Tom McCarthy, who has also worked on Up, 2012, and Game of Thrones. 3. The movie is written by McCarthy and Josh Singer, Singer having also worked on Fringe, The West Wing, and Law& Order: Special Victims Unit. 4. Spotlight finished third in the audience balloting for the People’s Choice Award at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. 5. The movie has already received 152 nominations, winning 92 of them. The 33 An adaptation of the…

“The Good Wife” creators Robert and Michelle King say they welcomed CBS’ decision to end the series, allowing them to write its final chapter. The Kings already had decided to exit as executive producers after this season, the seventh, leaving CBS to weigh whether to keep the critically acclaimed show afloat without them. On Sunday, the network used its Super Bowl telecast to announce that “The Good Wife” was heading into its final nine episodes, with the series finale to air May 8. The Kings had just learned of the decision in the past week, they told a phone news conference Monday. “We felt very fortunate and flattered that we’re being allowed to end the show .... the way we hoped it would end,” Michelle King said. “The Good Wife”…

When buildings collapse in future disasters, the hero helping rescue trapped people may be a robotic cockroach. Repulsive as they may be, roaches have the remarkable ability to squish their bodies down to one quarter their normal size, yet still scamper at lightning speed. Also, they can withstand 900 times their body weight without being hurt. That’s equivalent to a 200-pound man who wouldn’t be crushed by 90 tons on his head. The amazing cockroach inspired scientists to create a mini-robot that can mimic those feats of strength and agility. The researchers hope swarms of future roach-like robots could be fitted with cameras, microphones and other sensors and then used in earthquakes and other disasters to help search for victims by squeezing through small cracks. The skittering robots could also…

Investors gave LinkedIn a poor job review Friday in the form of a dramatic sell-off that wiped out nearly $11 billion in the professional networking site’s market value. A surprise forecast for slower growth this year sent LinkedIn shares into a stomach-turning plunge of almost 44 percent. After the market closed Thursday, the online company reported better-than-expected earnings for the last quarter but warned that revenue would fall short of what analysts had projected for 2016. It also said it was discontinuing a new online advertising system that hadn’t worked out. Several analysts noted that LinkedIn has a track record of issuing conservative forecasts and later beating them, but this time investors were shaken by the company’s financial guidance. The stock closed Friday at $108.38 after its worst slide since…

WHY CUPERTINO MAY BE BEST EQUIPPED IN THE LONG HAUL If you have been keeping an eye on the technology headlines since the start of the month, you may have spotted that the recently formed Google parent company Alphabet has apparently overtaken Apple as the most valuable firm on the planet. It’s shock news for many given the former’s lack of name recognition, and has raised questions about Apple’s long-term prospects against the young upstart - but is the media consensus about the two respective companies’ fortunes the right one? Before we plunge into the narrative, let’s outline the bare facts. It was reported on Tuesday, February 2 that at the close of trading on Wall Street, Alphabet’s shares had reached $531 billion in value, shooting past the $523.9 billion recorded by Apple…

India’s government has essentially banned a Facebook program that sought to connect with low-income residents by offering free access to a limited version of the social network and other Internet services. The ruling is a major setback for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had lobbied hard for the program as part of a campaign to expand Internet access in developing countries. It’s a victory for critics who argued that Facebook’s “Free Basics” program gave an unfair advantage to some Internet services over others. Facebook has introduced “Free Basics” in partnership with wireless carriers in dozens of emerging nations, where the company hopes to get more people online. The service provides free access to a stripped-down version of Facebook and certain other Internet sites - including some that provide essential information…

Coming Home (Deluxe) Leon Bridges A deluxe edition of the Texan singer-songwriter’s debut is an absolutely must-buy for any fans of soul or blues. Although he adds a contemporary twist at times, Bridges’ music sounds as though it’s straight from the fifties and sixties itself. FIVE FACTS: 1. Having only been signed with Columbia Records in 2014, Bridges has already performed with or collaborated with major acts including Pharrell Williams and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. 2. Bridges is currently signed to Columbia Records, who also play host to Adele, Jack White, and Iron Maiden. 3. Bridges has already made appearances at major concert venues and music festivals including London’s Roundhouse and Shepherd’s Bush Empire, SXSW festival, and Sundance Film Festival. 4. Debut single ‘Coming Home’ became one of Spotify’s Top…

Red Lobster says it’s feeling the “Beyonce Bounce.” The seafood chain known for its cheddar biscuits says sales surged 33 percent on Sunday, compared with last year’s Super Bowl Sunday. The increase came after the release of “Formation,” in which Beyonce says she took a man to Red Lobster after sex. It’s hard to imagine hordes of people rushing to Red Lobster after hearing the song, but the chain says it’s sure the mention is responsible for at least part of its sales jump. Other factors also likely helped. Red Lobster notes this year’s winter wasn’t as harsh, meaning people were likely more willing to head out to restaurants. And the chain is running a “Lobsterfest” promotion that it didn’t last year. The pop culture spotlight from Beyonce is nevertheless…

Guns, drugs and cars contribute substantially to the life-expectancy gap between the United States and other developed nations, a study found. Deaths from old-age ailments sometimes get more attention in longevity research, but deaths from these three causes tend to happen at younger ages, contributing to many decades of life lost, the researchers said. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show injuries including violence, car crashes and drug poisonings and overdoses are the leading cause of deaths for Americans up to the age of 44. U.S. death rates from these three injury categories exceed those in 12 other developed countries included in the study: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the researchers said. Among men, life expectancy…

Chet Kanojia, the founder of startup TV service Aereo, has a new offering that could shake up the cable industry again. His new Internet service, Starry, would compete with cable companies in big cities. Across the country, only one-third of homes have a choice of broadband providers, according to government figures. Starry will use a wireless technology that has long existed, but hasn’t been used extensively before. The service is expected to launch this summer, starting in Boston. Kanojia hasn’t disclosed prices, though. Kanojia’s previous effort offered local TV channels over the Internet at a lower cost than cable, but broadcasters shut it down with a copyright lawsuit. Kanojia says he doesn’t expect legal challenges with Starry. In an interview with AppleMagazine, Kanojia insists he’s not going after the cable…

The federal government is relying on archaic computers systems to protect reams of critical data from cyberattacks, President Barack Obama warned Tuesday as he announced a new, centralized effort to boost cybersecurity. Obama, asking Congress for $3.1 billion for cybersecurity, said some cyber infrastructure is downright ancient, with the Social Security Administration relying on systems from the 1960s, making them vulnerable to attacks. “That’s going to have to change,” Obama said, flanked by top national security advisers in the Roosevelt Room. Thanks to the explosion of the Internet and widespread access to technology, he said, “We’re going to have to play some catch-up.” Obama’s comments came after the release Tuesday of his 2017 budget proposal, which unveiled a new high-level federal official to coordinate cybersecurity policy across civilian agencies and…

When this Long Island village switched on its “ring of steel” last fall, it knew it was getting a potent policing tool. The system of 27 cameras would scan the license plate of every single vehicle that rolled into town. If a wanted criminal drove through, the system would sound an alert. If someone burglarized a house, the data could be mined to see who was on the road at the time. Police weren’t prepared, though, for the firehose of less-valuable intelligence generated by the $750,000 system. Since the scanners went live Nov. 2, they have been triggering an average of 700 alarms a day, mainly about cars on the road with expired or suspended registration stickers. Officers have impounded 500 vehicles. They’ve written more than 2,000 court summonses, mostly…

The Golden Age of Online Television may be in peril. Streaming TV has gotten popular as several online services such as Netflix make past seasons of TV shows available for binge-watching, while Hulu offers episodes from the current season. Now, some television companies are balking at giving them timely access to shows. The big worry: Making streaming TV too pleasant might encourage viewers to cut back or drop their cable service. Cable and satellite companies now pay TV networks billions of dollars a year to carry their channels. In turn, TV production companies make a lot from licensing fees paid by the networks. Cord-cutting could jeopardize all of those arrangements, and the audience and ad revenue boost from the Internet might not be enough to make up for any revenue…

Nothing could punt “Kung Fu Panda 3” from the top spot at the box office over Super Bowl weekend, where the 20th Century Fox animated sequel hauled in $21.2 million in its second week of release. A trio of new releases didn’t come close to challenging. Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1950s Hollywood send-up “Hail, Caesar!” opened unspectacularly with $11.4 million for Universal. The latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation “The Choice” debuted with a meager $6.1 million for Lionsgate. And the Sony Screen Gems Jane Austen monster mashup “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” scared up only $5.3 million. The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as…

Electronic gear shifters on some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles with the engines running and while they are still in gear, causing crashes and serious injuries, U.S. safety investigators have determined. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in documents posted during the weekend, has doubled the number of vehicles involved in an investigation of the problem, but it stopped short of seeking a recall. The agency found more than 100 crashes and over a dozen injuries, mostly in Jeep Grand Cherokees. Agency tests found that operating the center console shift lever “is not intuitive and provides poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection,” investigators wrote in the documents. They upgraded the probe…

Setting television viewership records with the Super Bowl has become almost routine, but this year’s average of 111.9 million viewers for Denver’s victory over Carolina is down from the past two years. That makes Sunday’s game the third most-watched event in U.S. television history, the Nielsen company said Monday. Last year’s down-to-the-wire contest between New England and Seattle keeps the record with 114.4 million viewers. The Super Bowl had seemed to know no ceiling in popularity, setting viewership records in six of seven years until this one. CBS, the nation’s most-watched network, had pushed the event hard the past few months, playing up the historical nature of the 50th Super Bowl game. But Denver’s 24-10 victory wasn’t a sizzler, with defenses dominating the marquee quarterback matchup between Peyton Manning and…

Apollo Education is being taken private in a $1.1 billion deal by a consortium led by private investment firm The Vistria Group. Shares jumped more than 24 percent in trading last Monday. The announcement comes about a month after the owner of the University of Phoenix and Western International University among others signaled that it may be looking for a buyer. Apollo Education has had several lackluster quarters as enrollments at for-profit schools fell amid increased government scrutiny of the industry. Shareholders of Apollo Education Group Inc. will receive $9.50 per share, a 37 percent premium to the Phoenix-based company’s $6.95 Friday closing price. Vistria is joined in the buyout by funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management LLC and Najafi Cos. Tony Miller, chief operating officer of Vistria and a…