AppleMagazine #578

What is bigger: A ronna or a quetta? Scientists meeting outside of Paris — who have expanded the world’s measuring unit systems for the first time this century as the global population surges past 8 billion — have the answer. Rapid scientific advances and vast worldwide data storage on the web, in smartphones and in the cloud mean that the very terms used to measure things in weight and size need extending too. And one British scientist led the push to incorporate bold new, tongue-twisting prefixes on the gigantic and even the minuscule scale. “Most people are familiar with prefixes like milli-as in milligram. But these are prefixes for the biggest and smallest levels ever measured,” Dr Richard Brown, head of Metrology at the U.K.’s National Physical Laboratory who proposed the four new…

As millions of people travel the interstates this Thanksgiving, many will encounter patches of traffic at a standstill for no apparent reason — no construction or accident. Researchers say the problem is you. Human drivers just don’t do a good job of navigating dense traffic conditions, but an experiment using artificial intelligence in Nashville last week means help could be on the way. In the experiment, specially equipped cars were able to ease rush hour congestion on Interstate-24, researcher Daniel Work said. In addition to lessening driver frustration, Work said less stop-and-go driving means fuel savings and, by extension, less pollution. The professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University is one of a group of engineers and mathematicians from universities around the U.S. who have been studying the problem of…

Tennessee officials announced plans to invest $3.2 billion to develop a cathode materials plant for electric vehicle batteries. The manufacturing facility will be built in Clarksville and create more than 850 jobs, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the state of Tennessee and South Korea-based LG Chem. “LG Chem’s decision to invest $3.2 billion in Clarksville is a testament to Tennessee’s unmatched business climate, skilled workforce and position as a leader in the automotive industry,” Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement. Officials say the facility will help support the electric vehicle battery value-chain across the United States. Construction will begin next year, with the goal to start mass production in 2025. Once operational, the goal is to produce 120,000 tons of cathode battery materials annually — or enough to power…

Tesla is recalling more than 300,000 vehicles in the U.S. because a software glitch can make taillights go off intermittently, increasing the risk of a collision. Tesla said in documents posted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the glitch may affect one or both taillights on certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. Brake lamps, backup lamps and turn signal lamps are not affected by the software problem, the company said. The automaker said it is releasing an online software update that will fix the problem. The recall covers certain 2020 to 2023 Model Y SUVs and 2023 Model 3 sedans. That amounts to potentially 321,628 vehicles. Tesla became aware of the problem last month after receiving complaints, primarily from customers outside the U.S., that their vehicle taillamps were not illuminating.…

With Apple launching Emergency SOS via Satellite across its iPhone 14 range and unlocking incredible new possibilities thanks to cutting-edge technology, all eyes are on what’s next. Innovators such as SpaceX are taking connectivity to new heights, and in the decades to come, they could change how we keep in touch forever. INTRODUCING EMERGENCY SOS VIA SATELLITE Though it’s a feature that we hope few will ever have to use, Emergency SOS via satellite is a level up in the way we communicate and access emergency services. All phones in the iPhone 14 lineup, including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, can connect directly to a satellite through a combination of custom-designed components and deeply integrated software as part of iOS 16, allowing consumers…

Police beat workers protesting conditions at the world’s biggest factory for the Apple iPhone, whose latest model is delayed because anti-COVID measures crimp China’s manufacturing of affordable high technology for the world. Foxconn, a contract assembler that makes the global smartphone industry possible, didn’t have enough workers to make the new iPhone 14. Around China, laborers are housed in “closed loops” of dorms isolated from the general population, making it harder to recruit the workers. China has waged the future of the world’s largest economy on contract manufacturing like Foxconn’s. It’s also betting on its ability to control COVID with some of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls. Those two wagers came into violent conflict Tuesday night in the in the central city of Zhengzhou. To lure workers for the iPhone 14, which sells starting…