France - page 2

Apple teams up with French school to teach Swift coding

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Swift Crypto will help more developers than ever to build secure applications
Apple is spreading its Swift curriculum around the world.
Photo: Apple

Apple is teaming up with a French digital vocational school Simplon to teach Swift coding to learners. Swift is the language used for developing iOS apps.

“Proud to announce our new training program in partnership with France’s [Simplon], teaching the basics of coding with Swift,” Tim Cook wrote in a tweet. “Learning to code unlocks a world of creativity and potential.”

Apple’s big and bougie store on Paris’ Champs-Élysées opens in November

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The Champs-Élysées location doesn't get away with the giant glass doors found on other recent flagship Apple Stores.
The Champs-Élysées location doesn't get away with the giant glass doors found on other recent flagship Apple Stores.
Photo: Apple

There are few streets more ritzy than the Champs-Élysées. That’s likely why an Apple Store is opening there this fall.

At the same time, the company is closing its location in the Carrousel du Louvre, underneath the pyramid in front of this world-famous museum.

France bans smartphones and tablets from schools

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What to expect from Apple education event 2018.
Just don't take your iPhone with you!
Photo: Apple

Think smartphones are an unavoidable part of daily school life if you’re a teen? Think again. Well, if you live in France, at least.

Under new legislation, French students are banned from using either smartphone or tablets during the school day. The new laws were part of President Emmanuel Macron’s election promises.

Apple willing to go to court to clear up ‘misunderstanding’ in France

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App Store
France isn't happy about the App Store.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has responded to the French government’s plans to take it to court over what French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire calls its “abusive trade practices.”

While the French government is critical of Apple for taking a non-negotiable cut of the profits from developers who use its App Store platform, Apple has taken the opportunity to remind everyone of just how good its “app economy” has been for many devs.

France is suing Apple and Google for ‘abusive’ deal with developers

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Coronavirus could have a surprisingly positive impact on App Store revenue
France isn't happy about how Apple treats developers.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The French government plans to take both Apple and Google to court for what French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire classes as “abusive trade practices.”

This relates to the way that both companies reportedly treat startups and developers. In particular, Le Maire singles out the way that Apple and Google unilaterally impose prices and contractual terms on software devs.

French pranksters face Apple Store ban for tax protests

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Flagship
Apple's flagship store in Paris.
Photo: Apple

Apple wants us to think of our friendly local Apple Store as a “community hub” or “town square,” but that apparently doesn’t include being a space for public protests.

According to a new report, Apple has gone to court in Paris to try and prevent French tax campaigners from pulling stunts inside its local retail stores. Specifically, it wants to ban the French NGO Attac from entering its premises.

France is investigating Apple over throttling iPhone speeds

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iphone 8
Apple is accused of purposely slowing older iPhones to push customers to upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

French consumer watchdog DGCCRF, part of the country’s economy ministry, is investigating Apple over its alleged deception concerning the “throttling” of older iPhone models.

French law makes it a crime to purposely shorten the lifespan of a product in order to force customers to replace it. In the event that a company is found guilty of this, it can face fines of up to five percent of its annual sales.

Tim Cook talked taxes, supporting startups with French president

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Tim Cook still hid a few surprises up his sleeve for the iPhone X event.
This was Tim Cook's first meeting with the French president.
Photo: Apple

Yesterday’s first ever meeting between Apple CEO and French President Emmanuel Macron involved discussion of Apple’s support for local startups and French economic reforms — which could result in Apple having to pay more in the countries where it operates.

Macron is one of many European leaders wanting to reform tax structures to make it more difficult for companies, including Apple, to avoid taxes by using complex shell company structures. He has previously accused tech giants of failing to contribute to a common good.

Apple dives deeper into AI with latest acquisition

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photos in ios 10
Regaind could give iOS Photos an AI boost.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has quietly made another acquisition of a little-known startup that could bring some big benefits to iPhone and iPad users in the future.

A small France startup called Regaind was reportedly acquired by Apple. The company specializes in using machine learning to recognize what’s in a photo, which could boost some features Apple already created in its photos app.

Apple among tech giants in France and Germany’s crosshairs

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
France and Germany want to cut down on tech giants' tax avoidance.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

France and Germany are looking to crack down on loopholes that allow U.S. tech companies, including Apple, to minimize their tax contributions at the expense of local rivals.

According to a new report, France will kick things off by proposing “simpler rules” for taxing tech giants. These will be revealed at a meeting with EU officials in mid-September.

Investigators suspect iOS device in plane crash that killed 66

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iPhone on plane
Apple is not involved in the investigation.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

French officials are investigating the possibility of whether an iPhone or iPad was the cause of EgyptAir Flight 804.

The 2016 crashed killed 66 people yet the investigators have been stumped on what brought the plane down. Some new clues may hint that it was an overheating iOS device that sparked the catastrophe.

French protesters hate the idea of a ‘Rue Steve Jobs’

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A familiar face to Apple fans made from familiar technology.
Protesters are taking issue with Steve Jobs and Apple.
Photo: Jason Mercier

Plans for a “Rue Steve Jobs” (that’s Steve Jobs Road) in Paris have come under criticism from far-left protesters, who are demanding that the road is instead named after a woman from tech history as part of the march toward “gender equality.”

The group, Front de Gauche, also takes issue with Jobs being name-checked due to various issues that it has with Apple as a company.

France slaps Apple with a massive fine for unpaid taxes

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money
Tim Cook may have to open his checkbook one more time.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has been hit with another massive fine in Europe, as French tax authorities recently issued the company with a 400 million euro ($422 million) bill, according to French newspaper L’Express.

As with a lot of Apple’s other tax issues, the complaint reportedly relates to Apple’s tax optimizing strategy of channelling profits through its Irish subsidiary.

Enraged customer smashes iPhones in French Apple store

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Screen Shot 2016-09-30 at 14.10.00
The man smashes around a dozen iPhones before he is stopped.
Photo: YouTube

A bizarre incident has taken place in a French Apple store, with an unidentified man entering the retail outlet and methodically smashing thousands of dollars’ worth of iPhones, using a steel ball used for the game boules.

Check out the video below.

Apple’s Bastille Day tribute is a neat twist on its ‘Shot on iPhone’ ads

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Bastille Day
Apple made the French flag out of different photographs.
Photo: Apple

To celebrate Bastille Day, the start of 1789’s French Revolution, Apple has changed the homepage of its Apple France website to show a picture of the French Tricolor flag.

The twist? In a neat touch, Apple has tied the tribute into its acclaimed “Shot on iPhone” campaign by making the flag out of a variety of blue, white and red-filtered photographs taken by French iPhone owners.

Apple could receive hefty fines for not handing over data in France

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euros2
That's a whole lot of euros.
Photo: Godzimama

France’s lower house of parliament has passed an amendment which could see Apple charged heavy fines, and even handed out jail time, if it fails to hand over encrypted data as part of government investigations.

The amendment affects both tech and telecoms companies. The punishment could reach up to €350,000 ($385,000) and five years in jail, although a proposed amendment asking the French government to hand out fines of €1 million was rejected.

Apple’s privacy policy could earn it massive fines in France

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euros2
That's a lot of euros!
Photo: Godzimama

Although most of the attention on Apple’s privacy standoff with the government has so far focused on the United States, the U.S. isn’t the only place where Apple’s fighting with the authorities over iPhone encryption.

In France, politician Yann Galut, a member of the country’s Socialist Party, has submitted an amendment to a bill designed to strengthen the French government’s fight against terror — by arguing that Apple should pay €1 million per smartphone if it does not “promptly” agree to unlock devices when asked to by law enforcement.

Sacré bleu! Apple Pay is on its way to France in 2016

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Apple Pay
Your mother was a hamster, and your father bought elderberries with Apple Pay.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay is likely to launch in France by the end of 2016, according to a new report — claiming that it will be a gradual rollout over the course of several months.

There’s no exact date cited, but it is quite possible that it will take place by September, before Apple ships the iPhone 7.

Tim Cook reportedly jets to Paris for Apple Watch’s fashionable debut

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Photo: Kaysgeog/Flickr CC
The Galeries Lafayette is getting a special visitor. Photo: Kaysgeog/Flickr CC

While you’re at work today, Tim Cook is enjoying croissants and chocolat chaud at a chic French eatery. Probably.

That’s because the Apple CEO is reportedly in Paris: most likely for the Apple Watch’s official public unveiling tomorrow at one of the city’s fanciest department stores, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann.

Crazy swiss rocket bike travels a quarter mile in 7 seconds

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This guy's about to go really fast on a skinny bike. Photo: François Gissy
This guy's about to go really fast on a skinny bike. Photo: François Gissy

Seriously, outside of an airplane, I don’t think I’ve ever traveled at 207 miles per hour (or 333 kilometers per hour, if you’re metric).

Swiss cyclist François Gissy, however, just set a speed record on a rocket-propelled bicycle designed by his buddy Arnold Neracher.

How’s that for fast? Check out the video of the record-breaking attempt below, but be sure to turn down your sound. Nothing sounds as silly as a rocket bike.