On May 16, a rare Apple-1 will be put up for an online-only auction run by prestigious British auctioneers, Christies. AppleInsider reported that it could fetch as much as $630,000.

An interesting example, Apple-1 motherboard serial number 01-0053 is housed in the bottom section of a briefcase, hidden by a makeshift aluminum control panel featuring a Datanetics keyboard. Built by hand in 1976, the board is thought to be among an original batch of Apple-1 units sold through Mountain View, Calif., computer store Byte Shop. It sports a white ceramic MOS Technologies 6502 microprocessor, selected by Steve Wozniak to power Apple’s first computer, as well as 8K bytes RAM split between two 4K chips and two original Triad power supply modules.

Nike has always been keen to use tech to innovate sportswear. Wired reported that with its new scanning technology, the company believes it has solved the problem is ill-fitting shoes.

The scanning tech uses the now familiar combination of computer vision, machine learning and recommendation algorithms to find your right fit in every Nike shoe style. But going beyond the traditional measurements of length and width, Nike Fit uses 13 points of measurement (though Nike says they system can take up to 32) including measuring the “toe box”, where it takes into account whether the splay of your toes will have enough room in your choice of trainers. The app is then supposedly able to recommend your best fit.

Before Macintosh is an Apple Lisa documentary on Kickstarter exploring the history behind Apple’s device.

The work of Douglas Engelbart and his team, plus advances from the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) with their Alto and Star workstations were the progenitors of the Graphical User Interface (GUI), but the Apple Lisa stands as the clear foundation for what we all use today — Macintosh — Windows — iOS — Android.

The campaign goal is US$3,600, and it has raised US$2,401 so far.

Gamers play more on their phones than on consoles. Cult of Mac reported on a survey by trade body the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) that found 65 percent of American adults play video games, using a smartphone 60% of the time. By comparison, a console is used 49% of the time.  No wonder Apple launched Apple Arcade.

About half of all Americans use their phone to play games, according to 2019 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), an industry trade association. “Americans play video games to have fun, relieve stress, learn, and spend time with family,” said ESA acting President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis. “This innovative form of entertainment touches on every part of society and improves how we play, work, and live.

Apple was once again named the biggest company in Ireland by the Irish Times. The newspaper said that the company continues to lead as it puts all non-US sales through the country which keeps it leading the pack. Google was in second place.

Apple, with turnover figures of almost €120 billion for its Irish operation, continu[es] to dwarf every other company which operates, or is headquartered, in Ireland. Yes, the US gadget giant is by far and away Ireland’s largest company, although it should be noted that the company, which recently made a larger leap into services, has not updated the figures for 2018, so the ones we are using are those which emerged as part of a European Commission investigation into its tax affairs. This process revealed that Apple puts all its sales outside of the US through Ireland, hence the scale of its Irish related sales.

Hackers, thieves, and independent repair companies can find ways to break into iCloud-locked iPhones.

The iCloud security feature has likely cut down on the number of iPhones that have been stolen, but enterprising criminals have found ways to remove iCloud in order to resell devices…Making matters more complicated is the fact that not all iCloud-locked phones are stolen devices—some of them are phones that are returned to telecom companies as part of phone upgrade and insurance programs.

TL;DR: Phishing, mugging, and social engineering are methods. You can even remove the CPU and reprogram it by stealing an unused IMEI.

Tech and politics are increasingly overlapping. That seems particularly true in the case of presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The Democratic contender has attracted support from a number of big names in Silicon Valley, including Mark Zuckerberg, Recode reported.

Buttigieg, though always stressing his bonhomie upbringing in the industrial Midwest — such as when giving a ride-along of South Bend’s abandoned factories — is quite comfortable in elite corridors like Silicon Valley. He is not an anti-tech firebrand politically, nor a total newcomer to the land of the uber-wealthy. And as his relationship with people like Zuckerberg shows, he also brings a Rolodex that gives him tech contacts that — with the right touch and message on Friday — can become exclusive supporters and maxed-out tech donor.

Apple is reportedly close to opening its first Apple Store in India. Bloomberg News, whose predictions can, it is fair to say, sometimes be a bit off, said the company now has a shortlist of locations in Mumbai. Whatever happens next, it is clear India is now a key focus for Apple.

The iPhone giant has zeroed in on several upscale sites in Mumbai, and plans to make a final decision in the next few weeks, said the people, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. The vetted spots are comparable to iconic Apple locations on Fifth Avenue in New York, Regent Street in London or the Champs-Elysees in Paris, they said. Apple has been prohibited from opening its own stores in the country because it doesn’t meet local sourcing requirements, but it’s shifting manufacturing into India and is in talks with the government about its retail expansion.