Apple’s new solar-powered campus, and more in the week that was
As the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk is a proponent of clean technology and renewable energy. That’s why it’s so surprising that Donald Trump has selected Musk to serve as a strategic advisor — here’s hoping Musk can convince the President-elect to take climate change seriously. In other news, Chevrolet just delivered its first batch of Bolt EVs to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, beating Tesla’s Model 3 to the punch. Steven Hawking is working with NASA to launch a self-healing starship that will search for habitable planets in Alpha Centauri. And Japan Airlines has developed a way to transform old clothing into jet fuel.
The fight against climate change is in jeopardy as Donald Trump’s cabinet picks roll in, but Bill Gates is stepping up to the task by launching a $1 billion clean energy fund. Meanwhile, America’s first offshore wind farm just switched online for the first time, and it’s producing enough energy to power 17,000 homes. Denmark is well ahead of the clean energy game — it currently sources over half of its electricity from renewable sources, and that figure is set to rise to 100 percent by 2035. And researchers invented a new solar sidewalk made from recycled plastic that snaps together like LEGO bricks.
One of the world’s most anticipated buildings is nearly finished: Drone footage shows that Apple’s massive solar-powered “spaceship” campus is set to be completed by the end of the year. In other design and technology news, Carlo Ratti Associati launched plans for a floating gym that uses people power to cruise through Paris. Japan successfully launched an orbiting satellite that will trap space junk with a giant net. And the world’s best dad created an incredible Star Wars AT-ACT playhouse just in time for the debut of Rogue One.
Google, Apple and Uber promise not to build a Muslim registry
After over a thousand Silicon Valley engineers pledged never to help build a Muslim registry, Buzzfeed News asked the tech giants themselves about their stance. Google, Apple and Uber told the publication that no, they won’t support the development of one either. Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter made the same vow a few days ago. The possibility of a Muslim registry in the United States first came up during President-Elect Trump’s campaign, and he has yet to deny wanting one. In addition, one of the members of Trump’s transition team, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, proposed to reinstate a registry of immigrants from Muslim countries.
The big G told Buzzfeed News in an email that from what the company knows, the “proposal doesn’t seem to be on the table.” But if it’s ever asked to participate, “of course [Google] wouldn’t do [it.]” An Apple spokesperson said the iPhonemaker hasn’t been asked and would oppose such an effort. “We think people should be treated the same no matter how they worship, what they look like, who they love,” he said. Meanwhile, Uber replied with a resounding “No.”
These tech titans met with the President-Elect at a tech summit earlier this week to discuss job creation, tax cuts and China, among other topics. One of the attendees who has declined to respond to Buzzfeed News’ question is Oracle, whose CEO (Safra Katz) is slated to join Trump’s transition team.
Source: Buzzfeed News
Apple Adds 21 New Aerial Screen Savers to Apple TV
One of the best features on the fourth-generation Apple TV is its high-quality aerial screen savers that play on the screen after a short period of inactivity. The Aerial screen saver option on the Apple TV features an aerial view of different locations around the world, which Apple has added to over time to keep content fresh.
The Aerial screen saver picks a random video option from a data source maintained by Apple, and that data source was recently updated with 21 new screen savers. iDownloadBlog has parsed the data and shared direct links to each of the new screen savers that can be watched on iOS devices and Macs.
Screen savers are time-based and show off various cities and locations in slow motion, with the lighting changing based on the time of day. New screen savers of video captured in China, Dubai, Greenland, Hong Kong, Liwa, and Los Angeles have been added.
China:
– Day 4
– Day 5
– Day 6
Dubai:
– Day 1
– Day 2
– Day 3
– Day 4
– Night 1
– Night 2
Greenland:
– Day 1
– Day 2
– Night 1
Hong Kong:
– Day 1
– Day 2
– Day 3
– Night 1
Liwa (United Arab Emirates):
– Day 1
Los Angeles (United States):
– Day 1
– Day 2
– Day 3
– Night 1
These screen savers aren’t likely to be immediately available to all users, as the Apple TV downloads new aerial content on a regular basis depending on your Apple TV settings. New screen savers can be set to download on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis in the Settings app on the Apple TV.
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Apple will replace a lost AirPod for $69
Following a slightly delay, Apple’s wireless AirPods are ready to order. They’re small and sleek, but the lack of cords has put a nagging thought in the back of my mind: I am guaranteed to lose one, if not both within a few weeks. If you’re equally forgetful, or happen to commute in jam-packed subway carriages, you’ll be happy to hear that Apple will replace a single AirPod for $69 (£65). Given a fresh pair costs $159 (£159), that seems like a reasonable fee. Similarly, a new AirPod charging case will set you back $69 (£65), for the inevitable “I threw it out thinking it was floss” stories.
To Apple’s credit, your music will stop as soon as one AirPod leaves your earhole. It serves two purposes: so you don’t have to press pause when someone starts talking to you, and to give you a heads-up whenever one AirPod drops out of your ear. If you’re somewhere busy, like a crowded train platform, that immediate notification could be vital to retrieving it. Otherwise, the allure of Apple’s AirPods is a tangle-free lifestyle, convenient pairing and charging. It’s doubly useful if you have the iPhone 7 with its non-existent 3.55mm jack. (Yeah, I’m still annoyed about it.)
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Apple (US), (UK)
1Password update for iOS intros native Apple Watch app
1Password has released a massive update for iOS that makes it easy to sign up for a new account and to sync across devices regardless of their operating systems. For Apple Watch owners, though, it offers something bigger: a native app that’s much faster than the old one. You can import passwords from any vault into the smartwatch to be able to easily access apps and services on the wearable. Even better, you can import them en masse by pulling down on your item list to activate the “Select Items” screen.
Other great additions are the ability to pay for subscriptions in-app, to create Documents within the service, to sync those Documents across accounts and to fill text, email and password fields even if you didn’t create them within 1Password’s browser extension. You can see the full list of updates and changes on the website of the password manager’s developer. It’s pretty long, though — we hope you know how to speed read.
Source: AgileBits
Apple to Charge $69 to Replace a Lost or Broken AirPod
On its iPhone Service Pricing page, Apple recently updated its repair and replacement costs for AirPods, which went on sale earlier this week.
Apple doesn’t appear to be offering AppleCare+ for AirPods, instead providing a standard one-year warranty that’s available on all Apple products. If the AirPods need service during that one year period, all work will be covered for free.
After the one-year warranty has expired, Apple will charge a $69 fee for out-of-warranty service repairs. Battery service for AirPods that lose battery capacity is free during the one-year warranty period or $49 out of warranty.
If you lose or damage one of the AirPods or the charging case, Apple will charge $69 for a replacement, regardless of whether or not the AirPods are still under warranty. The pricing in Apple’s support document is U.S. pricing, and will vary based on country.
AirPods first went on sale Tuesday morning with shipment dates as early as December 21, but supplies were quickly exhausted. Within an hour, delivery estimates slipped to December 29, and shortly after that, fell again to four weeks.
AirPods orders placed today in the United States will not ship out for six weeks, arriving to customers towards the end of January. Apple is expected to start offering AirPods in stores starting next week, so customers who did not get a chance to pre-order may still be able to get a set of AirPods.
Apple has said stores will be receiving “regular AirPods shipments,” but supplies are likely to be tight as demand is high.
Priced at $159, AirPods are wire-free Bluetooth-equipped headphones that are able to provide up to five hours of music playback. AirPods use a new Apple-designed W1 chip to quickly switch between devices, and include features like touch-based controls and Siri. AirPods charge via an included charging case and a Lightning cable.
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Apple will pay out $2 million to California retail employees
A long-running class action lawsuit between Apple and employees of its retail stores in California came to a quick conclusion today. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2011 by four former employees but expanded in 2014 to include around 20,000 Apple retail employees in California. The suit alleged that Apple failed to give employees adequate breaks, failed to pay wages in a timely manner after employees left the company and failed to provide accurate wage statements. The case finally went to court in San Diego back in October, and as Apple Insider reports today a jury has now ordered Apple to pay out $2 million in restitution.
The settlement works out to about $95 per employee included in the class, and $2 million is a tiny fraction of the $42.4 billion Apple pulled in during Q3 alone. For its part, Apple claimed it has offered adequate breaks in accordance with California Labor Code for years before the lawsuit was filed. The company has not yet commented on today’s settlement, but the employees who were denied breaks while helping customers pick out new iPhones and iPhones will see their cash as soon as the lawyers get their cut.
Source: Apple Insider
Florida court rules police can demand your phone’s passcode
A Florida man arrested for third-degree voyeurism using his iPhone 5 initially gave police verbal consent to search the smartphone, but later rescinded permission before divulging his 4-digit passcode. Even with a warrant, they couldn’t access the phone without the combination. A trial judge denied the state’s motion to force the man to give up the code, considering it equal to compelling him to testify against himself, which would violate the Fifth Amendment. But the Florida Court of Appeals’ Second District reversed that decision today, deciding that the passcode is not related to criminal photos or videos that may or may not exist on his iPhone.
Obviously, this has implications for Constitutional protections of a civilian’s data contained behind a smartphone’s multi-digit passcode. Previously, a 2014 decision by the Virginia Beach Circuit Court found that individuals can’t be compelled to give up their phone’s code, but they could be forced to unlock it with a fingerprint, should that option be available.
The distinction? A passcode requires a person to divulge actual knowledge, while a fingerprint is considered physical evidence, like a handwriting sample or DNA. This interpretation sources back to the Supreme Court’s 1988 Doe v. U.S. decision, in which it ruled that a person may be compelled to give up a key to a strongbox, say, but not a combination to a wall safe.
The three-judge Appeals Court panel in Florida disagreed with this distinction. They also found the comparison out of step with the current state of technology, such that providing the passcode would not be as similarly self-incriminating as directly giving the authorities evidential documents. Further, the police were beyond probable cause of searching suspect Aaron Stahl’s code-locked phone, as Judge Anthony Black wrote for his fellows in the court’s decision:
“Moreover, although the passcode would allow the State access to the phone, and therefore to a source of potential evidence, the State has a warrant to search the phone—the source of evidence had already been uncovered … Providing the passcode does not “betray any knowledge [Stahl] may have about the circumstances of the offenses” for which he is charged.”
Black clarified what kind of foreknowledge authorities would need to possess to compel someone to divulge their phone’s passcode:
“In order for the foregone conclusion doctrine to apply, the State must show with reasonable particularity that, at the time it sought the act of production, it already knew the evidence sought existed, the evidence was in the possession of the accused, and the evidence was authentic … Although the State need not have “perfect knowledge” of the requested evidence, it “must know, and not merely infer,” that the evidence exists, is under the control of defendant, and is authentic.”
Via: The Daily Dot
Source: Courthouse News
Apple TV universal search now supports Apple Music, TBS and more
As Apple continues to improve the one-stop streaming experience of Apple TV and its standalone TV app, the much-hyped universal search has finally added enough partners to make it a robust and useful feature. With a few updates this week, universal search on the fourth generation Apple TV now supports over 50 different streaming apps and services in the US — meaning you can search for shows and content across Netflix, Apple Music, Animal Planet, TNT, TBS and dozens more right from Siri or the Search app.
Universal search also just added support for Apple Music, but that appears to be the limit of the music streaming options at the moment. Apple has a full list of supported services, but if you’re outside the United States, you might find the options are still pretty limited. Either way, the new additions should be enough save you a few clicks before you settle into your next binge-watching session.
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Apple
Apple’s iOS support app is now live in the US
After quietly launching in the Netherlands last month, Apple’s standalone support app is now finally available in the US. Serving as iOS users’ one-stop-shop for Apple product problem solving, the app offers a wealth of product information and advice on how to resolve common issues. If you find yourself with a more serious problem, the app can also be used to contact support technicians and even to schedule repair appointments with the Apple Store or an approved third party.
While the Support app will appear as a welcome surprise to US Apple users, those in other territories will have to wait a little longer. Without specifying exact dates or regions, the tech giant states that the app will be available in other countries “in the coming weeks.”
Source: App Store
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