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News - page 322

Apple becomes world’s most profitable company

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Apple earned more profits than any other company in the world.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

Apple made more money in the last year than any other company in the world, according to the new Fortune 500 rankings. With annual profits of $57.5 billion, no other enterprise came particularly close, with the nearest rival earning about $8 billion less.

This goes a long way toward explaining why Apple remains the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world.

Intel chief accidentally spills big upgrade for Thunderbolt 5

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MacBook Thunderbolt 3 ports
Speeds of up to 80 Gbps?
Photo: Apple

Thunderbolt 5 could double the speed of data transfers in future Mac and iPad Pro models, according to an accidental leak from one Intel executive.

The technology will use the same USB-C connector we’re now accustomed to, but with double the effective bandwidth — from 40 Gbps in Thunderbolt 4 to a staggering 80 Gbps.

YouTube lets you eliminate ads for less with ‘Premium Lite’ subscription

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YouTube Premium Lite
Premium Lite costs just €6.99 a month, but it's tight on benefits.
Photo: YouTube

YouTube has begun piloting a “Premium Lite” subscription that lets you eliminate ads for a more affordable price. The new tier, currently available in some parts of Europe, costs just €6.99 a month. But it doesn’t include background playback or other benefits available with a full Premium plan.

Think Apple Silicon is exciting now? Just wait and see what’s to come

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Amazing Mac Pro concept shrinks the casing but keeps the cheese grater
A smaller, more powerful Mac Pro is expected in 2022.
Concept: Róbert Hallon.svetapple.sk

Apple just reported a hugely successful quarter for the Mac — one of its best ever — and it looks like it’s only going to get better. A new report detailing the company’s Apple Silicon roadmap says the best is yet to come.

In addition to new MacBook Pro models powered by faster Apple Silicon chips, which are still on track for this year, Apple is expected to roll out a high-end Mac mini before the year is out. Then, in 2022, we could see a “revamped, smaller Mac Pro” featuring custom Apple chips — and more.

Goodbye to Cult of Mac Magazine

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Cult of Mac magazine last issue cover
Sadly, it's time to say 'bye' to Cult of Mac magazine.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Unfortunately this is the last issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.

We launched Cult of Mac Magazine back in September 2013 and have published 411 weekly issues since then. Yes, 411 issues!

Highlights include a cover made especially for us by Susan Kare, the designer of the original Mac’s icons, and a string of great-looking magazine covers by Ste Smith, a former staffer.

But declining readership, competition from news apps and difficulty getting advertising has led us to retire the publication. It’s been a great run, but it’s time to shut up shop.

Last chance! Win a Fab Four leather super bundle from Nomad [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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Nomad's Rustic Brown collection
Designed for adventure with American made Horween leather.
Photo: Nomad

This week’s giveaway is a Fab Four super bundle from Nomad, that includes an iPhone case, Apple Watch band, AirPod Pro case and a wallet, all made from traditional and great-looking Horween leather.

Whether you’re on an urban outing to get coffee or hiking in the great outdoors, this four-pack leather bundle from Nomad will keep your products protected and make you look as stylish as any influencer on Insta.

If you want to step up your style and get a complete look worth more than $300, make sure and enter this week’s giveaway.

F**k you! How Tim Cook responded when Elon Musk demanded his job

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Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk allegedly once demanded to become Apple CEO. It didn’t go well.
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Many people think Apple’s refusal to buy Tesla when the car-maker was struggling was a serious mistake. But it turns out there might have been a previously unknown condition of the deal that made Apple immediately end negotiations: Tesla’s Elon Musk reportedly wanted to become Apple CEO.

Toss your sanity out the window and play Detonation Racing

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Toss your sanity out the window and play ‘Detonation Racing’
Trust Dr. Boom when he says, “Driving a racing car round an exploding race track is a pretty hazardous thing to do.”
Photo: Electric Square

Detonation Racing bills itself as “the most dangerous, least sensible racing series ever devised.” Gameplay involves skillfully maneuvering around a track, but also maybe throwing a nuclear submarine at your opponents.

It zoomed onto Apple Arcade on Friday.

WWDC 2021 ‘Universal Control’ workstation lives on [Setups]

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The resemblance is uncanny.
The resemblance is uncanny.
Photo: [email protected]

Remember those heady days of WWDC 2021, when Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi performed a magical drag-and-drop demo of Universal Control that made the near-future world of macOS Monterey seem especially cool? Oh, yeah. It was just last month.

Anyway, Redditor kinky_unicorn certainly remembers it. They recreated Federighi’s workstation from the video, took a photo of it and posted it on Reddit, after all.

Apple chipmaker suffers gas contamination on iPhone and Mac production lines

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Apple Silicon
TSMC makes Apple Silicon chips for Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple chipmaker TSMC, which makes both Apple’s A-series and Apple Silicon chips, says that its production lines have been hit by a gas leak. This has affected some of its chip production — including the advanced chip fab used for upcoming iPhones and Macs.

“To ensure that there will be no issues with production quality, TSMC is currently carrying out stringent follow-up operations,” TSMC said. It told Reuters that it doesn’t expect this to he a “significant impact” on operations.

Videoconferencing app usage still far higher than it was pre-COVID

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Zoom 5.0 brings much-needed security enhancements hoping to end Zoombombing.
Remember the days before everyone was Zooming?
Photo: Zoom/Cult of Mac

Many parts of the world are starting to open up again as the pandemic (hopefully) continues to subside. But video-conferencing apps, possibly the app category most associated with COVID-times, continue to ascend.

According to data from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, collective monthly active users of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet continued their surge in the first half of 2021. Usage was collectively 21x higher during the first half of 2019 than it was prior to the pandemic.

Apple asks employees to share their vaccination status ahead of office return

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apple park
Apple employees are gearing up to return to the office.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple is gearing up to bring more employees back to the office. And that means taking measures to safeguard staff against COVID-19.

According to The Verge reporter Zoe Schiffer, Apple is requesting that employees disclose their current vaccination status with the company in some locations.

“Apple is asking our team members in certain locations to share their current vaccination status,” Apple’s guidance notes. “You can confidentially share whether you’re fully vaccinated, have had a partial dose, are not vaccinated, or do not wish to share.”

The surprising reason Apple hates iPhone rumors

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The surprising reason Apple hates iPhone rumors
You probably can’t guess one of the reasons why Apple wants people to stop leaking the specifications of upcoming iPhone models.
Image: the Hacker 34/Cult of Mac

Apple hates it when people leak details about its upcoming devices. No surprise there. But an order to stop spreading rumors about unreleased iPhone models that the company reportedly sent to a Chinese citizen gives an unexpected reason.

iPad sales continue to be hot, hot, hot

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There are no iPad or iPhone purchases limits
iPad shipments last quarter are up about 50% from where they were two years ago.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

iPad sales kicked onto high gear in 2020 and haven’t slowed down since. In the April-through-June quarter of 2021,
Apple shipped around 15 million tablets, roughly 50% higher than shipments in the same period two years ago.

Plugable’s new hub adds 7 USB-A ports to your MacBook

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Plugable's new USB-C charging hub keeps gadgets going and files transferred.
Plugable's new USB-C charging hub keeps gadgets going and files transferred.
Photo: Plugable

Nobody’s too happy when Apple decides to subtract ports from a new MacBook, but that’s what connectivity hubs are for. The newly launched Plugable 7-in-1 USB-C Charging Hub is no exception, adding seven USB-A ports to your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

You can finally preorder the kooky-cool Playdate game console [Updated]

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Preorders for the Playdate game console open soon. Note the crank.
Preorders for the Playdate game console open soon. Note the crank.
Photo: Panic

MacOS and iOS app developer Panic initially said in May 2019 its kooky-cool Playdate handheld game console would come out in early 2020. Last week it said preorders would start July 29 and, hey, that’s today. Preorders have started.

The original announcement got a lot of looks because of the gadget’s interesting, retro design. It looks like a child’s toy — in a cool way — with a yellow casing and a black-and-white display. But it packs some tech.

Install these critical security patches for Mac, iPhone,iPad and Apple Watch today [Updated]

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Mac malware is real. Watch out.
macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, iOS 14.7.1 and iPadOS 14.7.1 each take care of the same dangerous bug.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Three of Apple’s biggest products received security patches Monday — and another got its version on Thursday. You should probably install them as soon as possible.

The company started with macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, iOS 14.7.1, and iPadOS 14.7.1 to fix a security hole reportedly used by at least one hacker already. That’s why they are “recommended for all users,” according to Apple.

Apple followed up Thursday by releasing watchOS 7.6.1 to patch the same bug on Apple Watch. It’s also recommended.

GarageBand teaches music remixing with Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa songs

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Apple’s GarageBand teaches music remixing with Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa songs
GarageBand now includes an expanded Sound Library with new Sound Packs from top artists and music producers.
Graphic: Apple

Apple wants to help people get over the hump of learning art of music remixing with its free GarageBand application for iPad and iPhone. Two new Remix Sessions offer step-by-step video instruction in the app itself. Thy use hit songs from Grammy-winning artists Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga.

Musicians can also now create tracks with seven new Producer Packs full of beats, loops and instruments.

Apple chipmaker receives approval for next-gen 2-nanometer factory

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TSMC 7nm processor
Coming soon(ish) to an iPhone near you.
Photo: TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the semiconductor company that builds the A-series and M-series chips for Apple, has received approval for its most advanced chip plant to date.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the factory — located in Hsinchu, Taiwan — will be dedicated to building next-generation 2-nanometer chips. The iPhone 12, by comparison, features an A14 chip made using the 5nm process. The smaller the number of nanometers, the more transistors can be fitted onto a piece of silicon. That typically means more powerful chips.