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Luke Dormehl - page 73

Today in Apple history: Macintosh LC 580 is ready for school

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The Macintosh LC 580 blew away PCs when it came to multimedia performance.
The Macintosh LC 580 blew away PCs when it came to multimedia.
Photo: The Apple Guy/YouTube

April 3: Today in Apple history: Macintosh LC 580 launches and quickly becomes popular in schools April 3, 1995: Apple introduces the Macintosh LC 580, an affordable computer offering good multimedia capabilities on a budget.

It quickly proves popular in the educational market. If you used a Mac in the classroom in the mid-1990s, there’s a good chance it was this very model!

Apple Stores across U.S. will remain shuttered until at least early May

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tulsa.apple.store.2
A closed Apple Store in Tulsa, OK.
Photo: Brad Gibson / Cult of Mac

Apple Stores across the U.S. will remain closed until at least early May, the company’s SVP of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien has told staff, Bloomberg reports.

In a memo sent to employees Thursday, O’Brien also noted that “flexible work arrangements will remain in place for all offices.” Tim Cook previously advised Apple employees to work from home where possible.

Apple TV+ releases mystery series Home Before Dark, season finale of Amazing Stories

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Home Before Dark review: Abby Miller and Jim Sturgess aren't the world's most responsible parents.
All 10 episodes of new Apple TV+ mystery show debuted today.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ has debuted all 10 episodes of Home Before Dark, its new drama inspired by the real-life reporting of 9-year-old journalist Hilde Lysiak.

The mystery series stars child actress Brooklynn Prince, best known for The Florida Project, alongside Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) and Abby Miller (Justified).

Apple Store online listing confirms name of new low-cost ‘iPhone SE’

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iPhone SE product listing
Forget about the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have accidentally leaked the name for its own upcoming low-cost iPhone, courtesy of an Apple Online Store listing discovered Thursday.

The $39.95 Belkin InvisiGlass Ultra screen protector is advertised as fitting the iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and… iPhone SE. Previous rumors suggested that the new low-cost iPhone would be named either the iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2. Instead, it seems Apple could go back to the well by reusing the iPhone SE name.

Apple relaxes policy on 30% take of movie and TV show sales

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Apple reportedly isn't taking its regular 30% cut any more.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

Apple has relaxed a policy that saw it take a 30% cut of payments from competitors who use its platform to sell TV shows and movies through their own video apps, according to a published report.

One of the first companies to seize on the relaxed policy change was Amazon, which started selling and renting Prime Video movies on Apple devices Wednesday.

Apple highlights curated app selection for World Autism Awareness Day

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Apple highlights curated app selection for World Autism Awareness Day
Apple is highlighting tools to help users on the autism spectrum.
Photo: Apple

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day, and Apple is marking the occasion by promoting a range of apps designed to help “autistic people … share their voices with the world.”

The apps are divided into four sections: “Communication,” “Life skills,” “Games, videos and music,” and “Great tools on Apple Watch.” Apps include the likes of communication tool Proloquo2Go, kids’ scheduling app Todo Visual Schedule, game Avokiddo Emotions, and more.

2018 LG TVs will get AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support later this year

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LG 2018 TV sets
Coming soon to a TV near you. (Well, provided you own a 2018 LG TV that is!)
Photo: LG

AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support is headed to some of LG’s 2018 smart TVs by October, updated support documents read. This includes LCD models with SK and UK in the name, alongside OLED models with B8 through Z8 in their names.

AirPlay 2 means that TV owners can stream content from their iPhone, iPad and Mac straight to their TV sets. This could include movies and TV shows, podcasts, Apple Music, or just collections of photos. Meanwhile, HomeKit integration means that users can add their LG TV to control television functions such as power, volume, and source via voice or app.

Apple engineers guide iPhone manufacturing in China through FaceTime

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A Group FaceTime call on the Mac.
Apple hasn't been as directly hands-on as usual.
Photo: Apple

Apple engineers have used FaceTime-style video calling to guide Chinese colleagues through iPhone prototype assembly, a recent report by the Wall Street Journal notes.

The report helps answer one key question about how Apple is able to get iPhone prototypes assembled at a time when travel restrictions stop Apple employees from making their usual trips to China. Apple tested out the process in January.

App Store spending could almost double by 2024

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Money on Unsplash
And coronavirus pandemic isn't likely to hurt it, either.
Photo: Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash

Customer spending on mobile apps could nearly double over the next five years, according to forecasting carried out by leading app analytics platform Sensor Tower Store Intelligence.

In research published Wednesday, the firm suggests spending on the iOS App Store and Google Play store will approach $171 billion by 2024. That’s 2x the amount that was spent in 2019, meaning around 20% year-on-year growth.

T-Mobile completes long-awaited mega-merger with Sprint

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T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere is stepping down as big boss.
Photo: T-Mobile

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger is now officially complete, transforming the third and fourth-biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. into a more giant-sized rival to take on Verizon and AT&T.

The New T-Mobile, as it will be known, will be run by CEO Mike Sievert. Sievert takes over from T-Mobile boss John Legere, who has been chief executive of T-Mobile since 2012. Legere will remain on T-Mobile’s board until June.

Doom and Doom II updates bring even more content to iOS

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Doom cover
With his face mask and aggressive social distancing, Doom's protagonist was ready for lockdown.
Photo: Id Software

Trapped in an oppressive single location, allowing no-one to get within breathing distance of you, while the apocalypse teeters ever closer on the horizon… Life in coronavirus lockdown? Maybe. But it’s also an apt description of Doom and Doom II, the classic first-person-shooters which just got a nifty update on iOS.

With a variety of improvements and more than 30 new levels to enjoy, there’s never been a better (or more appropriate) time to check out or revisit this grisly duo of classic 1990s blasters.

No delays here: iPhone 12 chipmaker on track for A-series chip production

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Apple chipmaker racing ahead with its next next-gen nanometer process
Apple chipmaker racing ahead with its next next-gen nanometer process
Screenshot: Apple

Apple chipmaker TSMC is reportedly on track to move forward with volume production of its next-gen 5-nanometer chips. This most likely refers to Apple’s next A-series chips for the iPhone 12 series of handsets.

According to a report published Wednesday, this production process is currently on as scheduled. This counters recent speculation that Apple had asked TSMC to defer manufacturing for the new iPhone.

Keep on keeping on: It’s too late to downgrade to iOS 13.3.1 again

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Stop the madness
There's no turning back!
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.3.1 after the release of iOS 13.4, stopping people who have upgraded to the latest version from going back again.

Every iOS update Apple introduces is designed to be speedier, more stable, and more secure than its predecessor. As a result, Apple blocks downgrades soon after its latest release has rolled out to everyone. This was the turn of iOS 13.3.1 to go to the big software graveyard in the sky!

Spotify Kids launches in the U.S. and Canada

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Spotify Kids
New kid-friendly app is perfect for children stuck at home right now.
Photo: Spotify

Spotify Kids, a standalone app focused on kid-friendly musical content, made its debut in the U.S., Canada, and France on Tuesday.

The app, which requires a $14.99 per month Premium Family Plan to use, highlights curated material aimed at kids of various ages. It won’t include any inappropriate lyrics, features no ads, and offers age-suitable content ranging from audiobooks to lullabies and nurseries rhymes.

Apple rumored to be chipping in $200 million to help struggling display maker

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iPhone XR was India’s no. 1 ‘ultra premium’ smartphone in 2019
Japan Display manufactures LCD displays for Apple.
Photo: Apple

Struggling Apple display Japan Display said Tuesday that it has finalized a deal to raise $200 million from an unnamed “overseas customer.” While the customer is unspecified, Reuters claims that it is Apple.

The $200 million fund will come from the customer buying equipment at Japan Display’s main smartphone screen factory in central Japan. Japan Display owed Apple upward of $800 million last year due to Apple spending $1.5 billion building a plant used for iPhones.

Apple Music’s ‘Come Together’ playlist will help get you through COVID-19 lockdown

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Come Together 1
Apple realizes that music is more important than ever right now.
Photo: Apple

To help people adapting to life in coronavirus lockdown, Apple Music has debuted a series of playlists under the title “Come Together.”

Covering a range of genres, and including some fun tongue-in-cheek titles like the “Social Distancing Social Club,” the hand-picked (hopefully wearing the necessary sanitary gloves) playlists are sure to entertain those locked in-doors. Which is seemingly everyone right now!

Teamsters want Apple to guarantee shuttle bus drivers’ wages during COVID-19

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Someone is breaking the windows on Apple's buses.
Shuttle bus drivers are worried right now.
Photo: Fränz Bous/Flickr CC

The Teamsters union wants Apple to step up to the plate to keep its contracted drivers protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teamsters Joint Council 7, representing more than 1,000 shuttle bus drivers for the world’s largest tech giants, want Apple and Tesla to commit to guaranteeing drivers will receive paychecks and healthcare during the pandemic. Other tech companies including Facebook, Electronic Arts, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Salesforce have all committed to doing this. However, it seems that Apple is one of the outliers.

End of an era: Samsung Display will stop making LCD panels this year

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iPhone XR
Apple and others are getting out of the LCD game.
Photo: Apple

Samsung Display, which supplies screens for iPhones, has said that it will end all production of LCD panels in South Korea and China by the end of 2020. A spokesperson for the company made the announcement Tuesday.

“We will supply LCD orders to our customers by end of this year without any issues”, the company said in a statement. However, from the end of 2020 it will make no more LCD screens as suppliers, Apple included, move to embrace OLED and other next-gen display types.

New low-cost iPhone SE successor could launch as soon as next week

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Watch a realistic iPhone 9 concept video.
Here’s what the iPhone 9 — or iPhone SE 2 if you prefer — will probably look like.
Photo: the Hacker 34

The iPhone SE 2, a.k.a the iPhone 9, could debut anytime after next week, a new report claims.

According to the report, case makers for the new low-cost handset have started sending inventory to retailers like Best Buy. However, they have included instructions that the products must not be displayed until April 5.

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Apple Watch

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Apple Watch trivia: You can't make this stuff up.
It's time for some trivia.
Photo: Malvern Graphics/Cult of Mac

#10things bug In just a few short years, Apple Watch transformed the smartwatch from pricey novelty to potential lifesaver. But how much do you know about Apple’s breakthrough smartwatch? Is it time (pun intended) to pick up some new Apple Watch trivia? You’ve come to the right place.

Here are 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the Apple Watch.

Bullish analyst lays out best- and worst-case scenarios for Apple in 2020

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2020 iPhone concept
Apple's 2020 could go one of a few different ways.
Photo: PhoneArena

The next three months are going to be crucial in determining Apple’s year ahead, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives writes in his latest note to clients, as seen by Cult of Mac.

In a message sent Sunday, Ives lays out his thoughts on best- and worst-case scenarios for Apple over the next few months amid fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The results likely will have a major impact on Apple going forward.

Apple’s biggest supplier experienced revenue decline even before COVID-19

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn hasn't given a reason for the decline.
Photo: Foxconn

Major Apple supplier Foxconn’s net profit plummeted 23.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company has revealed.

While Foxconn has been hit hard by COVID-19, this period actually ends before the extent of the coronavirus became clear. The quarter in question ended December. The earliest known infection of coronavirus occurred on 17 November 2019 in Wuhan, China.

Cristiano Ronaldo bought his teammates iMacs after getting red-carded

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Ronaldo
To be fair, he can probably afford it.
Photo: Антон Зайцев/Wikipedia CC

World renowned soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo bought the entire Juventus squad iMacs after getting a red card in a 2018 Champions League match against Valencia.

The Portuguese superstar player was reduced to tears after being sent off for pulling the hair of defender Jeison Murillo. Although Juventus won the match 2-0, club rules stipulated by boss Massimiliano Allegri meant Ronaldo had to buy gifts for the rest of his team. Eventually he settled on iMacs.