Innehållsförteckning för #228 från AppleMagazine

Social media giant Facebook, which has been under fire in Britain for its tax arrangements, said Friday it will stop routing its British sales through Ireland - a practice that had kept its U.K. tax bill extremely low. Facebook, Amazon and other multinationals have been criticized for using complex tax arrangements in Europe to drastically reduce their bills. Facebook said in a statement that from April, “U.K. sales made directly by our U.K. team will be booked in the U.K., not Ireland. Facebook U.K. will then record the revenue from these sales.” It said the change would “provide transparency to Facebook’s operations in the U.K.” Facebook paid just 4,327 pounds ($6,116) in corporation tax in 2014 in Britain, where it recorded 105 million pounds in revenue. The U.K. is one…

Fresh off his Grammy triumph, Kendrick Lamar has released a new batch of old music. The eight-song collection titled “untitled unmastered.” was made available last Friday on iTunes, Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify and GooglePlay. None of the songs has a title, just what seem to be dates, ranging from 2013 to 2016. Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent hip-hop label Lamar is signed to, said the collection “features studio versions of the untitled songs” that Lamar performed on “The Colbert Report,” ‘’The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and last month’s Grammy Awards. Many of the songs have a spacy, groovy feel and sound highly produced, including the standout funky “untitled 08 09.06.2014.” But “untitled 07 2014-2016” is a meandering, eight-minute song that ends with artists collaborating in a studio, complete with…

HOW TO FOLLOW THE MAJOR LEAGUES AT HOME OR ‘ON THE GO’ Are you a sports fan? So are we! As a matter of fact, it seems that everyone is these days, and there’s certainly no lack of great sports leagues and events to follow here in the United States. What you may not have been so aware of, however, is the similarly wide range of great ways to follow such sports on your iDevice, or even your home big screen through your Apple TV. So, what better thing could there be for us to do this week than guide you through some of the best sports apps and options for Apple device owners? You really can access the most complete and incredible fan experience as the owner of an…

Students from MIT and Britain’s University of Cambridge will spend the weekend hacking one another’s computers, with the blessing of their national leaders. The two schools are competing in a hacking contest that U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron announced last year among other joint cybersecurity projects between the two nations. The White House billed it as a showdown between the two prestigious schools, both known as heavyweights in the world of computer science. But the colleges opted to make it a friendlier match. Instead of facing off against each other, the schools assigned their top hackers to six teams made up of students from both institutions. Teams will gather at MIT on Friday and then, for a frenzied 24 hours, try to hack into their…

For All Kings Anthrax The 11th studio album from metal titans Anthrax is a must for any lovers of classic heavy metal. Considered to be one of the “Big Four” artists of the genre, this album is a must-buy for anyone wishing to delve deeper into the genre. FIVE FACTS: 1. Anthrax are one of the “Big Four” – the term used to refer to themselves, Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth; four bands considered to be massively influential on metal music. 2. Anthrax are inspired by an array of artists including the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, and Motorhead. 3. The members of Anthrax have fluctuated massively over the years, with rhythm guitarist Scott Ian being the sole remaining founding member. 4. In 1991, American hip hop legends Public Enemy worked with…

The bathroom scale may show a good number but how much of that weight is fat, not muscle? New studies are adding to the evidence that the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story when it comes to weight-related health risks. Keeping body fat low is more important for healthy aging than a low overall weight, researchers reported Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. A separate study found young people who aren’t physically fit are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life even if their weight is healthy. Here are some things to know: ISN’T BMI IMPORTANT? Yes. Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure of a person’s weight compared to their height. For many people, that’s plenty of evidence to tell if…

The U.N. human rights chief says U.S. authorities “risk unlocking a Pandora’s Box” in their efforts to force Apple to create software to crack the security features on its phones, and is urging them to proceed with caution. Zeid Raad al-Hussein warned in a statement about the potential for “extremely damaging implications” on human rights, journalists, whistle-blowers, political dissidents and others. He said the case is “potentially a gift to authoritarian regimes” and criminal hackers. Through the courts, the FBI is trying to force Apple to help crack an encrypted iPhone used by a gunman behind a December shooting spree in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people. Zeid said the case centers on where the “key red line” should be set to protect people “from criminals and repression.”…

Egyptian security forces fired tear gas Tuesday to disperse taxi drivers who had blocked a major road in the capital, Cairo, to protest Uber and other car-hailing applications, which the head of the Cairo traffic police insists are illegal. The drivers stood in a roundabout on Gameat el-Dowal street after the canister was fired at them when they left their cars, witness Lamia el-Etriby and taxi drivers at the protest said. They had blocked all but one lane, causing a major traffic jam as police vehicles arrived on the scene. “We are not leaving until an official comes and gives us his word that all these apps will be shut down in Egypt,” said Sherif Ali, a taxi driver and one of the protest organizers. Taxi drivers have been protesting…

The Broadway musical “Fun Home” had fun at a different home when cast members went to Spotify’s New York headquarters and knocked out new takes on their Tony Award-winning songs. The result, available online last Friday, marks the first time a Broadway show has participated in Spotify Sessions, the music service’s streaming program of intimate in-studio performances and conversations. During the six-song session, Gabriella Pizzolo sang an a capella version of “Ring of Keys” accompanied by a seven-member choir; Beth Malone sang “Telephone Wire” with the show’s composer, Jeanine Tesori, on piano; Judy Kuhn performed “Days and Days” with a harpist; and Pizzolo, Malone and Emily Skeggs joined for the show’s finale, “Flying Away,” with harp and piano. The session also included the song“Pony Girl,”a soft lullaby in the show…

You may not be familiar with the Rubicon Project, but chances are its technology helped pick some of the ads you might have seen on your phone or personal computer. Rubicon serves as a matchmaker between digital publishers trying to sell ads and marketers looking for the best place to promote their products and services. The Los Angeles company, though small, has been increasing its influence in the $170 billion digital advertising market. More than 1,500 publishers and tens of thousands of advertisers rely on Rubicon to figure out which marketing messages are best suited to the different audiences that gravitate toward certain websites and apps. The company says it processes 7 trillion requests per month using about 60,000 different algorithms. Last year, Rubicon managed more than $1 billion in…

Email existed in a limited capacity before Raymond Tomlinson in that electronic messages could be shared amid multiple people within a limited framework. But until his invention in 1971 of the first network person-to-person email, there was no way to send something to a specific person at a specific address. Tomlinson wrote and sent the first email on the ARPANET system, a computer network that was created for the U.S. government that is considered a precursor to the Internet. Tomlinson also contributed to the network’s development, among numerous other pioneering technologies in the programming world. At the time, few people had personal computers. The popularity of personal email wouldn’t take off until years later and would ultimately become an integral part of modern life. “It wasn’t an assignment at all,…

Emma Watson said Tuesday she wants people to understand the importance of gender equality not only on a rational level but also on a visceral one, and books, movies and other art forms are important vehicles for accomplishing that. “It’s also about making them feel it in their bones,” said Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” film series. Watson, the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, and Forest Whitaker, a UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace, joined UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on International Women’s Day at The Public Theater in Manhattan. They were there to announce a week of arts events aimed at initiating a dialogue about gender equality. Arts venues around New York City, including ballets, Broadway theaters, museums and galleries, are taking part in the…

“Zootopia” made even more of a mark at the box office than expected. Disney’s latest animated romp took in $75 million in its opening weekend, according to comScore Monday. It’s the highest three-day opening ever for Disney Animation, topping “Frozen’s” $67.4 million, and the fourth biggest March debut ever. The Gerard Butler pic “London Has Fallen” debuted in second place with $21.6 million, effectively ending “Deadpool’s” three-week streak at the top of the charts. In third place, “Deadpool” too in $16.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $311.4 million. The Tina Fey comedy “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” also opened this weekend to $7.4 million to take fourth place, while “Gods of Egypt” rounded out the top five with $5.2 million. The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through…

Calling a New York judge’s ruling “an unprecedented limitation” on judicial authority, the Justice Department has asked a Brooklyn federal court to reverse a decision that said Apple Inc. wasn’t required to pry open a locked iPhone. The government’s 45-page brief comes a week after U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein issued his decision in a routine drug case, dealing a blow to the Obama administration in its battle with the tech giant over privacy and public safety. Lawyers for the Justice Department called their Monday request routine, arguing that the case is not about asking Apple to do anything new, or to create a “master key” to access all iPhones. Apple has opposed the government’s move in a separate case involving the shooter who killed 14 people Dec. 2 in…

Computers eventually will defeat human players of Go, but the beauty of the ancient Chinese game of strategy that has fascinated people for thousands of years will remain, the Go world champion said Tuesday. South Korean Lee Sedol, a Go master who has won 18 international titles since he became a professional player at age 12, said the risk of human error means he may not win his match this week against Google’s artificial intelligence machine, AlphaGo. “Because humans are human, they make mistakes,” the 33 year-old said a day before the first of the five games he is due to play against AlphaGo. “If there are human mistakes, I could lose.” It was Lee’s first admission of his weakness against Google’s AI machine and also a dialing down of…

Activist investor Ancora Advisors is stepping up the pressure on photo sharing service Shutterfly to negotiate a sale of the company or reshuffle its board of directors if a deal can’t be quickly worked out. Ancora outlined its demands in a letter sent Monday to Shutterfly’s interim CEO, Philip Marineau. The Cleveland investment fund wants Shutterfly Inc. to reach out to potential bidders following the company’s disclosure last month that it had received an unsolicited offer from an unnamed private equity firm. Ancora’s letter identified the suitor as Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm in Boston. Shutterfly declined to comment on Ancora’s letter. Thomas Lee Partners also declined to comment. When it revealed the overtures about a potential sale, Shutterfly said that its board wasn’t negotiating a deal.…

China’s government has highlighted big data, encryption technology and “core technologies” such as semiconductors as the key elements of its push to grow into a tech powerhouse, according to a new five-year plan released Saturday that envisages the Internet as a major source of growth as well as a potential risk. Even as it highlighted the need to improve Internet infrastructure to rural areas and unlock the digital economy’s potential, Chinese economic planners called for a more secure and better managed Web, with enhanced Internet control systems, Internet security laws and real-name registration policies. Chinese officials including Internet czar Lu Wei have played down concerns over what critics have described as China’s expanding Web censorship, saying that it is the Chinese government’s sovereign prerogative and a necessary measure to maintain…

Verizon will pay a $1.35 million fine over its “supercookie” that the government said followed phone customers on the Internet without their permission. Verizon will also have to get an explicit “yes” from customers for some kinds of tracking. The supercookies landed their name because they were hard, or near-impossible, to block. Verizon uses them to deliver targeted ads to cellphone customers. The company wants to expand its advertising and media business and bought AOL for its digital ad technology in 2015. The Federal Communications Commission said Monday that it found that Verizon began using the supercookies with consumers in December 2012, but didn’t disclose the program until October 2014. Verizon updated its privacy policy to disclose the trackers in March 2015 and gave people an option then to opt…

Luxury automaker BMW AG is showing off a sleek concept car aimed at a future in which drivers choose between the pleasures of high-performance driving and letting the car take control. The company unveiled the Vision Next 100 at ceremonies Monday for the company’s 100th birthday at Munich’s Olympic Hall. The car offers a choice of driver-controlled or vehicle-controlled operations. In driver mode, the car indicates the ideal driving line and speed; in “ease” or autonomous mode, the steering wheel retracts and the driver and front-seat passenger can turn to face each other. Concept cars suggest what future production models might look like. Auto executives said last week at the Geneva International Motor Show that some elements of autonomous driving could begin being introduced around the end of this decade.…

Colleges and universities worldwide are incorporating into their curriculums the evolving genre of literature that focuses on the changes coming to Earth as the result of climate change - “cli-fi” Some of the books and movies now being considered part of the genre are old classics, while others were written more recently in direct response to today’s changing climate. “It’s a very, very energized time for this where people in literature have just as much to say as people who are in hard science fields, or technology and design fields, or various social-science approaches to these things”said Jennifer Wicke, an English professor at the University of Virginia who will be teaching a course this June on climate fiction at the Bread Loaf campus of Middlebury College in Ripton, Vermont. The…

Legend (2015) Legend sees much-loved British actor Tom Hardy play the part of both of the legendary Kray Twins – two of the most notorious criminals in 1960’s London. FIVE FACTS: 1. Legend has become the highest grossing 18-rated British movie of all time, surpassing cult drug drama Trainspotting (1996). 2. Lead actor Tom Hardy has also starred in Mad Max: Fury Road, Inception, and The Revenant. 3. Tom Hardy and Emily Browning (who plays the role of Frances Shea, the wife of Reggie Kray), have both starred in two different movies titled Sucker Punch. 4. Hardy is also an executive producer for the movie. 5. Director Brian Helgeland has also worked on movies such as L.A. Confidential, Mystic River, and The Taking of Pelham123. Room A young woman and…

A local prosecutor has offered an unusual justification for forcing Apple to help hack an iPhone used by a San Bernardino mass killer: The phone might have been “used as a weapon” to introduce malicious software to county computer systems. San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos acknowledged to The Associated Press that there’s no evidence of malicious software in the county’s computer network. But he added, “I wouldn’t call it a total hypothetical.” Computer security experts say the prospect is unlikely. By late Friday (04), the prosecutor’s claim had sparked a wave of social media postings, many of which mocked the DA’s use of the non-technical term “cyber pathogen” to describe the supposed malware. Apple has resisted calls to help unlock the phone, arguing that building a software tool…

Washington has restricted the access of one of China’s biggest telecoms equipment makers, ZTE Corp., to American components after concluding the state-owned company improperly exported U.S. technology to Iran. The sanctions took effect this week after ZTE was found to be “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests” of the United States, the U.S. Commerce Department said. The department released documents it said showed ZTE set up front companies to evade U.S. controls on high-tech exports to Iran. The Chinese government said it opposes the U.S. sanctions. ZTE’s technology purchases support thousands of U.S. jobs that might be in jeopardy, the Commerce Ministry said. “This approach will only hurt others without necessarily benefiting oneself,” said China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, at a news conference Tuesday during the…