AppleMagazine #589

If you’ve heard it once in a president’s State of the Union speech, you’ve heard it 100 times: There is nothing the American people can’t do when they pull together. But you haven’t heard that thought in a State of Union address from William Shakespeare: “Lo,” said the bard. “With kindness, love, and understanding clear, we shall conquer all, and have naught to fear.” Nor from the noggin-knocking Three Stooges of last century’s fame: “We just put our heads together, come up with a plan, and bam! Problem solved!” Let’s face it, State of the Union speeches are mostly rote. Presidents roll out a list of accomplishments, a few anecdotes about guests in attendance, a sober assessment of the problems of the day and a crescendo about glory times ahead. To shake up the…

Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence. The revamping of Microsoft’s second-place search engine could give the software giant a head start against other tech companies in capitalizing on the worldwide excitement surrounding ChatGPT, a tool that’s awakened millions of people to the possibilities of the latest AI technology. Along with adding it to Bing, Microsoft is also integrating the chatbot technology into its Edge browser. Microsoft announced the new technology at an event Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. But the strengthening partnership with OpenAI was also years in the making, starting with a $1 billion investment from Microsoft in 2019 that led to the development of a powerful…

Government regulators announced that videogame maker Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it failed to maintain controls to collect and assess workplace complaints with regard to disclosure requirements and violated a federal whistleblower protection rule. The lack of necessary controls left Activision “without the means to determine whether larger issues existed that needed to be disclosed to investors,” said Jason Burt, director of the SEC’s Denver office. “Moreover, taking action to impede former employees from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation is not only bad corporate governance, it is illegal.” In paying the settlement, Activision neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings and agreed to a cease-and-desist order, the agency said. The settlement comes after the troubled Santa Monica, California-based gaming…

It’s not often Apple brings back a product line from the dead, but when it does, it has good reason. The second-generation HomePod is Apple’s attempt to reinvigorate its smart home range and offer consumers more choices in an ever-competitive smart home hub landscape. INTRODUCING HOMEPOD 2 After using press releases to announce new Mac minis and M2-powered MacBooks, Apple took the same approach in January to announce the second-generation HomePod. Rather than its usual lavish in-person or remote events, Apple appears to be taking a new approach to product announcements in 2023: get quality products out there as quickly as possible for consumers to enjoy, even if we don’t have time to shout about them at Apple Campus. Apple has described the new device as a “powerful smart speaker that delivers…

Wall Street had its eyes on big tech after some of the biggest companies in the world posted lackluster quarterly financial performances. That included Apple Inc. The company posted its first quarterly revenue drop in nearly four years after pandemic-driven restrictions on its China factories curtailed sales of the latest iPhone during the holiday season. Amazon reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, but its revenue beat expectations boosted by sales in its cloud-computing unit AWS, which is also seeing a slow-down in growth. Google’s parent company Alphabet posted a lower profit and a small revenue increase for last year’s fourth quarter, as a decline in online ad spending and competition from rivals weigh on the search giant. While overall revenue grew, advertising revenue fell by nearly 4% and revenue at YouTube declined 8% year-over-year.…

Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app — with mixed experiences, according to a Pew Research Center study. For the under-35 set, more than half have tried it. The overall number, which amounts to 30%, is unchanged since 2019, the last time the center took a broad look at online dating. In 2015, 15% of U.S. adults said they had used a dating site or app, said lead researcher Colleen McClain. “When we talk to users who have been on the sites more recently, we see that there is really a mix of emotions,” she said. “Everything from burnout to elation.” Among the study’s key takeaways for McClain: 1 in 10 adults who have a partner said they…