News tagged ‘Car’
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, which means I should tell you about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. Most of the articles this week deal with rumors about Apple’s upcoming devices and services as well as with vulnerabilities found in iOS 9 and OS X. There are also some posts about the releases of new betas of iOS 9.3 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 for developers.
'Motor Noises' Come from Apple’s Secret Car Testing Facility
A man from Sunnyvale, who lives near Apple’s top-secret car-testing facility has recently complained about the 'motor noises' coming from the Apple-owned buildings late at night. This looks like a good proof of the existence of the Apple-branded car prototype that is reportedly codenamed ‘Titan’.
New Vulnerability Affects Third-Party Mac Apps
As noted by a bunch of reliable news websites, a wide number of third-party Mac apps are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. The vulnerability in Sparkle, an open source framework, which is used by many developers to make the update process easier, can let hackers execute malicious JavaScript code when the infected app or apps perform checks for updates. According to security researchers, uTorrent and a ‘huge’ number of other applications that are available outside the App Store are prone to the aforementioned vulnerability.
Apple Releases iOS 9.3 Beta 3 to Developers for Testing
Apple has just seeded the third iOS 9.3 beta to developers for testing. This is probably the last but one build for developers released until the alleged debut of iOS 9.3 in March alongside the new 4-inch iPhone 5SE, iPad Air 3 and the updated Apple Watch. The list of improvements and enhancements includes bug fixes and refinements to the features added in previous betas. These features include the Night Shift mode, secure Notes, updated News and CarPlay. iOS 9.3 Beta 2 brought a separate Control Center toggle for Night Shift, which is present in the third beta, so looks like the change is permanent.
Apple Launches Late-2013 Mac Pro Repair Program
Apple has recently launched a new repair program aimed at fixing the issues with graphics cards on some late-2013 Mac Pro models manufactured between February 8th, 2015 and April 11th, 2015. According to reliable sources, the defective graphics cards can cause various problems including distorted video, freezes, restarts, system instability and more. It is very unlikely that the company will announce the repair program publicly, however, it may contact its customers directly via email.
Apple Became Top Smartphone Vendor in the USA and China in 2015
According to the latest report from a research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, in 2015, Apple became the top smartphone vendor in the United States of America and China. New devices, namely, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, allowed to beat the rivals and become the leader of such important markets. Strong demand for both handsets generated record-breaking revenue as well.
Person Responsible for Apple’s Electric Car Development Leaves Company
A person who was allegedly controlling the development of Apple’s widely-rumored electric car codenamed “Titan”, the Vice President of Product Design Steve Zadesky, is reportedly leaving the company after sixteen years in Cupertino. Such a rumor has been recently shared by usually-reliable Wall Street Journal reporters. The reason for leaving such a successful company as Apple is reportedly connected with his personal choice, rather than with the results Zadesky demonstrated while working for the tech giant.
Apple’s Battery Suppliers Use Cobalt Mined by Children - Report
According to the latest report issued by Amnesty International, Apple and a number of other tech giants including Sony, Samsung and Microsoft are using cobalt mined by child labor in their devices. Apart from that, electric car manufacturers Daimler and Volkswagen are working with the same suppliers utilizing child labor.
iOS 9.3 Lets Users Monitor Data Used by Wi-Fi Assist
Looks like Apple has finally added a really useful feature to its mobile operating system. After the release of iOS 9, many users have begun complaining about the uncontrolled usage of cellular data because of Wi-Fi Assist. iOS 9.3, which is currently a beta, features one tiny tweak that makes it easy to understand exactly how much cellular data the device has used over a certain period of time. Now it is possible to monitor the Wi-Fi Assist activity and be aware of the cellular data usage to prevent additional charges from carrier.
Below you can take a look at the screenshot showing the newly-added feature.
Tesla CEO Calls Apple’s Electric Car Project an 'Open Secret'
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently called Apple’s electric car project an "open secret". The reason for making such statement about the Cupertino-based tech giant is connected with the number of specialists the company has hired over the last couple of months. In 2015, Apple offered job to hundreds or even thousands engineers, including former Tesla workers, so it’s rather difficult to disagree with Elon Musk.
Apple Registers New Auto-Related Domain Names
Back in December, Apple registered three new domain names. All of these names are most likely related with the long-awaited and widely-rumored electric vehicle, which is reportedly being developed by the Cupertino-based tech giant. The domain names include apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto and although they are not active at the moment, they may go online in the near future.
iPhone 6 Plus Bursts Into Flames While Being Charged
David Grimsley, a man from Atlanta, has recently reported that his iPhone 6 Plus went on fire while being plugged in for about 20 minutes. Fortunately, the man saw that something was wrong with the handset and pushed the device off the bed onto a floor to prevent fire. Nobody got injured, so looks like the unpleasant story has a happy end.
Buying A Second Hand iPhone: Tips and Tricks
A lot of people prefer buying pre-owned iPhones. On the one hand, such devices are much cheaper than new, although offer the exact same functionality. On the other hand, however, a previously used iPhone may be physically damaged as well as locked by carrier and/or iCloud, so it is always good to know what to check before purchasing a second hand iPhone. Below you will find some useful tips.
Apple Gifts Retail Employees With Free 9-month Apple Music Subscriptions
In addition to urBeats earphones, Apple has also decided to give its employees nine months of free and unlimited Apple Music access as a holiday present. Such generous gifts have been officially announced by Apple SVP Eddy Cue in his recent video message to the company workers.
Apple SIM Now Works in Russia, Mexico and Some Other Countries
If you have an iPad, you might have heard about the Apple SIM, which allows you to stay connected to the Internet without the need to purchase new physical SIM card for each country while travelling, for example. According to AppleInsider reporters, thanks to AlwaysOnline Wireless, it is now possible to use Apple SIM in 12 new countries including Russia, Mexico and South Korea.