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News - page 725

Microsoft confirms plan to kill Office Sway app for iOS

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Microsoft Office Sway on iOS
Bid goodbye to Office Sway for iOS.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has confirmed plans to discontinue its Office Sway app for iOS.

The service will no longer work on iPhone and iPad as of December 17, 2018. Sway will be removed from the App Store two months earlier. You will still be able to access the service through your web browser, however.

Apple TV veteran leaves the company to join ‘social broadcasting’ startup

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Apple TV exec
Jen Folse presenting at an Apple event in September 2015.
Screenshot: Apple

Jen Folse, the former Apple TV executive who is best known to Apple followers for her on-stage presentations at Apple events, has left the company for the startup Caffeine.

Caffeine is a social broadcasting platform for gaming, entertainment, and other artistic content. Folse will take the role as new Vice President of Product, helping to company to create its product roadmap, among other things.

Apple HR couldn’t care less if you have a college degree

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
You can get hired at Apple even without a fancy piece of paper telling people you got a lot of book learning.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

The traditional life plan includes four years of college then a good job. But not everyone takes this path, and sometimes the lack of a college degree keeps some people from getting a job they are otherwise qualified for. But not at Apple.

Following a non-traditional career path is no problem getting hired at Apple. And that goes for positions beyond working at its retail stores.

Tim Cook gives almost $5 million of Apple shares to charity

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Tim Cook has pledged to give all his money away.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook has long talked about how he plans to give his entire fortune to charity — and a recent SEC filing shows that he’s living up to his word.

Recently, Apple’s CEO gave 23,215 Apple shares to an unspecified charity. At the current AAPL trading price, that’s almost $5 million.

Apple apparently gives up owning its own flagship stores in India

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apple-store-fifth-avenue-nyc-new-york
Apple India seemingly can't open its own a flagship store like the one in NYC, so it's forced to turn to franchisees to do it.
Photo: Simone Lovati/Flickr CC

It’s going to be years before Apple India can hope to open flagship retail stores. So the company is allowing local franchisees to open huge Apple stores in major cities to take their place.

India puts stringent requirements on companies who want to open retail stores, and so far Apple hasn’t met them.

Say goodbye to Back to My Mac in macOS Mojave

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Apple Remote Desktop is one of the applications that replaces Back to My Mac.
Apple Remote Desktop is one of the applications that replaces Back to My Mac.
Photo: Apple

There’s bad news for anyone who’s still a fan of Back to My Mac: Apple is killing off this suite of remote-access applications.

The good news is that Apple’s doing so because all the functionality has been supplanted by newer options. 

Apple lands TV series on one team’s effort to stop climate change

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Apple series
New York Times writer Nathaniel Rich
Photo: Democracy Now!/YouTube

Apple is adding a highly anticipated climate change drama series to a burgeoning roster of original television content that may one day rival Netflix.

Apple reportedly fought off aggressive competition to produce a TV series based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Sunday Magazine story entitled “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.”

iOS App Dock could migrate to the iPhone’s edges

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Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too.
Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too.
Photo: Apple

Apple is considering bending an iPhone display around the sides of the device, making additional room for buttons and status notifications.

This isn’t a new concept, as rival devices have does something similar for years. But Apple filed a patent for these side-screens just 9 months ago, so it’s clearly still interested in the idea.

iPhone sales could take hit in one of the most Apple-mad countries

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iPhone Japan
Japan loves its iPhones. But a proposed law could make some consumers consider cheaper Android handsets.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Japanese government is considering a move to block carriers from bundling the cost of smartphones into monthly services fees. This comes after regulators last month said Apple violated anti-trust laws by forcing carriers to subsidize iPhones.

Apple has dominated the Japanese smartphone market for the last five years. The flagship iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone on the market at more than $1,000, but customers feel little to no pinch in the pocketbook as the cost becomes part of a fixed contract with monthly service fees.

Dark Sky weather app gets a complete redesign

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Some weather.
Some weather.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Another day, another new weather app. Dark Sky was already a big favorite, thanks to its hyper-local forecasts that tell you when it will rain outside your door, down to the minute.

Well, the app just got updated to version 6.0. According to the Dark Sky developers, it’s a completely new app — an update in name only. Let’s take a look.

Apple scraps a bunch of Watch bands ahead of September event

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Apple Watch bands
That Apple Watch band you wanted may be gone.
Photo: Apple

Apple has removed a bunch of Apple Watch bands from its online store while many others are sold out ahead of its annual September event.

It seems likely Apple will introduce new band designs and styles alongside Apple Watch Series 4 this fall. Regulatory filings for the new wearable all but confirm a new model is imminent.

Woz wades into murky cryptocurrency waters

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Woz: I don’t think true self-driving cars will arrive in my lifetime
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a growing fascination with cryptocurrency.
Photo: Nichollas Harrison/Wikimedia Commons CC

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has lived the risk-to-riches story. He built computers in a garage with a good partner and we all know how that turned out.

But red flags are waving as the Woz takes an interest in cryptocurrency. He’s reportedly hitching his wagon to partners with a dubious track record.

Apple could fix Tesla’s crippling production problems

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Tesla
Apple expertise could help Tesla meet its production goals for the Model 3. And Tesla could help create the iCar.
Photo: Tesla

Tesla is struggling to get its cars into customer’s hands. Apple is quietly developing its own self-driving car. The two should team up, according to one investor.

Apple would provide its long experience in bringing high tech products to market. Tesla would contribute fresh ideas to the partnership.

Parallels 14 brings macOS Mojave support, big speed boost

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Parallels 14 for macOS
Parallels 14 is a massive upgrade.
Photo: Parallels

Parallels, the popular virtualization software for Mac, just got a massive upgrade.

Version 14 comes with macOS Mojave support and a significant speed boost, as well as welcome storage optimizations. It also brings a bunch of handy new features, including the ability to access Windows apps shortcuts on the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.

Netflix wants to stop paying Apple a cut of its earnings

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75% of Netflix users have no plans to jump ship to Apple TV+ (right away)
Netflix is experimenting with a way to bypass paying Apple.
Photo: Flickr/Stock Catalog

Netflix is among the highest-grossing apps in the App Store, but that might not be the case for much longer. That’s because the video streaming company is supposedly looking for ways to bypass iTunes so as to save itself the money that it currently pays Apple.

The decision is at least partially linked to Apple’s efforts in producing its own original video content, which would make it a direct competitor to Netflix.

App Store isn’t just about games anymore

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App Store
The App Store is another major growth driver for Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s worth a crazy amount of money these days, but what really separates it from previous eras is that it no longer lives or dies by one product. Look at any part of Apple’s business and you’ll find reasons to be optimistic.

The latest example of this comes from Bank of America, which bumped its price target on Apple stock from $230 to $250 a share. Why? Because the bank noticed that the App Store is booming — and not just in the category you might expect.

Epic denies that Fortnite is coming to Apple TV [Update]

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Fortnite Steady Storm game mode
Fortnite will expand its reach even further.
Photo: Epic Games

Updated 3:20 p.m. August 21: Epic Games says it does not plan to bring Fortnite to Apple TV after all. “References to tvOS in the Fortnite files are the result of general Unreal Engine support for the Apple TV platform,” the company said in a statement sent to CNet.

The original report follows….

Fortnite Battle Royale already supports more platforms than most games, but it seems it hasn’t finished expanding its reach. New evidence suggests the biggest game on the planet will soon be available on Apple TV.

Apple switching suppliers to cut production costs

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Apple
You don't get to $1 trillion without knowing a thing or two about saving cash.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have just passed the $1 trillion mark, but it’s still looking for ways to save money. In its efforts to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible, the company is supposedly shifting production for its various devices from Taiwanese suppliers to Chinese ones.

Shoppers perform citizen’s arrest on would-be Apple Store thieves

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Don't mess with Apple fans!
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

The latest snatch-and-grab Apple Store robbery didn’t turn out all that well for the thieves.

Over the weekend, the Apple Store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, California, was targeted by three men who walked in and began snatching products. But angry customers got involved, leading to all three would-be thieves being arrested.

Logitech’s new vertical mouse packs pro features into ergonomic design

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The Logitech MX Vertical ergonomic mouse is here to save your wrist.
The Logitech MX Vertical is here to save your wrist.
Photo: Logitech

To create its new vertical mouse, Logitech borrowed from its expertise creating peripherals for players of first-person shooters. The goal? A kill shot aimed straight at the ugly heart of repetitive strain injuries.

The result of the company’s efforts is the Logitech MX Vertical. The ergonomic mouse, unveiled today, offers appealing features in a strangely beautiful design that looks something like a seashell.

Fresh new betas of iOS 12, macOS Mojave arrive for developers and the public

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There are new iOS 12 beta versions for developers and the public, as the same is true for macOS Mojave.
This isn't even all the devices that will run the betas Apple released today.
Photo: Apple

Monday is Beta Day at Apple. Today brought shiny new versions of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave. The newest versions are only for developers, but the public just got access to the iOS 12 and Mojave betas released to developers last week.

New betas of watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 for devs also launched today.

Expect a more powerful Mac mini Pro this fall

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Apple Mac mini
The 2018 Mac mini Pro is rumored to be much powerful than the "current" model, which hasn't been updated in almost four years.
Photo: Apple

The last time Apple gave any love to the Mac mini was way back in 2014. But a refresh is reportedly coming.

This inexpensive macOS desktop is apparently popular with developers and server farms. The 2018 mini is supposedly being created with these professionals in mind.

This is the date you can preorder your next iPhone

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6.5- and 6.1-inch 2018 iPhone models
We now have a fairly firm idea of when the 6.5-inch iPhone will debut. The 6.1-inch model isn't expected until months later, though.
Photo: OnLeaks

We already know quite a bit about the next-generation iPhones, and one of the remaining questions may have just been answered: when they’ll go on sale.

A German wireless phone provider has leaked part what we want to know: the date preorders will begin. The most likely release date can be extrapolated from that.