Originally published at: https://appletalk.com.au/2018/10/monday-morning-news081018/
A statement from the US Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary continues to refute Bloomberg’s story from last week regarding compromised components in servers used by the likes of Apple and Amazon. The DHS says they have no reason to doubt the statements from either company refuting Bloomberg’s story. Apple’s Vice President of Information Security has also written a letter to US Congress saying the company repeatedly investigated and found no evidence of any of the malicious hardware or network activity described in Bloomberg’s original story.
BuzzFeed reports on Apple’s continued denial of Bloomberg’s findings, saying multiple Apple sources were unable to explain the allegations. Not only has anyone from Apple ever seen or investigated compromised server hardware, Apple has never contacted the FBI or been contacted by any government agency regarding the kind of incidents described by Bloomberg. Apple’s former general counsel Bruce Sewell also recently discussed the issue with the FBI’s then-general counsel James Baker, who confirmed that no one at the FBI knew what the story was about, either.
A bug relating to daylight savings on the Apple Watch Series 4 was discovered yesterday, with some devices going into a reboot loop and/or rapidly discharging the battery fast. The issue only seemed to affect Series 4 devices, with either the Infograph or Infograph Activity complication being the cause of the crashing and rebooting. Changing your watch face fixed the issue for some.
9to5Mac has tips on customising the Infograph face on the Apple Watch Series 4, which has great potential due to the number of complications it can display. Of course, there’s always the risk that it will get too busy, but if you’re careful about what you complications you choose to display and don’t overload it with too much information, it can be incredibly useful.
Motherboard writes that Apple’s requirement for running their proprietary diagnostics software to complete repairs on Macs with the T2 security chip will kill third-party repairs on those machines. An internal Apple document says failure to run Apple’s diagnostics will result in an inoperative system and an incomplete repair after some parts of the system are replaced — while that won’t be a problem if you’re working in an Apple Authorised Service Provider, it seems unlikely that smaller repair businesses would have access to Apple diagnostics.
Which makes it all the more interesting that iFixit, not one of those Apple Authorised Service Providers, was able to complete a display and logic board swap on one of the 2018 MacBook Pros with T2 security chip without running the diagnostics afterwards, with apparently no ill side effects. MacRumors says it’s unclear why Apple’s own repair document claims otherwise, although admits it’s possible that running diagnostics to complete repairs may become a requirement in the future.
A patent application from Apple says improvements could be coming to touchscreens and the Apple Pencil. Ultrasonic technology could alter the way we interact with touchscreens, including how the Apple Pencil is used, potentially even detecting how the stylus is being handled by the user and responding appropriately.
Apple’s retail location at the Louvre will close permanently on October 27th. The good news is, it will be replaced by a new global flagship store on the Champs-Élysées, opening sometime in November, so this one is more like a move than a direct closing — but still, the location at the Louvre was iconic for being in close proximity to another famed tourist attraction.
Gabe from Macdrifter laments the missed opportunity of shelf apps on iOS, although if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, then that probably explains a lot.
Neil Cybart’s latest analysis of Apple tells us about Apple’s product strategy as it is and moving forward. Connecting the Apple dots, he explains how the latest iPhones and Apple Watch fit into Apple’s overall product strategy for the next decade, along with how that aligns for future products and as userbases of previous products dwindle.