Should Qualcomm Feel Threatened By Apple’s M1 Macs?

PCMag.com’s lead mobile analyst calls Qualcomm “a little too unbothered by Apple’s M1 Macs” Qualcomm executives brushed off a question about Apple’s new M1-based Macs during a question-and-answer session at the company’s Snapdragon Summit today, where Qualcomm announced a new flagship smartphone chipset but no upgrades to its year-old chips for PCs… In general, reviews of Qualcomm-powered laptops such as the…

Apple Launches Repair Program For Unresponding IPhone 11 Displays

9to5Mac reports that Apple announced a repair program for “a small percentage” of iPhone 11s manufactured between November 2019 and May 2020 where the display stops responding to touch:
The replacement program is exclusive to the regular iPhone 11 model and does not apply to the iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max. Users can check the Apple Support website to…

Tips on choosing telescopes and binoculars for beginners

Tips for beginners: how to choose binoculars or your first telescope. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars…

Italy Fines Apple $12 Million For Unfair Claims About iPhone Water Resistance

Iwastheone writes: Italian regulators have fined Apple $12 million for making misleading and unfair claims about iPhone water resistance. The fine was imposed by L’Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which translates literally as the guarantee authority for competition and the market. This is the competition watchdog responsible for ensuring that companies treat both consumers and competitors fairly. First,…

A magnified view of Jupiter and Saturn at conjunction

On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will be only 1/5 of a moon-diameter apart! Guy Ottewell offers insights and charts showing a magnified (telescopic) view of their once-in-20-years great conjunction. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/jupiter-saturn-conjunction-telescopic-magnified-dec-2020…

Apple To Pay $113 Million Settlement Over Its iPhone ‘Batterygate’ Slowdowns

Apple is paying $113 million to settle an investigation by 34 states and the District of Columbia over the company’s practice of slowing down the performance of older iPhones when their batteries degrade. From a report: Apple’s moves weren’t announced by the company, but rather proven by internet sleuths. That led regulators and customers alike to criticize the company for not…

Apple Hits Back at European Activist Complaints Against Tracking Tool

An Austrian privacy advocacy group drew a strongly critical response from Apple on Monday after it said an online tracking tool used in its devices breached European law. From a report: The group, led by campaigner Max Schrems, filed complaints with data protection watchdogs in Germany and Spain alleging that the tracking tool illegally enabled the $2 trillion U.S. tech giant…

Celebrate Intel’s 4004 Microprocessor Turning 49 Today

Tim McNerney is the project leader at 4004.com, a site commemorating Intel’s original 4004 microprocessor. He’s also long-time Slashdot reader mcpublic, and shares news of a new open source adapter — plus a great moment chip history: Even though Intel debuted its groundbreaking 4004 on November 15th, 1971, 49 years ago today, in the pages of Electronics News, there is something…

Google Sued After Mobile Allowances Eaten Up By Hidden Data Transfers

Slashdot reader Iwastheone shared this report from the Register: Google on Thursday was sued for allegedly stealing Android users’ cellular data allowances though unapproved, undisclosed transmissions to the web giant’s servers… The complaint contends that Google is using Android users’ limited cellular data allowances without permission to transmit information about those individuals that’s unrelated to their use of Google services… What…

Apple Silicon M1 Chip In MacBook Air Outperforms High-End 16-Inch MacBook Pro

The first benchmark of Apple’s M1 chip shows that the multi-core performance of the new MacBook Air with 8GB RAM beats out all of the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro models, including the 10th-generation high-end 2.4GHz Intel Core i9 model. “That high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 1096 and a multi-core score of 6870,” reports MacRumors. The MacBook Air…