Bryan Chaffin, Dave Hamilton, and Jim Dalrymple look back at the ten years since Steve Jobs passed, and dig into the Apple today that lives on without him.
Apple
Tim Cook Writes Staff Memo as a Tribute to Steve Jobs
On the 10th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death, Tim Cook wrote an internal memo to Apple employees. The full email has been obtained by Bloomberg.
I wish Steve were here to see the way his spirit lives on in all of your amazing work. But most of all, I wish he could see what you do next. Steve once said that his proudest achievements were the ones that were yet to come. He spent every day imagining a future that no one else could see and working relentlessly to bring his vision to life.
Apple's Health Ambitions Face Internal Problems and Departures
A report on Tuesday examines the myriad of internal problems Apple’s Health team has faced. Departures, company politics, and more.
Surprise! iPad Mini 6 Has Smaller Usable Display
Frank Cioffi is a big fan of Apple’s iPad mini, but was surprised to find that even though the display is bigger diagonally with the new iPad mini 6, the way that real estate is used makes for less actual usable space in some key areas.
Tim Cook Receive $36.51 Million of Apple Stock in Latest Pay Package
Tim Cook has received his latest pay package, which includes 255,000 shares and lasts until 2026. That’s according to an SEC filing spotted by Appleinsider.
Back in August, Cook received more than 5 million shares of Apple stock and sold them for more than $750 million. The stock transfer was the final part of a compensation package that Cook received when he became CEO of Apple in 2011. On Sunday, Cook received 255,000 shares of Apple stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission posted to Apple’s website on Sept. 28. By a rough estimate, the stocks are worth about $36.51 million.
Italy Calls iCloud Terms and Conditions Illegal
An Italian regulatory agency that raised prior complaints about Apple has found that some of the iCloud terms and conditions are illegal.
Apple Should Scrap Leather if Its Serious About The Environment
Apple is always keen to tout its environmental credentials. However, Adam Oram at iMore makes a really good point. If the company wanted to really improve the impact it has on the environment further, it would stop using leather.
One aspect of Apple’s product lineup no one appears to be looking at, though, is the use of leather. Environmentally, leather is extremely damaging, and it’s surprising to me that Apple has not pursued more eco-friendly alternatives. Apple has a long history with leather, having made a variety of accessories. Right now, in Apple’s product lineup, it has several leather items, including iPhone cases, folios, and sleeves, Apple Watch bands, iPad Smart Covers, MacBook sleeves, MagSafe wallets, and AirTag key rings. These are all supplementary to its hero products, but they are often sold as add-ons when picking up a new phone or tablet.
Long-Time Indie Developer Wil Shipley Joins Apple
OG indie developer Wil Shipley has joined Apple where he will be working as a Senior iOS Home Application Engineer.
Apple Opening New R and D Center in South Korea to Avoid Fine
Apple is set to open an academy and R&D center in South Korea. It is part of a deal to avoid a fin from the regulator in the country, ZDNet reported.
Cupertino will open the academy at Pohang University of Science and Technology next year in Spring. The company has opened 12 such academies so far, with the first one being opened in Brazil back in 2013. Becoming a certified ethical hacker can be a rewarding career. Here are ZDNet’s recommendations for the top certifications in 2021. Apple will also open its first manufacturing R&D support centre at the institute, which will also start operating next year. The new academy and manufacturing R&D support centre is part of a deal the iPhone maker made with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) to avoid being fined for unfairly forcing local telcos to cover advertisement fees and warranty expenses.
iPhone 13 Pro, Apple Watch 7, and iPad mini, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 556
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet take a deep dive into Apple’s new product announcements, including iPhone 13 Pro and its camera, Apple Watch 7, and the new iPad mini.
Apple Blacklists 'Fortnite' Until Legal Dispute With Epic is Over
Apple has decided to blacklist Fortnite from the App Store until all legal appeals have been completed, according to the CEO of Epic Games.
Once a Upon a Time, Phones Were Phones. Then the iPhone Came Along
Vox has launched the newest season of its podcast Land of the Giants. In the first episode they talked to Apple executives about how the iPhone changed everything.
True story. Once upon a time, mobile phones were … phones. You used them to make phone calls. Maybe you’d send some texts, if you were kind of advanced. The iPhone changed all that. And it changed more than the way we used phones: It changed Apple, and it changed culture, and it overturned industries and created new ones. And all of that happened really, really fast: Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone just 14 years ago. But it’s already almost impossible to imagine what life was like before that.
EU Wants Phones to Use USB-C Chargers by 2024
A proposal to force all smartphone manufacturers to adopt USB-C chargers is on the table. It’s expected to take effect no earlier than 2024.
Get the Vaccine or Get Tested More Often, Apple Says
Coinciding with the Biden administration’s “Get the Vaccine” push, unvaccinated Apple employees will face more frequent COVID-19 testing.
Apple Once Threatened to Remove Facebook From App Store Over Human Trafficking
On Friday a report claims that Apple once threatened to remove Facebook from the App Store in 2019. The cause was human trafficking. (Original, paywalled report here).
The BBC published a sweeping undercover investigation of the practice, prompting Apple to threaten to remove Facebook from its store, the paper said.
An internal memo found that Facebook was aware of the practice even before then: A Facebook researcher wrote in a report dated 2019, “was this issue known to Facebook before BBC inquiry and Apple escalation?,” per the Journal.
Do the right thing, Apple: Remove Facebook.
Smart Bulbs vs. Smart Light Switches, Digital IDs, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 555
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet dive back into smarthome tech, with a focus on using smart light switches instead of smart light bulbs. This includes Jeff’s recommendation for a smart light switch. They also discuss digital IDs and the perils and promise they offer.
NoSpyPhone Protests Planned at Apple Stores in Major Cities
On the eve of the 2021 Fall Apple Event on Tuesday, protests are being planned at various Apple stores to protest CSAM detection features.
Investor Tells Tim Cook - 'The Time Has Come to Change Apple’s Approach' to Antitrust
One prominent tech investor has written to CEO Tim Cook urging the company to rethink its approach to antitrust cases and regulators. Roger McNamee had his letter published by Time.
Unless Apple rethinks its approach, regulators will likely have no choice but to undermine its advantage in privacy and security. As a customer, that will piss me off. As an activist trying to reform the tech industry, it will leave me wondering what might have been. I would like to suggest a path to a better outcome. Apple is no longer the plucky upstart it was when Steve Jobs returned two decades ago. The company has a market value bigger than the GDP of all but eight countries in the world. In the trailing four quarters, your firm enjoyed a tax rate of about 14%, which has attracted the attention of Senator Warren, among others, who believe it is too low. Apple has huge economic power, which it uses for competitive advantage. Some of the victims of that economic power are fighting back, not unreasonably, and Apple’s brand with policy makers has taken a beating. The company’s reaction? One of surprise and resentment, which is not working. The time has come to change Apple’s approach.
Security Researchers are Fed Up With Apple's Bug Bounty Program
For five years Apple has invited ethical hackers to break into its products to look for flaws. But these security experts are tired of the program.
The best programs support open conversations between the hackers and the company. Apple, already known for being tight-lipped, limits communication and feedback on why it chooses to pay or not pay for a bug, according to security researchers who have submitted bugs to the bounty program and a former employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of a nondisclosure agreement.
Norfolk State University to Give Students iPad Pros Fall 2021
This fall, Norfolk State University will provide students, faculty, and staff with Apple products and training for app development.
Privacy Advocates Deliver 59,000 Petition Signatures to Apple Over CSAM Detection
Privacy advocates have delivered a petition to Apple over its plans to install a system on its devices to detect child sexual abuse material.
Digital Rights Group Responds to Apple CSAM Measures Delay
Apple’s delay to rolling out controversial measures to find known CSAM was welcomed by activists, but they want them scrapped permanently.
Apple Delays Its CSAM Scanning ‘Features’
The controversy surrounding Apple’s proposed CSAM scanning features has been noticed. The iPhone maker announced it’s delaying the rollout.
NGO Files Antitrust Complaint Against Apple in India
India non-profit group Together We Fight Society has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, Reuters reported. It once again focuses on the cut of App Store transactions the company takes.
The allegations are similar to a case Apple faces in the European Union, where regulators last year started an investigation into Apple’s imposition of an in-app fee of 30% for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions. The Indian case was filed by a little-known, non-profit group which argues Apple’s fee of up to 30% hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry. “The existence of the 30% commission means that some app developers will never make it to the market … This could also result in consumer harm,” said the filing