Techlife News #352

When Apple first publicly showed off the iPhone X at a keynote last September, executive Phil Schiller hailed the new handset as “all-screen” and “beautiful to look at”, adding descriptively that “the display fits edge-to-edge, top-to-bottom”. He branded this display “the Super Retina display”, reflecting its improvements upon the Retina displays long featured in Apple devices. In all, he hailed the screen as “the first OLED display greatenough to be in an iPhone.” GREATEST NITS: WHAT MAKES THE PHONE X’S SCREEN SPECIAL Many people who have habitually bought a new smartphone year-after-year for the last decade might wonder why it took so long for Apple to finally integrate OLED technology into its iPhone screens. After all, OLED technology has been included in Samsung phones since 2008. However, it seems in-keeping with Apple’s…

Apple provided us with the following statement: “Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we’ve identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro. A bug fix is included in today’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended. We apologize to any customer who has experienced less than optimal performance on their new systems.” Apple internally ran tests using Premiere Pro replicating the workloads used in many of the reports related to the bug. “Customers can expect the new 15-inch MacBook Pro to be up to 70% faster, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to be up to 2X faster, as shown in the performance results…

Allowing inmates to stare at computer tablet screens for hours each day may be just the ticket for creating calm, orderly cellblocks, prison officials say. But tablets, growing in popularity in prisons nationwide, also can help inmates advance their education, connect with family and prepare them for life in the technology-saturated outside world, officials say. In Connecticut, which plans to introduce tablets in its prisons this summer, Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said officials are learning from other states that cellblocks become much quieter after tablets are introduced. “Just like when you walk in the mall, everyone is looking down at their phone,” he said. The devices, which are transparent so contraband can’t be hidden in them, won’t be hooked to the internet, but to an internal system. They will be preloaded with educational materials,…

5G TECHNOLOGY IS INCOMING We’re using more data than ever before. Gone are the days where we’d spend our evenings in front of the box watching cable television, or using our home phones to call friends to arrange dinner plans. The way in which we consume content and communicate has changed - and it’s primarily thanks to our smartphones and 4G mobile technology. Today, we can use our cellular data plan to order food, book an appointment, and even buy a house, and while LTE speeds have made it easier than ever to stream and download content, speed remains an issue. 5G technology, the next-generation of 4G or LTE cellular data, is set to change the world once more, providing an infrastructure that supports super-fast mobile connections. Streaming movies, downloading videos and…

One app promotes itself as a way to discuss sensitive negotiations and human resources problems without leaving a digital record. Another boasts that disappearing messages “keep your message history tidy.” And a popular email service recently launched a “confidential mode” allowing the content of messages to disappear after a set time. The proliferation of digital tools that make text and email messages vanish may be welcome to Americans seeking to guard their privacy. But open government advocates fear they are being misused by public officials to conduct business in secret and evade transparency laws. Whether communications on those platforms should be part of the public record is a growing but unsettled debate in states across the country. Updates to transparency laws lag behind rapid technological advances, and the public and private personas of…

The surveillance system that has kept watch on students entering Lockport schools for over a decade is getting a novel upgrade. Facial recognition technology soon will check each face against a database of expelled students, sex offenders and other possible troublemakers. It could be the start of a trend as more schools fearful of shootings consider adopting the technology, which has been gaining ground on city streets and in some businesses and government agencies. Just last week, Seattle-based digital software company RealNetworks began offering a free version of its facial recognition system to schools nationwide. Already, the Lockport City School District’s plan has opened a debate in this western New York community and far beyond about the system’s potential effectiveness, student privacy and civil rights. “We shake our heads that we’re having to…