A new report by NkkeiAsia says that iPhone 13 buyers are facing “longer-than-expected” delivery time due to the COVID-19 wave in Vietnam and the deployment of a new camera feature.
It’s been a few months since 9to5Mac began reporting on Costa Rican banks readying the launch of Apple Pay in the country. Now, Banco Promerica just uploaded Apple’s payment system terms and conditions to its web page.
Despite widespread support for a federal privacy law across US citizens, businesses, civil rights groups, and even politicians, efforts to create one appear to have stalled.
Congress now appears to be placing its hopes in FTC regulation instead …
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday said the U.S. government should steer clear of trying to regulate the crypto market.
“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement,” Musk said at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California.
Musk was responding on stage to a question from New York Times columnist Kara Swisher. She asked whether the U.S. government should be involved in regulating the crypto space.
“I would say, ‘Do nothing,’” he said.
Tesla said early this year that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The value of those holdings swelled to about $2.5 billion in the second quarter as bitcoin prices surged. Bitcoin has since dropped, along with other cryptocurrencies.
Musk, who has frequently touted his support for various digital coins on Twitter, is bullish on the role of crypto in potentially reducing the “error and latency” in the legacy money systems. But he acknowledged that crypto doesn’t have all the answers to society’s ills.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m a massive cryptocurrency expert,” said Musk. “I think there’s some value in cryptocurrency, but I wouldn’t say it’s the second coming of the Messiah.”
Musk on China’s crypto crackdown
Musk also addressed China’s role in crypto mining and regulation.
Last week, China’s central bank spelled out tougher measures in its wider crypto crackdown, including souped-up systems to monitor crypto-related transactions.
Musk said the heavy hand likely has to do with the country’s “significant electricity generation issues.”
“Part of it may actually be due to electricity shortages in many parts of China,” said Musk. “A lot of South China right now is having random power outages, because the power demand is higher than expected.”
“Crypto mining might be playing a role in that,” he said.
At a higher level, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies may present a challenge for the Chinese government.
“I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government,” Musk said. “They don’t like that.”
Suppliers of iPhone 13 camera parts are giving priority to Apple orders, according to supply-chain reports. Many of them supply components to a wide range of smartphone brands.
The report says there are two reasons for Apple getting more of their output …
China on Wednesday revealed a drone concept similar in mission – and appearance – to the US-made Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie as countries race to invest in “loyal wingman” drones to help protect pricier crewed fighter jets.
The long-range FH-97 drone concept unveiled on Wednesday can carry different types of weapons, and has swarm and electronic warfare capabilities, said Wu Wei, a representative of China Aerospace Science Technology Corp’s (CASTC) Feihong product line.
He did not provide specifics in his presentation at Airshow China in Zhuhai.
The United States, Britain, Australia, India and Russia are among the countries developing “loyal wingman” drones, which are cheaper and more expendable than crewed fighters.
CASTC did not provide technical details of the FH-97 concept, nor say whether it was planned for export, though many foreign observers watched the presentation.
The FH-97’s appearance is nearly identical to the Kratos XQ-58A, which made its first flight in 2019. The XQ-58A has a maximum speed of Mach 0.85 and a range of about 2,200 nautical miles.
Zhang Zhongyang, vice president of CASTC said the plan was to turn Feihong into an “international top-notch brand… and become a major player at the centre stage of the world arena.”
China has exported military drones to countries including the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Serbia.
“The chief customer is certainly the PLA, but in recent years the Chinese are also aggressively marketing these systems for exports,” said Collin Koh, a defence research fellow with Singapore’s Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
China also used the country’s biggest air show to display the weapons capability of one of its most advanced stealth attack drone projects, the GJ-11.
The Global Times reported that the GJ-11 on display at the show had its two weapons bays open for the first time. Inside each were four unidentified munitions that appeared to be precision air-to-ground glide bombs.
Bradley Perrett, a specialist on Asian aerospace and defence, said the GJ-11 was designed to slip undetected through radar coverage and attack heavily defended targets.
“In doing that, it would take the place of a much larger and more expensive fighter with a pilot,” he said. “Development won’t be easy, but when it’s complete the type will present a new threat to Taiwan and potentially Japan.”
Chinese companies have 27 drone exhibits at the Zhuhai show.
It’s been a week since iOS 15 launched and it includes another tweak for 5G users. If you are a T-Mobile customer and see a new “5G UC” icon in your iPhone status bar, it’s good news for your iPhone 12 or newer, but it’s very confusing at the same time.
AAPL stock options have been declared for Tim Cook and five other Apple execs. The SEC filing shows that Cook is in line for more than half a million shares, worth $75M at current value.
Four other execs stand to receive shares worth $20M each, while another is in line for $2.25M …
Windows 11 is due to launch a week from now, on October 5 and since it’s in the final phase, the company Microsoft has rolled out a near-final version of the operating system people registered in the Windows Insider program.
Since it’s the first time a Windows 11 version has been out as a Release Preview Insider program, it is a big thing.
Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels have used test versions of the operating system but it’s the first time a Release Preview builds available. Before now there were builds of Windows 10 only that Microsoft promised shall continue to be supported through October of 2025.
Now that a build of Windows 11 has hit the Release Preview channel, it’s most likely that it is the nearest impression of the final version Microsoft will release next week.
Of the features promised to arrive in the new operating system, the retouched Start menu and better Photos app, are included in this early release but everything is not here yet.
Also, the software giant has delayed the launch of Windows 11’s Android app integration until 2022.
It’s a safe bet that the version of Windows 11 the Insiders are currently testing is a close sneak peek into the version we’ll see Microsoft release next week.
Wanna see for yourself? Enrol a PC that’s compatible with the new Microsoft’s operating system in the Release Preview channel of the Windows Insider Program.
Make sure your PC meets the requirements set by Windows 11 system, and to make it happen, run Microsoft’s PC Health Check app from the new operating system page.
Also, make sure you’ve signed up as a Windows Insider via either the Windows Insider Program website or from within Windows 10 itself.
To sign up in Windows 10, hit the Start button and type Windows Insider Program and select Windows Insider Program settings from the Start menu.
Once you’re enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, simply open Windows Update and download the optional upgrade to Windows 11 ahead of its formal engress next week.
