Innholdsfortegnelse for #514 i Techlife News

Apple is relaxing rules to allow some app developers such as Spotify, Netflix and digital publishers to include an outside link so users can sign up for paid subscription accounts. The iPhone maker said late Wednesday that it’s making a small adjustment to its strict App Store rules for developers of so-called reader apps, in order to resolve an investigation by regulators in Japan. It’s the latest concession by Apple as it faces global pressure over the longstanding rules. One of the biggest complaints from app makers such as Spotify was about Apple’s requirement that subscriptions only be bought through iPhone apps, allowing the company to take a commission of up to 30%. “The update will allow developers of ‘reader’ apps to include an in-app link to their website for…

Joan MacDonald’s health was in shambles at age 71. She was overweight and on numerous medications with high cholesterol, rising blood pressure and kidney trouble. Her daughter, a fitness coach, warned that she’d wind up an invalid if she didn’t turn things around. She did, hitting the gym for the first time and learning to balance her diet with the help of a brand new tool, an iPhone. Now 75, MacDonald is a hype beast for health with a bodybuilder’s physique and 1.4 million loyal followers on Instagram. She’s among a growing number of “grandfluencers,”folks 70 and up who have amassed substantial followings on social media with the help of decades-younger fans. “It’s so rare to find someone her age being able to do all these things,” said one of…

Businesses figured out how to work remotely on the fly when COVID-19 rapidly disrupted our way of working. Those planning to adopt a hybrid work model when they return to the office still have time to prepare. But managing a distributed team comes with its own unique challenges, like: — What does hybrid look like for your company? — How do you keep remote employees engaged? — What apps and software do you need to create a seamless experience? These are tough questions to answer and you’re unlikely to please everyone. But you get a chance to build a new office culture, and there’s something exciting about that. “If I think about a transformational time for how people work — this is it,” says Megan Jarvis, vice president of talent…

The U.S. government’s highway safety agency wants detailed information on how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the detailed request in an 11-page letter sent to the electric car maker that was dated Tuesday. The letter is part of a wide-ranging investigation into how the company’s partially automated driving system behaves when first responder vehicles are parked while crews deal with crashes or other hazards. The agency wants to know how Teslas detect a crash scene, including flashing lights, road flares, reflectorized vests worn by responders and vehicles parked on the road. NHTSA also wants to know how the system responds to low light conditions, what actions it takes if emergency vehicles are present, and how it…

Republican efforts questioning the outcome of the 2020 presidential race have led to voting system breaches that election security experts say pose a heightened risk to future elections. Copies of the Dominion Voting Systems software used to manage elections — from designing ballots to configuring voting machines and tallying results — were distributed at an event this month in South Dakota organized by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally of former President Donald Trump who has made unsubstantiated claims about last year’s election. “It’s a game-changer in that the environment we have talked about existing now is a reality,”said Matt Masterson, a former top election security official in the Trump administration.“We told election officials, essentially, that you should assume this information is already out there. Now we know it is,…

A dozen historically Black colleges and universities will join Tennessee State University’s national coding hub as community centers, the school said. The centers will be part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State’s program to expand technology and creative experiences at the other schools and communities. The new schools are Alabama State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters College, Elizabeth City State University, Florida A&M University, Harris-Stowe State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Lincoln University in Missouri, Simmons College of Kentucky, Virginia State University and Texas Southern. The schools will join nearly three dozen universities across the country that are part of the initiative. Apple is supporting the HBCUs with equipment and professional development.…

Natural disasters can upend lives in an instant, but unwinding the financial damage can take many months. Still, those affected have many sources of help. Here’s how you can get help and be strategic with your resources as you begin to rebuild after a disaster. Deal with immediate needs first. First things first: Contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get help via a disaster recovery center by texting your ZIP code and “DRC” to 43362. Texting “Apple” or “Android” to that same number will give you a download link for a mobile app from FEMA with additional resources, such as shelter locations. Local and state agencies and nongovernmental groups such as the Red Cross can also help; call 211 from any phone or visit 211.org to get information. Check…

Google said that it is investing 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) by 2030 to expand its cloud computing infrastructure in Germany and to increase the use of renewable energy. The internet giant said it plans to add new cloud computing centers in the Berlin region and in the town of Hanau, close to the DE-CIX data exchange in Frankfurt. Google said it would purchase more than 140 megawatts of electricity from the German subsidiary of French utility company Engie over the coming years to operate the data centers. The company said Engie will guarantee that 80% of the electricity comes from carbon-free sources, including a new solar park and 22 existing wind parks in Germany. Google said it aims to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. Germany’s economy minister, Peter…

Weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s, the United Nations weather agency reports. But these disasters are killing far fewer people. In the 1970s and 1980s, they killed an average of about 170 people a day worldwide. In the 2010s, that dropped to about 40 per day, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report this week that looks at more than 11,000 weather disasters in the past half-century. The report comes during a disaster-filled summer globally, including deadly floods in Germany and a heat wave in the Mediterranean, and with the United States simultaneously struck by powerful Hurricane Ida and an onslaught of drought-worsened wildfires. “The good news is that we have been able…

The Federal Trade Commission has for the first time banned a company that makes so-called stalkerware — software used to surreptitiously track a cellphone user’s activities and location — from continuing in the surveillance app business. Wednesday’s action applies to the marketer of SpyFone, Puerto Rico-based Support King LLC, and its CEO, Scott Zuckerman. Such commercial surveillance products secretly obtain unfettered access to someone’s smartphone, leading to serious harm, the FTC said in a statement on its website. Support King marketed SpyFone as a tool to monitor the activities of children and employees. But it neglected to prevent stalkers and domestic abusers from using it for surveillance, the FTC said. The company’s products let the installer monitor a person’s online activity, including text and video chats and, in a premium…

Russia’s state communications watchdog warned Apple and Google on Thursday that they could face fines if they fail to remove an app created by allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from their stores. The agency, Roskomnadzor, warned Apple and Google that their failure to remove Navalny’s app could be interpreted as interference in Russian elections. Navalny’s app promotes his Smart Voting strategy — a project designed to support candidates who are most likely to defeat those from the Kremlin’s main United Russia party. Russian opposition supporters, independent media and human rights activists have face increased government pressure in the run-up to the Sept. 19 parliamentary election. Navalny’s allies have linked the crackdown to the Kremlin’s effort to steamroll the opposition and try to preserve a dominant position for…

Apple has agreed to let developers of iPhone apps email their users about cheaper ways to pay for digital subscriptions and media by circumventing a commission system that generates billions of dollars annually for the iPhone maker. The concession announced last week, which covers emailed notifications but does not allow in-app notifications, is part of a preliminary settlement of a nearly 2-year-old lawsuit filed on behalf of iPhone app developers in the U.S. It also addresses an issue raised by a federal court judge who is expected to soon rule on a separate case brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite. Apple announced the news in a “background” briefing with reporters in which it insisted on anonymity for participating executives and would not allow any direct…

Automobile quality rose last year, but glitches in pairing smartphones with infotainment systems frustrated owners more than anything, according to a large U.S. survey of auto owners. For the first time, a brand from Fiat Chrysler, now Stellantis, ranked No. 1 for having the fewest problems. Ram trucks finished first, followed by another company brand, Dodge, according to the annual survey by J.D. Power. Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Kia, Genesis, Hyundai, Jeep and Chevrolet rounded out the top 10 brands. Smartphone connections, mainly linking Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to automobiles, was this year’s top problem. It beat voice recognition as the survey’s No. 1 gremlin for the first time since 2011. Automakers have been trying to link phones to cars for more than a decade, yet the problem persists, said…

Amazon is teaming with payments company Affirm to offer online shoppers a buy-now-pay-later option that does not involve credit cards. San Francisco-based Affirm Holdings Inc. announced that its flexible payment service will soon be available on Amazon.com. The news sent Affirm’s stock up more than 35% in after-hours trading. With the service, Amazon customers can split the total cost of purchases of $50 or more into monthly payments, and are told the total cost of the transaction up front. Affirm said there are no late fees. Affirm said the two companies are testing the service with a group of customers and that it will be more broadly available in coming months. Earlier this month, digital payments company Square Inc. acquired Afterpay, which provides a buy-now-pay-later option for merchants. Installment plans…

There’s an urban legend that says if you repeat the name “Candyman” aloud five times in front of a mirror, you summon a hook-handed killer. After seeing Nia DaCosta’s film of the same name, you’ll never be tempted to do that. You might even not want anything sweet again. Heck, cancel Halloween. Equal parts cerebral, political and gross-out, “Candyman” is a worthy addition to the library of top-notch social thrillers being built by Jordan Peele and it marks a stunning step forward for director DaCosta, who had just one indie under her belt, the well-received crime drama “Little Woods.” “Candyman” — uh, oh, how many times has his name been typed by now? — is an unusual horror movie set in the luxury lofts and haughty art world of Chicago.…

Near Southern California’s dying Salton Sea, a canopy next to a geothermal power plant covers large containers of salty water left behind after super-hot liquid is drilled from deep underground to run steam turbines. The containers connect to tubes that spit out what looks like dishwater, but it’s lithium, a critical component of rechargeable batteries and the newest hope for economic revival in the depressed region. Demand for electric vehicles has shifted investments into high gear to extract lithium from geothermal brine, salty water that has been overlooked and pumped back underground since the region’s first geothermal plant opened in 1982. The mineral-rich byproduct may now be more valuable than the steam used to generate electricity. California’s largest but rapidly shrinking lake is at the forefront of efforts to make…

China is banning children from playing online games for more than three hours a week, the harshest restriction so far on the game industry as Chinese regulators continue cracking down on the technology sector. Minors in China can only play games between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends and on public holidays starting Sept. 1, according to a notice from the National Press and Publication Administration. That limits gaming to three hours a week for most weeks of the year, down from a previous restriction set in 2019 that allowed minors play games for an hour and a half per day and three hours on public holidays. The new regulation affects some of China’s largest technology companies, including gaming giant Tencent, whose Honor of Kings online multiplayer game…

Locast, a service that streamed local TV for free in about three dozen U.S. cities, is suspending operations after losses in court against the broadcast industry. The owners of the country’s major broadcast TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — had sued Locast in 2019, saying Locast violated their copyrights, and asked for the service to be shut down. Locast has held that because it is a nonprofit, it found a legal loophole in copyright law — it can stream the networks of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox without paying them. The companies that own the networks make billions annually in fees from cable companies who pay to include them in TV packages. But a federal judge in New York ruled on Tuesday that Locast isn’t protected by…

Ireland’s privacy watchdog has fined WhatsApp a record 225 million euros ($267 million) after an investigation found it breached stringent European Union data protection rules on transparency about sharing people’s data with other Facebook companies. The Data Protection Commission said Thursday that it was also ordering WhatsApp to take “remedial actions” to change the way it communicates with users so that it complies with EU regulations. WhatsApp, which has 2 billion users worldwide, said the fine was out of proportion and it would appeal the decision. The watchdog’s announcement wraps up an investigation into the Facebook-owned messaging service that opened in December 2018, after the EU rules, known as General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, took effect. It’s the second penalty - and the biggest - issued by the Irish…

This October, iCloud turns ten. In its decade-long lifespan, the cloud storage service has changed the way we work forever, allowing us to create documents on our iPads and use them on our Macs, store important memories with the Photos app, and conduct important business over the Mail app. This year, Apple’s taking iCloud to new heights, with the launch of iCloud+, a new subscription service that unlocks significant new features for power users. INTRODUCING iCLOUD+ If you’ve ever owned an Apple device for any period of time (and we’re guessing, because you’re reading AppleMagazine today, you probably have) the chances are you’re familiar with how iCloud works. It’s Apple’s content storage and syncing service, similar to Dropbox and Google Drive. What you mightn’t know just yet, however, is that…

If this were a normal year, Labor Day would traditionally kick off the start of end-of-model-year vehicle clearance sales. Consumers can often find good deals as dealerships are eager to sell their remaining inventory to make room for next year’s models. But this hasn’t been a normal year in the car business. Most automakers could not build as many vehicles as planned because of a lack of semiconductor chips, which are essential components of a modern vehicle. New vehicle inventory is a third of where it would normally be at this time of year. As a result, car shoppers on Labor Day weekend will face higher prices and a limited selection whether they are shopping for new or used. “Inventory won’t likely be back to normal levels until next year…

Microsoft says it has fixed a flaw in its cloud computing platform that cybersecurity researchers warned could have enabled hackers to take over a cloud-based database product used by many big companies. The company said there’s no evidence the potential opening was exploited by malicious actors or that any customer data was exposed. The cybersecurity firm Wiz, led by former Microsoft employees, said it discovered what it called an “unprecedented critical vulnerability” in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and notified the tech giant earlier in August. Microsoft paid the firm a bounty for the discovery and said it immediately fixed the problem. If exploited, the flaw could have affected “thousands of organizations, including numerous Fortune 500 companies,” according to a blog post from Wiz, which is based in Israel and California.…

Maggie Q should really be the star of “The Protege.” She’s in virtually every scene, whether covered in blood or couture. But top billing for this thriller goes to Michael Keaton, who saunters in by the 22-minute mark. What does a girl have to do? Q fans will just probably be grateful that she manages to make it to the last scene of the film alive, given all the shooting, explosions, knives and torture in “The Protege,” a sleek derivative diversion. She plays Anna, an orphan adopted by a very wealthy veteran assassin — played by Samuel L. Jackson — and is molded into an elite assassin herself. In her spare time, she runs a rare book shop in London, as most elite assassins do. One day, Keaton’s character stops…

Google is appealing a 500 million euro ($591 million) fine issued by French regulators over its handling of negotiations with publishers in a dispute over copyright. The dispute is part of a larger battle by authorities in Europe and elsewhere to force Google and other tech companies to compensate publishers for content. “We disagree with a number of legal elements, and believe that the fine is disproportionate to our efforts to reach an agreement and comply with the new law,”Google France Vice President Sebastien Missoffe said in a press statement. France’s antitrust watchdog levied the fine in mid-July after it found Google hadn’t negotiated in good faith with publishers over payments for their news stories. The watchdog had issued temporary orders to Google in April 2020 to hold talks within…

South Korea’s National Assembly approved legislation that bans app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems. South Korea is reportedly the first country in the world to pass such a bill, which becomes law when it is signed by the president, whose party has backed the legislation. The tech giants have faced widespread criticism over their practice of requiring app developers to use in-app purchasing systems, for which the companies receive commissions of up to 30%. They say the commissions help pay for the cost of maintaining the app markets. The legislation prohibits the app market operators from using their monopolies to require such payment systems, which means they must allow alternative ways to pay. It says the ban is aimed…