Apple’s three Mac Minis released in 2011 now unsupported ‘vintage’ devices

Apple recently updated its list of vintage and obsolete products to include the Mac Mini released in 2011. That means the device is no longer supported by Apple, thus it won’t be qualified for service or repairs. It now falls between Apple’s five-to-seven year “vintage” window, and will become an official “obsolete” product in 2019.

The Mac Mini line itself hasn’t seen a hardware refresh since 2014, but new units are supposedly on the horizon. Apple first introduced its miniature Mac computer in 2005, which served as the company’s first Mac-branded product to ship without a built-in display, a compatible mouse, or a keyboard. The idea was to address customers who were looking to move away from Windows-based PCs, and already owned those three external devices.

But the last refresh to the Mac Mini was three years ago, leading to speculation that Apple may be discontinuing the line altogether. To clear the air, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in a recent email that “we do plan for Mac Mini to be an important part of our product line going forward,” eliminating any doubts about the product’s future. Meanwhile, based on Apple’s support policy, the last refresh will enter vintage territory between 2019 and 2021.

Here are the current three Mac Mini models:

$499
$699
$999
Processor:
Core i5-4260U
Core i5-4278U
Core i5-4308U
Graphics:
HD Graphics 5000
Iris Graphics 5100
Iris Graphics 5100
Memory:
4GB LPDDR3
@ 1,600MHz
8GB LPDDR3
@ 1,600MHz
8GB LPDDR3
@ 1,600MHz
Storage:
500GB 5,400RPM HDD
1TB 5,400RPM HDD
1TB Fusion drive
Connectivity:
Wireless AC
Bluetooth 4.0
Wireless AC
Bluetooth 4.0
Wireless AC
Bluetooth 4.0
Ports:
2x Thunderbolt 2
4x USB-A (Gen1)
1x HDMI
1x SD card slot
1x Audio input
1x Headphone jack
2x Thunderbolt 2
4x USB-A (Gen1)
1x HDMI
1x SD card slot
1x Audio input
1x Headphone jack
2x Thunderbolt 2
4x USB-A (Gen1)
1x HDMI
1x SD card slot
1x Audio input
1x Headphone jack
Size (inches):
1.4 (H) x 7.7 x 7.7 (D)
1.4 (H) x 7.7 x 7.7 (D)
1.4 (H) x 7.7 x 7.7 (D)
Weight:
2.6 pounds
2.6 pounds
2.7 pounds

As the chart shows, the current Mac Mini devices sport outdated, fourth-generation processors and graphics. To put that in perspective, Intel just began rolling out its eighth-generation line, with additional chips hitting the market in early 2018. The 2011 Mac Minis now certified as “vintage” are based on even older processors: Intel’s second-generation Core i5-2415M, Core i5-2520M, and Core i7-2635QM chips.

There’s no doubt that the Mac Mini line is in dire need of a refresh. Apple’s move to “retire” the 2011 model is also understandable given that companies can’t continue to support outdated hardware forever. Apple’s gracious business practice in providing parts and services for five years after products are no longer manufactured is undoubtedly why the company has such a huge customer base. Many manufacturers cut hardware support after a year or two.

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Deal: Get 4 Lines of unlimited data for $100 from Cricket

New and existing Cricket Wireless customers can get 4 lines on the Cricket Unlimited 2 Plan with unlimited talk, text & data (maximum speed 3 Mbps) for just $100/month. The best part is that you don’t have to be a family member to enjoy this offer — friends can sign up too!

Here’s what you’ll get with this Cricket Unlimited 2 plan

• Unlimited data with max data speeds of 3Mbps running on AT&T’s network (users of more than 22GB in a month may notice temporary reduction in speeds during times of high network traffic)
• Unlimited talk, text to/from US, Canada, and Mexico
• Unlimited texts from the US to 38 countries
• Video streaming at SD quality (480p)
• 8 GB of mobile hotspot is available for an extra $10/mo.

And don’t forget that $100 for 4 lines of unlimited data is the out-the-door price; Cricket’s all-in pricing includes all taxes, surcharges, and fees.

Shop Cricket

Amazon Australia starts taking orders

While Amazon Australia didn’t open by Black Friday as rumors predicted, the marketplace is live in time for the Christmas shopping season. It started taking orders on Tuesday (local time) and offers free shipping across Australia for orders over $50 AUD (or about $37 US).

While Australian registered sellers have used Amazon for some time, they couldn’t ship goods in-country since the company didn’t own a warehouse there. Now it’s set up one of its huge distribution centers just outside the city of Melbourne, which Amazon hopes will cut delivery time to within a single day.

For now, the company estimates its free deliveries within east coast cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra (as well as Adelaide in the south) should take three business days. Shipping to more remote areas could take as much as 10 days. Faster times are available for higher prices, of course.

Amazon is planning to offer its Prime service to Australian customers in mid-2018, which is ambitious for the huge country. Since the company announced it would expand within the country back in April, traditional retailers have taken a hit: Stock for the top department store operator Myer Holdings has decreased 30 percent since, Reuters pointed out.

Source: Amazon.com.au

Change, tragedy and chicken nuggets ruled Twitter in 2017

It’s been one heck of a year, and nowhere has that been more visible than Twitter. The platform became a bigger stage than ever given Trump’s preference to introduce policy through tweets, turning the social network into even more of a political battleground. Today, Twitter released its year-in-review of the most impactful tweets that gave a balanced view of the year’s events. The year’s top tweets ranged from reacting to terrorist-caused tragedy to banding together for disaster relief — with the most retweeted message coming from one man’s quest to get endless chicken nuggets.

Unsurprisingly, the most retweeted message of the year came when an everyman infamously begged fast food chain Wendy’s for a lifetime of nuggets. But also topping the list of retweets and likes were reactions to tragedy, like Barack Obama’s message advocating against hate after the Nazi march in Charlottesville and murder of protester Heather Heyer. Another was Ariana Grande’s devastation-filled tweet after a suicide bomber killed 23 outside her Manchester Arena concert. Likewise, Penn State’s tweet pledging money for every retweet racked up interactions.

Trump was the most-talked-about politician, but none of his tweets made the lists of most interacted messages. Barack Obama, on the other hand, had three of the top ten globally retweeted posts on Twitter.

The most shared TwitterMoments were more lighthearted, including NASA’s discovery of 7 Earth-like new planets and Beyonce iconically announcing her pregnancy with a much-imitated photoshoot. For entertainment, Wonder Woman was the most-tweeted-about film of the year, while the Korean boy band BTS took the crown for musical artist (both globally and in the US, beating out Nicki Minaj and Harry Styles in the latter). Most-tweeted-about TV shows included releases from a mix of mediums, including Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. But nine Netflix shows made the top ten list of most popular streaming television shows on Twitter.

Sure, the review of top Twitter interactions for the year is skewed by the platform’s perspective, but it showcases what users talk about — and which voices they amplify.

The Morning After: Tuesday, December 5th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Real Nintendo games playable on an NVIDIA set-top box? Yes — and it’s not the Switch. Also, it’s time for Apple to pay up and we’re seriously considering the possibility of a Quentin Tarantino-directed Star Trek. It’s that kind of Tuesday morning.

We’ll make it simple for you.The best Xbox One games

AAA, indie and even Kinect — these are the ones every Xbox One owner should have in their library.

In China.Nintendo games are officially available on the NVIDIA Shield

The NVIDIA Shield just debuted in China, but this localized edition has a very special addition: downloadable (and officially licensed) versions of Nintendo GameCube and Wii games. At launch, the Shield is offering Chinese gamers their first official taste of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Punch-Out.

Money moves.Apple will start paying Ireland the billions it owes in back taxes

Both Apple and Ireland are appealing an EU decision that their sweetheart tax deal is illegal, but for now, the country is starting to collect billions in back taxes. Reportedly, Apple will begin paying the funds into an escrow account early next year. The other bad news? It can’t use Apple Pay Cash — that launched yesterday, but it’s only available in the US.

Go.Google launches Android Oreo Go and Files Go!

Last night Google released both a stripped-down version of its latest OS and a new file manager app. The only Android Oreo Go devices announced so far are headed for India, but Files Go! Is ready for everyone. Now out of beta, it brings AirDrop-like offline sharing and easy cloud backups.

Meet ‘Altered Carbon’Netflix’s answer to ‘Blade Runner’ debuts in February

Take a little bit of Dollhouse then mix in a lot of Blade Runner and you’ve got Altered Carbon. Netflix’s new sci-fi series debuts February 2nd to tell the tale of a detective digitally resurrected to investigate the murder of the world’s richest man. We’re intrigued.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.HP Omen X VR backpack review

According to Devindra Hardawar, the HP Omen X is ” an ingenious gaming device.” The only problem? Getting everything necessary to use one as a wearable VR gaming PC will set you back $3,500, and so far, the experience isn’t worth that kind of premium over a traditional VR setup, and wireless VR headsets are on the way.

With one tiny difference.‘House of Cards’ will be back next year

Kevin Spacey is out, and Robin Wright will take the lead in the series’ final eight episodes.

That’s one way to do it.How to stream a paid UFC fight: pretend it’s a video game

Twitch streamer AJ Lester streamed Saturday night’s UFC 218 PPV on his channel by pretending to play the UFC 3 open beta.

But wait, there’s more…

• Quentin Tarantino and JJ Abrams are working on a new ‘Star Trek’ movie
• Spacesuit ‘take me home’ feature could prevent a ‘Gravity’ situation
• What’s on TV: ‘The Grand Tour,’ ‘Psych: The Movie,’ ‘LocoRoco 2 Remastered’
• Apple TV updated with smarter HDR and a new sports section
• The Big Picture: LiDAR strips landscapes down to their bare glory
• The best VR headsets and games to give as gifts

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Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.

Google will enlist 10,000 employees to moderate YouTube videos

YouTube had its hands full lately, dealing with disturbing channels and videos masquerading as family-friendly offerings. Now, YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki has explained how the platform plans to keep a closer eye on the videos it hosts going forward by applying the lessons it learned fighting violent extremism content. Wojcicki says the company has begun training its algorithms to improve child safety on the platform and to be better at detecting hate speech. To be able to teach its algorithms which videos need to be removed and which can stay, though, it needs more people’s help. That’s why it aims to appoint as many as 10,000 people across Google to review content that might violate its policies.

YouTube says its machine-learning algorithms help take down 70 percent of violent extremist content within eight hours of upload. By training those algorithms to do the same for other types of videos, such as those questionable uploads that targeted children, the platform will be able to take them down a lot faster than it currently can.

In addition to getting 10,000 Google employees’ help, YouTube also plans to conjure up stricter criteria to consult when deciding which channels are eligible for advertising. At the moment, creators need at least 10,000 views to be able to earn ad money, but it sounds like the platform will also expand its team of reviewers to vet channels and videos and “ensure ads are only running where they should.”

Finally, YouTube promises to be a lot more transparent. In 2018, it’ll start publishing reports containing data on the flags it gets, along with the the actions it takes to remove any video and comment that violates its policies.

Source: YouTube (1), (2)

Spotify’s Annual ‘Wrapped’ Feature Serves Up Playlists Based on Your 2017 Listening Habits

Spotify’s annually hosted Wrapped website went live today, offering subscribers a look back at their listening habits over the last twelve months.

After the user logs in with their Spotify credentials, the site tells them how many minutes in total they listened for in 2017, including the number of different songs and artists they listened to, and how many genres they explored along the way.

Users then move onto a short quiz where they get to guess their top songs, artists, and genres over the course of the year, before being revealed the results.

The site then provides “Your Top Songs of 2017”, collected in one playlist, as well as a playlist titled “Ones That Got Away”, which includes a selection of unplayed tracks released in 2017 that are “based on what you love”, according to Spotify.

Buttons are presented on the site that let users play the playlists in Spotify, although we had trouble getting the function to work from within the desktop Safari browser (Chrome and Firefox had no such trouble). The site doesn’t seem to like Safari on iOS if content blockers are enabled, either.

In addition to the Wrapped feature, Spotify today released its Year in Music lists, which revealed that Ed Sheeran was the service’s most streamed artist globally in 2017, racking up 47 million listeners, while his latest album, ÷, was played 3.1 billion times. Meanwhile, Rihanna was the most streamed female artist of the year, with Drake, Taylor Swift, and Coldplay also proving popular choices throughout 2017.

(Via TechCrunch.)

Tag: Spotify
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Apple Wins EU Trademark Case Against Xiaomi and its ‘Mi Pad’ Tablet

Apple Tuesday won the right to prevent Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi from registering its “Mi Pad” mobile tablet device as an EU trademark because the name has been deemed too similar to Apple’s iPad (via Reuters).

The General Court, the European Union’s second highest, ruled that registering Mi Pad as a trademark was not in the public interest, as consumers were likely to be confused by the similarity of the signs.

“The dissimilarity between the signs at issue, resulting from the presence of the additional letter ‘m’ at the beginning of “Mi Pad”, is not sufficient to offset the high degree of visual and phonetic similarity between the two signs,” the Court said in a statement.

The decision comes three years after Xiaomi filed an application with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to register Mi Pad as a trademark, which prompted Apple to lodge a complaint. The EUIPO sided with Apple’s view, based on the grounds that Mi Pad could be misconstrued as a variation of the iPad trademark.

The court agreed with the EUIPO’s decision and said English-speaking consumers were likely to understand the prefix “mi” as meaning “my” and therefore pronounce the “i” of Mi Pad and iPad in the same way.

Xiaomi could appeal against the ruling at the EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, but so far no statement on today’s decision has been given by the Chinese mobile maker.

Xiaomi’s expansion into Europe kicked off last month when it began selling its smartphones in Spain. The company has managed to become China’s fourth largest mobile vendor by sales and has launched in dozens of other countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine, as part of a $1 billion overseas expansion drive.

Its devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets, have been publicly criticized in the past for heavily borrowing design elements from Apple’s iPhones and iPads and adopting marketing materials tactics similar to Apple’s.

Tags: European Union, Xiaomi
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Starbucks’ plushest coffee shop yet serves up AR with its drinks

In keeping with its reputation as a place that likes to serve up cutting-edge tech with its coffee, Starbucks will offer its first-ever in-store augmented reality (AR) experience at its newest Roastery store when it opens on Wednesday.

You will, however, have to be in Shanghai to try it, though perhaps the coffee company will take it stateside before long.

Starbucks debuted its Roastery concept in its home city of Seattle three years ago to offer customers rare coffees from around the world in a lavish setting that’s strikingly different to its regular outlets. Tastings and talks are also available in a bid to further enthuse coffee fans.

The AR fun can be enjoyed by smartphone-owning coffee drinkers visiting Starbucks’ new Shanghai Roastery. It’s the company’s largest site to date, covering an astonishing 30,000 square feet (2,700 square meters) of space. That’s twice the size of the flagship Roastery in Seattle and the equivalent of 40 average NYC apartments, according to Starbucks.

Visitors can whip out their smartphone and point it at various spots throughout the store for “an insider’s digital look” at the brewing process, which includes the enormous copper roasting cask that takes center stage. Just aim your phone’s camera toward a point of interest and the relevant text and graphics will show up as an overlay on your display, “bringing to life Starbucks’ bean-to-cup story.”

“Guided through the space by a custom-designed AR ‘tour-guide,’ customers can unlock virtual badges and a unique Roastery filter to commemorate their visit,” Starbucks said. Yes, it’s essentially all part of a clever marketing ploy to get visitors to explore the enormous location, spend more time there, and perhaps stumble upon the bakery, the  3D-printed tea bar, or “the longest coffee bar in the world,” each of which provides an excellent opportunity to spend a bit more money.

The coffee giant is clearly splashing plenty of cash on its new Roastery in China, which happens to be the company’s fastest growing market.

Back in the U.S., more Roastery stores are planned for New York and Chicago, where Starbucks will no doubt continue to showcase tech in an effort to make customer visits that little bit more convenient and engaging.

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Think twice about posting that koala selfie, Instagram warns

Remember that news story where beachgoers in Argentina reportedly plucked a young dolphin from the sea and passed it around for selfies (above) before it overheated and died? There was a similar incident at a zoo in China, too, where visitors handled a couple of peacocks for selfies, causing both to die of apparent fright.

As a result of incidents like these, Instagram is finally taking steps to make its users aware of the more sinister aspects of some animal photos on its service. 

The Facebook-owned company says it’s concerned about how some photographic efforts on its service might impact the animal’s well-being, and wants its users to consider how they interact with them.

As a result, Instagram will now present a “content advisory” message whenever someone searches for a hashtag “associated with harmful behavior to animals or the environment,” while at the same time reminding ‘grammers that “animal abuse and the sale of endangered animals or their parts are not allowed” on the service.

The hashtag list was developed in consultation with the World Wildlife Fund, TRAFFIC, an organization that helps to monitor wildlife trade, and World Animal Protection.

Instagram isn’t giving any specific examples of hashtags that’ll trigger the pop-up message, so it’s impossible to comment on its effectiveness at this early stage. However, we can already see that #koalaselfie, #slothselfie, and #monkeyselfie all trigger the message. At the time of writing, #dolphinselfie and #peacockselfie don’t.

Despite Instagram’s insistence that the “protection and safety of the natural world are important to us and our global community,” and that it’s “committed to fostering a safer, kinder world both on Instagram and beyond the app,” animal welfare advocates may be disappointed to discover that once the user has read the pop-up message, they can still choose to view the content. Alternatively, they can “learn more,” or cancel their search.

According to National Geographic (NG), Instagram was prompted to take action after an investigation by NG and World Animal Protection into the growing industry of problematic wildlife tourism in the Amazon found “animals being illegally captured from the rain forest, kept in cages, and hauled out for well-meaning tourists to hold and take selfies with.”

Cassandra Koenen of World Animal Protection told NG she hopes the warnings will cause those using Instagram to take a moment to consider the kind of content they’re searching for. “If someone’s behavior is interrupted, hopefully they’ll think, ‘Maybe there’s something more here,’ or, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t just automatically like something or forward something or repost something if Instagram is saying to me there’s a problem with this photo.’” It might also make users think twice about taking such pictures themselves, an act that brings with it its own risks and dangers.

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