AppleMagazine #556

Researchers from the University of Colorado are studying the Great Smoky Mountains’ synchronous fireflies to determine whether understanding the way they communicate could help with developing robot communication. The fireflies “need to solve complex problems while communicating in large groups, which is something computers need to do,” Orit Peleg, a computer scientist from the University of Colorado at Boulder, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “So maybe there’s something interesting we can learn about them and apply to man-made systems.” Semi-autonomous robots communicating with flashes of infrared light could be used to locate victims after a natural disaster, for example. The researchers who sojourned to the park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border earlier this month to study the fireflies at their peak included graduate student Owen Martin and postdoctoral researcher Raphael Sarfati. Their research…

The scientific lab that’s home to the world’s largest atom-smasher says it plans to terminate all cooperation with Russia and Belarus over their roles in the war in Ukraine. The announcement was made last week, a day after CERN’s managing council made the decision. In March, CERN suspended cooperation with the two countries over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, which included passage of Russian forces through Belarus for their invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. “The council’s decision confirms the strong condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation aided by Belarus, while leaving the door ajar for continued scientific collaboration should conditions allow in the future,”said CERN director-general Fabiola Gianotti in a statement. The scientific organization said the council“intends to terminate”CERN’s cooperation agreements with Belarus and Russia when they…

The historic vote by employees of a Maryland Apple store to unionize — a first for the technology giant — is a significant step in a lengthy process that labor experts say is heavily stacked against workers in favor of their employers. Apple store employees in a Baltimore suburb voted to unionize by a nearly 2-to-1 margin Saturday, joining a growing push across U.S. retail, service and tech industries to organize for greater workplace protections. It’s not yet clear whether the recent wave of unionizations represent a broader shift in U.S. labor. But experts say the current shortage of workers for hourly and low-wage jobs means employees have more power than they had historically, especially when unemployment is low. “It’s not that big a deal to lose one of these jobs because you…

A lot can happen in six months. That’s why, as we close out the first half of the year, it makes sense to check in on your financial life. “With inflation, I think people this year are more heavily impacted than they probably have been in many years leading up to this point,” says Jason Dall’Acqua, a certified financial planner and founder of Crest Wealth Advisors in Annapolis, Maryland. “So it’s a good time to see how things have been going ... as well as plan for what lies ahead in the remainder of the year.” So where should you start? Add these four items to your midyear money checklist. REVIEW YOUR INCOME, EXPENSES AND GOALS You don’t have to tally up every penny you’ve made and spent over the last six months. But…

At this year’s WWDC, Apple lifted the lid on what’s next for the iPhone as it unveiled iOS 16, introducing a whole host of new features designed to make our devices even smarter and more capable than ever before. From customized Lock Screens to the iCloud Shared Photo Library, the update further refines the world’s most advanced smartphone operating system. PUTTING THE POWER IN USERS’ HANDS This year’s iOS changes might not be as significant or dramatic as they have been in previous years, but it’s clear that Apple wants to further refine what it’s already made great, rather than tearing up the rule book with major design changes for the sake of it. Taking to the stage at WWDC, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said that this…

BMW has a well-established history of developing luxury sport sedans, and now the automaker has set its sights on dominating the all-electric segment with its new 2022 i4. The BMW i4 is about the size of a 3 Series and offers an engaging driving experience. If you’re looking for an alternative to the Tesla Model 3, this could be it. But there’s another small EV also vying for your attention: the Polestar 2. The Polestar 2 hails from Volvo’s nascent EV-only Polestar brand. It boasts excellent handling and impressive tech. Which electric sedan — with a hatchback-style trunk — is the better buy? Experts compared them to find out. RANGE AND CHARGING Range and charging should be a top priority, even when you’re shopping for a performance EV. For 2022, the i4 has…