Innholdsfortegnelse for #639 i Techlife News

Apple rolled out an update to its iOS operating system this week with a feature called Stolen Device Protection that makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings. Users are being urged to turn it on immediately. Here’s how to activate the new security option and why it’s so important: SHOULD I TURN ON STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION? The software update for iPhones and iPads includes the essential new feature designed to foil thieves from wiping phones for resale or accessing Apple ID or other important accounts. Stolen Device Protection is a new setting that’s included with the latest iOS release, version 17.3. Apple says the feature, buried in your iPhone’s settings, adds an extra layer of security for users. It addresses a vulnerability that…

Florida children under the age of 16 would be banned from popular social media platforms regardless of parent approval under a bill passed by the House on Wednesday, a measure that is the top priority for the chamber’s speaker. The bill doesn’t list which platforms would be affected, but it targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use. The bill would not affect apps used for private messages between individuals. “They’re taking advantage of kids growing up. That’s their business model. And why do they do it? To keep them hooked ... with the dopamine hits that the platform gives our children with every autoplay, with every like, with…

All eyes will be on Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this year, with the company rumored to make a groundbreaking stride in artificial intelligence. It will mark a significant evolution in AI integration across its ecosystem - iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. A NEW ERA FOR APPLE It’s no secret that Apple has been slow on the AI front. The company, renowned for its innovation and technological prowess, has had a markedly conservative approach to artificial intelligence compared to its peers. Historically, the company has prioritized user privacy and security, often at the cost of slower AI development. This stance, while commendable for protecting user data, has hindered the company’s ability to harness the full potential of AI. In contrast, companies like Google and Amazon have been more aggressive in…

On the surface, you wouldn’t think the platform beneath a new generation of automobiles has anything to do with politics and elections. But at Stellantis, new large vehicle underpinnings announced last week are key to the company’s ability to adjust to European and U.S. government electric vehicle requirements that could change depending on this year’s elections. CEO Carlos Tavares says the company’s new large platform is flexible enough to handle batteries and electric motors, gas-electric hybrids and internal combustion engines. The company also can build midsize to large vehicles on those underpinnings, including sedans, crossover vehicles, SUVs and even off-road Jeeps. That flexibility is important, he said, because policies promoting EVs as a way to fight climate change could be rescinded depending on who is elected U.S. president or to…

Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce, saying its number of employees and costs have exceeded how much the business is growing in a slowing economy. It marks the latest layoffs in the tech industry. CEO Jamie Iannone said in a message to employees this week that the company also will reduce how many “contracts we have within our alternate workforce over the coming months.” Those who are being laid off will be told through Zoom calls with their bosses, Iannone said, requesting that people work from home to allow privacy for those conversations. “We need to better organize our teams for speed — allowing us to be more nimble, bring like-work together, and help us make decisions more quickly,”…

State-backed Russian hackers broke into Microsoft’s corporate email system and accessed the accounts of members of the company’s leadership team, as well as those of employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams, the company said. In a blog post, Microsoft said the intrusion began in late November and was discovered on Jan. 12. It said the same highly skilled Russian hacking team behind the SolarWinds breach was responsible. “A very small percentage” of Microsoft corporate accounts were accessed, the company said, and some emails and attached documents were stolen. A company spokesperson said Microsoft had no immediate comment on which or how many members of its senior leadership had their email accounts breached. In a regulatory filing, Microsoft said it was able to remove the hackers’ access from the compromised…

Amazon-owned Ring will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates. In a blog post on Wednesday, Ring said it will sunset the “Request for Assistance” tool, which allows police departments and other public safety agencies to request and receive video captured by the doorbell cameras through Ring’s Neighbors app. The company did not provide a reason for the change, which will be effective starting this week. Eric Kuhn, the head of Neighbors, said in the announcement that law enforcement agencies will still be able to make public posts in the Neighbors app. Police and other agencies can also still use the app to “share helpful safety tips, updates, and community events,” Kuhn said.…

The winner in the Oscar nominations race after a bruising year for the film industry was “Oppenheimer” with 13 nods, followed by the otherworldly “Poor Things” with 11 and the period epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” with 10. 2023 was marred by strikes and work stoppages for the cinema world, throwing production and release schedules into chaos. Looking to catch up ahead of the Academy Awards on March 10? Here’s how to watch: “OPPENHEIMER” 13 nominations. Digital purchase or rental. Streams on Peacock starting Feb. 16. Christopher Nolan’s atomic opus “Oppenheimer” received widespread critical acclaim and broke box office records. It’s half the Barbenheimer phenom with “Barbie” from last July. The three-hour film, which is semi-trippy and flashback heavy, chronicles the trials and tribulations of the secret Manhattan Project’s…

Apple has promised to open up its tap-and-go mobile payment system to rivals, the European Union said, as the U.S. tech company seeks to resolve an antitrust case and avoid a fine that potentially could be worth billions. Apple proposed letting third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers access the contactless payment function on its iOS operating system, the EU said. The 27-nation bloc now is seeking feedback from “all interested parties” on the changes before making a decision on the case. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, accused Apple in 2022 of abusing its dominant position by limiting access to its mobile payment technology. Brussels has been using antitrust cases and new digital laws to rein in the power of Apple and other tech…

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines said they will appeal a federal judge’s ruling this week that blocked their plan to combine into a single carrier. The airlines said they filed a notice of appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, following the terms of their agreement. The Justice Department, which sued to block JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit, declined to comment. JetBlue and Spirit are the nation’s sixth- and seventh-largest carriers. JetBlue, which outbid Frontier Airlines, said it needed to acquire Spirit to compete more effectively against even bigger airlines. But last week, a federal judge in Boston ruled that the deal violated antitrust law. The U.S. Justice Department had sued to stop the deal, arguing that consumers would be harmed and forced to pay higher fares…

Netflix registered its third-consecutive quarter of accelerating subscriber growth in the final three months of 2023, closing out a comeback year that included a crackdown on viewers freeloading on the video-streaming service and a smattering of price hikes. The fourth-quarter results announced this week provided further evidence that Netflix was able to come up with a formula that produced a spike in subscribers even as it became more expensive to watch its lineup of TV shows and movies. Netflix signaled it will try to justify the higher subscription prices — and perhaps reel in more advertisers to a low-cost plan that includes commercials — with a $10 billion deal announced that will bring the popular wrestling program, WWE’s “Raw,” to its service. That weekly show, set to move to Netflix…

A bunch of companies in the technology sector have been laying off some of their employees recently after quickly ramping up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic while people spent more time and money online. Now, many of them are making job cuts to help lower costs and bolster their bottom lines. Here’s some of the companies that have laid of employees of late: GOOGLE Google said it was laying off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams. The cuts follow pledges by executives of Google and its parent company Alphabet to reduce costs. A year ago, Google said it would lay off 12,000 employees or around 6% of its workforce. RIOT GAMES Video game developer Riot Games, which is behind the popular “League of Legends”…

Tesla’s net income more than doubled last quarter thanks to a big one-time tax benefit, but it warned of “notably lower” sales growth this year. The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle, solar panel and battery maker said that its net income was $7.93 billion from October through December, compared with $3.69 billion a year earlier. But excluding one-time items such as the $5.9 billion noncash tax benefit for deferred tax assets, the company made $2.49 billion, or 71 cents per share. That was down 39% from a year ago and short of analyst estimates of 73 cents per share according to FactSet. Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said the change in asset valuation would raise the company’s taxes. Tesla reported quarterly revenue of $25.17 billion, up 3% from a year earlier…

After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy — a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden’s political fortunes. A measure of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan has jumped in the past two months by the most since 1991. A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans’ inflation expectations have reached their lowest point in nearly three years. And the same survey, released last week, found that the proportion who expect their own finances to improve a year from now is at its highest level since June 2021. Economists say consumers appear to be responding to steadily slower inflation, higher incomes, lower gas prices and a…

Apple TV+ has emerged as a major contender in this year’s Academy Awards, securing 13 nominations for its cinematic offerings, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and ‘Napoleon’. The Oscars ceremony, set for March 10, will be a moment of truth for these Apple Original Films. Leading the pack, Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ received critical acclaim and multiple nominations, including Best Picture and a Best Actress nod for Lily Gladstone. In a historic achievement, Gladstone becomes the first native actress of American descent to be nominated by the Academy for her role as Mollie. Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ also made its mark, garnering nominations in areas like costume design, production design, and visual effects. This recognition comes as Apple TV+ continues to evolve its distribution strategy, initially releasing these…

Airbnb on Tuesday donated a total of $10 million to more than 120 nonprofits in 44 countries on six continents, the short-term rental giant’s latest outlays in its unusual distribution of $100 million through its Airbnb Community Fund. The grantees include Digify Africa, which helps young people join Africa’s digital economy, the Japanese Service Dog Resource Center, and the Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. All the groups receiving funds were selected, not by Airbnb or its employees, but by the hosts who rent out their properties on the platform. While many corporations are shifting more of their philanthropy decisions from corporate suite executives to employees by matching their donations, few have gone as far as Airbnb — which has at times faced criticism for its effect on housing markets and tourist…

WWE’s weekly television show “Raw” will move to Netflix next year as part of a major streaming deal worth more than $5 billion. TKO Group Holdings Inc., which houses WWE and UFC, said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that the agreement is for 10 years, with Netflix having an option to extend the deal for an additional 10 years. There’s also an opt out available to Netflix after the initial five years. “Raw,” which debuted in 1993, has produced 1,600 episodes to date and features wrestlers such as Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins and Rhea Ripley. The three-hour program currently airs on USA Network and its media rights were considered a hot commodity over the past several months, particularly after the WWE return of CM Punk in November,…

France’s privacy watchdog said this week that it slapped Amazon ‘s French warehouse business with a 32 million euro fine ($35 million) for using an “excessively intrusive sytem” to monitor worker performance and activity. The French Data Protection Authority, also known by its acronym CNIL, said the system allowed managers at Amazon France Logistique to track employees so closely that it resulted in multiple breaches of the European Union’s stringent privacy rules, called the General Data Protection Regulation. “We strongly disagree with the CNIL’s conclusions, which are factually incorrect, and we reserve the right to file an appeal,” Amazon said. “Warehouse management systems are industry standard and are necessary for ensuring the safety, quality and efficiency of operations and to track the storage of inventory and processing of packages on…