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News - page 448

NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock launches today on iOS and Apple TV

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Peacock from NBCUniversal
Because 2020 doesn't have enough streaming subscription services.
Photo: NBC Universal

NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock launched Wednesday, complete with iOS and Apple TV apps.

Peacock, which joins a plethora of similar streaming services, has been up and running for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex cable customers since April. However, today it gets a wider U.S. release, with both paid and free tiers.

Busch Light ad tries to squeeze remaining drops of humor out of Apple parodies

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Busch Light
Drink if you've seen something like this before!
Photo: Busch Light

Mocking Apple keynotes is probably about the laziest advertising trope you’re likely to see. But that doesn’t stop attempt after attempt after attempt by companies to copy it.

The latest to try and rinse the remaining laughs out of the concept is Budweiser company AB InBev and their new ad for limited edition Busch Light Apple. It’s an apple-flavored drink, which makes it all too easy to picture how some tired group of copywriters sitting around at 4.45pm threw up their hands and said, “Why don’t we do it as an Apple parody?”

Does it raise the slightest smile? Check it out below to find out.

Apple boots 2,500 unlicensed games from the App Store in China

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Apple Store
Decision reflects Chinese laws about proper licenses.
Photo: Apple

Apple eliminated upward of 2,500 games from its China App Store in the first full week of July, a new report from app analytics firm Sensor Tower notes.

Mobile gaming regulations in the country mean that all games must receive a license from China’s National Press and Publication Administration prior to release. Regulators had promised a crackdown on offending apps since 2016. However, they were slow to act. In the meantime, unlicensed games continued to be published in the App Store.

Apple wins appeal against its enormous $14.8 billion European tax bill

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iPhone with gavel.
Decision went in the favor of Apple and Ireland.
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

In something of a surprise outcome, Apple and Ireland have won their appeal against a European tax bill order which fined Apple $14.8 billion.

The European Commission ordered Apple pay the enormous sum in August 2016. According to the EU, Apple paid a tax rate as low as 0.005% of its European profits in 2014. This was supposedly part of a “sweetheart” deal it received in Ireland.

Congress wants Apple to ask foreign apps to disclose where they store their data

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TikTok continues to dominate the App Store in 2020.
Congress is worried that apps could pose a security weakness.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

Lawmakers from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform want Apple and Google to investigate where third-party apps are storing their data.

In two letters sent Tuesday, Stephen Lynch, chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, wrote to Apple and Google that certain non-U.S. apps could pose securities risks.

iPhone 12 might come with braided Lightning-to-USB-C cable

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This might be a glimpse of the iPhone 12 cable.
The iPhone 12 cable might get an upgrade to make up for there not being a power adapter in the box.
Photo: DuanRui

The iPhone 12 might not come with a charger, but it’ll supposedly get a nicer charging cable.

A leaker with a history of accuracy re-tweeted images that allegedly show a braided Lightning cable intended for the 2020 iPhone. And, it will connect to USB-C ports, not USB-A.

Apple joins White House effort to help workers find the jobs of the future

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Find Something New
If you thought switching from PC to Mac was strange, try jumping to an entirely new career.
Photo: Find Something New

With nearly 18 million Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple, IBM and other companies teamed up with the White House to help workers find new jobs.

The result is the Find Something New campaign. The program encourages to people explore a wide range of education and training options beyond the traditional four-year degree.

Hapless sports coach Ted Lasso gets his first Apple TV+ trailer

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In Apple TV+ show
Jason Sudeikis reprises his character as an American sports coach turning his attention to soccer.
Photo: Apple

Apple just dropped a Ted Lasso trailer that gives the world its first glimpse of Jason Sudeikis reviving his clueless coach character for Apple TV+.

Sudeikis first played Lasso in a hilarious 2013 ad for Premier League soccer games on NBC Sports. With this Apple Original, he will extend the gag to series length, portraying a hapless, small-town college football coach hired by a U.K. soccer team.

Check out the amusing trailer below.

It’s possible to tweet, email and even control smart devices using an Apple II

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Apple II tweet gmail 1
This is what working from home could have looked like in 1983.
Photo: @ReEstInv

The Apple IIe was introduced 37 years ago in 1983. But don’t think it’s not up to performing the latest productivity tasks, circa 2020. Well, kind of.

Twitter user @ReEstInv and Oliver Schmidt, a.k.a. @dangerfreak, recently showcased how it’s possible to get an Apple IIe to run modern, up-to-date apps like writing in Slack and Evernote, sending emails, or even controlling smart home gadgets.

So long as you’re not necessarily expecting the latest UI elements, that is.

Another Professor Layton puzzle-adventure is coming to iOS this month [Updated]

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Professor Layton Unwound Future 1
A letter from the future kickstarts the latest Professor Layton adventure.
Photo: Level-5

Update: Layton: Lost Future HD is now available for $13.99 in the App Store. A discounted bundle ($10 off!) of all three games is also available.

Classic Nintendo DS puzzle game series Professor Layton continues to make its way to iOS slowly but surely.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, the last installment in the original trilogy, which launched on DS a decade ago, is coming to the App Store July 13. Complete with some swanky updated HD graphics for your troubles!

Mystery Apple app could be on its way to Windows 10

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Microsoft Windows
Coming soon to a Windows PC near you?
Photo: Microsoft

Steve Jobs once said that Apple software landing on Windows was like serving ice water to a person in hell. If a new report from Italian website Aggiornamenti Lumia is to be believed, Windows users may be about to get their first cool, refreshing beverage in a while.

The report states that Apple is gearing up to launch a dedicated Apple app on the Microsoft Store. There’s no word on what this will include. However, it could well be related to Apple’s streaming subscription services making their way to Windows.

Former Mac boss thinks Apple Silicon could break up Windows and Intel

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Microsoft Surface Pro X
Now that Apple is giving up Intel, and Surface Pro X shows Microsoft is considering it, the future could be grim for Intel.
Photo: Microsoft

Macs moving from Intel to Apple Silicon could cause Windows computer-makers to dump Intel as well, according to Jean-Louis Gassée, the former head of Mac development back in the 1980s. He thinks the move could be led by Microsoft.

This classy MacBook setup uses both a mouse and a trackpad [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup
This setup is great for work and hobbies.
Photo: @hipstergram89

Garvin Ling is a Seattle-based coder whose setup was designed to handle some pretty heavy-duty stuff. The Samsung CJ89 43-inch UltraWide is an absolute mammoth of a monitor. It gives him a ton of screen real estate without sacrificing quality. He runs his setup off a MacBook Pro.

He has an Apple Magic Keyboard with the Numeric Keypad, which accompanies both a Logitech MX Master 2s and an Apple Magic Trackpad. This mouse-trackpad two-punch combination makes for easier and quicker coding and editing.

Apple asks retail employees to help with online customer support

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Like everyone else, Apple retail employees are being asked to work online.
Apple retail employees are being asked to become online employees to make using Apple.com better for customers.
Photo: Apple

Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s retail boss, sent a video to retail employees this weekend asking them to sign up to help customers remotely. She also said they should expect store closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to continue “for some period of time.”

Separately, Apple told employees that it doesn’t expect to have everyone back in its corporate headquarters before the end of 2020.

Laugh along as Apple takes on ‘the whole working-from-home thing’ in new video

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Working from home can be a challenge, but not for the Underdogs.
Laugh along with Apple in ‘The whole working-from-home thing’ video.
Photo: Apple

Working from home is the new normal, and an Apple video released Monday shows a team using Mac, iPad and iPhone to collaborate on a rushed project.

But this is less an instructional “how to” video and more something we can all commiserate with as the team struggles with kids, cats and crazy coworkers to make a looming deadline.

Enjoy it now:

Apple boosts MacBook Pro production as demand surges

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16-inch-MacBook-Pro
The 2020 MacBook models are selling so well that Apple is bumping up the number it’s making.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly enjoying strong sales of the MacBook Pro, and will increase production in the next few months. Laptop shipments could be up significantly for the third quarter.

All macOS computers seem to be having a strong 2020. In the second quarter of this year, total Mac shipments were up 36%, according to a market-research firm.

Apple signs first-option deal with actor/producer Idris Elba

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Idris Elba inked a deal with Apple TV+.
Idris Elba, seen here in “Turn Up Charlie” could bring “Innovative, entertaining and thought-provoking” shows and movies to Apple TV+.
Photo: Green Door Pictures

Idris Elba reportedly signed a first-look deal with Apple. This means the iPhone maker gets the right of first refusal for all projects dreamed up by Elba and his Green Door Pictures production company.

Apple invests $400 million in affordable housing in California

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Apple housing initiative
Apple is helping fight homelessness by developing affordable housing.
Photo: Apple

Apple is investing more than $400 million in affordable housing projects and homeowner assistance programs in California, the company said Monday.

This sizable contribution is part of a multiyear commitment by Apple to spend $2.5 billion fighting the California housing crisis. The money will “support thousands of Californians with first-time homebuyer assistance or new affordable housing units.”

Apple could be first company worth $2 trillion — as soon as 2021

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money
There's money in them iPhones yonder.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Sometime in 2021 Apple will be the world’s first $2 trillion company, predicts Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in his latest note to clients.

Ives — one of the most bullish of Apple investors — believes that Apple’s “5G tailwinds and services momentum” has the potential to push it past the $2 trillion market cap.

Apple doesn’t want users covering up their MacBook cameras

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MacBook
Why would you deface your gorgeous MacBook by covering up its FaceTime camera?
Photo: Apple

Mark Zuckerberg introduced large numbers of people to the idea of taping over their MacBook’s camera when, in 2016, he uploaded a photo that revealed a few of his security measures.

But Apple says using camera coverings can hurt MacBooks. In a new support document, Apple notes that covering the MacBook’s built-in FaceTime camera could interfere with the computer’s ambient light sensor, which is located next to the camera. The sensor controls True Tone and the Mac’s automatic brightness feature.

Apple TV+ snaps up the rights to Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Snow Blind

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Snow Blind 1
Apple TV+'s latest acquisition sounds like it's a winner.
Photo: BOOM! Studios

Apple has acquired the movie rights to an adaptation of graphic novel Snow Blind, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Deadline reported over the weekend.

The movie (and the 2017 graphic novel it was based on) is about a teenager, Teddy, who finds out that his family have been in the Witness Protection Program for years. Now someone after revenge has managed to locate them.