Apple has replaced its regular homepage with a tribute to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Apple devotes its homepage to honoring Dr. Martin Luther King JrFor one day only, Apple has replaced all of its usual product promotions and images, with a single photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As it did in 2020, the photo is accompanied by a quote from the civil rights leader.

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Plain text (.txt) is one of the most common, open file formats in computing. Virtually all word processors support it, or at the very least can export files in this format. Wikipedia lists some benefits of plain text, like: “The purpose of using plain text today is primarily independence from programs that require their very own special encoding or formatting or file format.“

That word “independence” is what I’ve been thinking about lately. Or, as I refer to it in my headline, data portability. I don’t plan to leave the Apple ecosystem any time soon but it’s nice to have options. Apple Notes is a fine text editor, but plain text files can be easily exported and uploaded anywhere.

Plain Text Shortcuts

• Plain TXT Editor: This lets you create notes in plain text and edit...

Vietnam has awarded a license to a unit of Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Company, Apple’s main manufacturing partner, to build a US$270 million plant to produce laptops and tablets such as Mac laptops and iPads, reports Reuters. The plan will be located in the northern province of Bac Giang and will annually produce eight million units, […]

The post Apple manufacturing partner, Foxconn, to buy a $270 factory in Vietnam appeared first on Apple World Today.

A Washington nonprofit group sued Apple in federal court Sunday, demanding that it remove Telegram, a chat and social media app, from its app store for failing to crack down on violent, extremist conversation in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, reports The Washington Post. The article says the suit […]

The post Lawsuit wants Telegram app removed from the Apple App Store appeared first on Apple World Today.

MacRumors reports that some M1 Mac models — the 2020 MacBook Air, 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 2020 Mac mini — are susceptible to a Fast User Switching bug that spontaneously activates the screensaver and leaves the user unable to dismiss it. In macOS Big Sur, Fast User Switching allows users to quickly switch between […]

The post How to deal with a ‘Fast User Switching’ issue on M1 Macs appeared first on Apple World Today.

Foxconn is set to build a new factory to produce tablets and computers in Vietnam, which could be part of Apple's plan to widen its iPad and MacBook production lines outside of China.Set to be located in the northern province of Bac Giang, the government said it is expected the facility will produce eight million units of products per year, with it chiefly made up of notebooks and tablets. Since Foxconn is a major assembly partner for Apple, it is possible some of this production could be for iPads and MacBooks.In November, it was claimed Apple asked Foxconn to move some of its iPad and MacBook production out from China to Vietnam, in a bid to diversify production. The US-China trade war was a...

On this episode of the HomeKit Insider podcast, Arlo adds HomeKit, your hosts cover everything HomeKit-related from CES 2021, and we touch on a few new listener questions related to smart locks.HomeKit Insider: A new AppleInsider podcastPreviously, on HomeKit Insider, we spoke about a few HomeKit devices announced at CES 2021 but since then, more news has dropped. We recap everything new announced during the whole show and when you can expect them to hit shelves.

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Citi analysts wrote to clients their belief that Spotify’s foray into podcasting hasn’t been working.

The cadence of Premium gross additions (through 3Q20) and app download data (through 4Q20) do not show any material benefit from recent podcast investments (that began in 2019). The firm downgraded the stock to sell from neutral. Spotify’s stock was down more than 6.5% in the afternoon.

Tags: Podcasts, spotify

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Sponsored by Crypto Pro: Bitcoin/cryptocurrency tracking app for iPhone, iPad, Mac & Apple Watch.

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Apple just published a new Press Release:

• Apple Distinguished Educator Mike Lang draws blueprint for change in Las Vegas

If you've ever wanted an easy way to add an emoji to a message, email, or comment section, here's how to type emoji in nearly any text field from your Mac — no Touch Bar required.Emojis have become a part of everyday language, and for many of us, they help us communicate our thoughts and feelings through text.Some macOS apps — like Messages, for example — allow you to simply click on an emoji menu, which will enable you to select the emoji you'd like to use to insert into conversations.

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One of the many elements you can sync across devices with iCloud are the tabs in Safari browsers. With Settings > account name > iCloud > Safari checked in iOS/iPadOS, Safari checked in the iCloud preference pane in macOS 10.14 Mojave and earlier, or Safari checked in the iCloud view of the Apple ID preference pane in Catalina or later, your tabs sync, as well as bookmarks and Reading List items. Apple goes so far as to name synced tabs “iCloud Tabs” and synced bookmarks “iCloud Bookmarks.”

Apple

In macOS, you can get an expansive view of on-device tabs and a list of those shared via iCloud Tabs.

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By Jane Sandwood During times of confinement, more and more people are taking advantage of more time at home by completing DIY projects that have been left on the burner for months or even years.  As found in a survey by The DRUM, around 17% of homebuyers said they were planning on working on a home […]

The post Cyber security tips for remote working appeared first on Apple World Today.

Since I do product/app reviews, sometimes it’s handy to take a screenshot of my Apple Watch’s screen. Perhaps you’d like to do this, as well, to, say, take pic of your digital touch drawing. Here’s how: Press and hold the side button on your Apple Watch. Immediately press and release the Digital Crown. After you […]

The post How to take a screenshot on your Apple Watch appeared first on Apple World Today.

A dirt-cheap way to take care of what’s in your dirt.

Apple continues its annual tradition of devoting its home page to celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a single-sentence quote. This year’s quote is from Stride Toward Freedom, King’s memoir of the Montgomery bus boycott.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.

The bus boycott began with a simple action by Rosa Parks, and ended in a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court ruling …

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Apple's no stranger to introducing and popularizing new technologies. The original iMac wasn't the first to use USB, but it drove adoption of the standard. Multitouch displays existed before the iPhone, but it was the first real commercial product offering it. Sometimes those technologies take a while to gestate, though. And there may be no better example in recent years than Apple's take on ultra wideband, or UWB.

Like those other technologies, ultra wideband isn't new as a concept, but it's something that hasn't really found a home in the consumer market. In 2019, Apple released the iPhone 11 series and included a custom chip dubbed the U1. During the introduction, Apple talked up the amazing properties of the U1, and how it could be used to not only track the location of objects with amazing precision, but even has the ability to point you in the right direction towards them.

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Apple has updated its repair program for the 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro to fix the so-called "stage light" problem, increasing the eligibility from four years to five years after the first retail sale of the unit.Apple launched its 13-inch MacBook Pro Display Backlight Service Program in May 2019, enabling a small number of 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro users to fix an issue with the backlight of their devices. For some units, the backlight can exhibit a stage light-style effect, which the program offers to fix.The problem of bright and dark spots at the bottom of the screen was found to be due to Apple using...

IO Interactive’s plans to let Hitman 3 players use earlier games’ locations might not have panned out as planned, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to re-buy those first two titles. The developer has promised that PC gamers who own Hitman or Hitman 2...

More car subscription services are running into trouble. According to Autoblog, Automotive News has learned that Audi and BMW are respectively ending and pausing their services. Audi is winding down its Select program on January 31st with no mention...

Characters from your favorite Apple Arcade titles are the stars of larger than life displays in Apple Stores around the world. The new interactive demos debuted this past week and are powered by a QR code-based experience. 

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The post Apple Arcade icons come to life in new Apple Store displays appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Those putting off picking up a MagSafe Charger for the latest iPhone can now save 8% on the popular accessory, with units in stock at Amazon.MagSafe Charger on saleIt's rare to see a discount on the MagSafe Charger that debuted in Late 2020, but Amazon is currently knocking 8% off the iPhone 12 accessory while supplies last.

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It’s taken as read that exercise can make you happier, healthier and more resilient, at least if you actually enjoy running. Asics, with an eye on selling you a new pair of sneakers, recruited a researcher from Kings College London to put some number...

The antitrust cases against Facebook and Google might have some additional fuel. The New York Times says it has obtained documents from Texas’ antitrust lawsuit elaborating on a “sweetheart deal” (first mentioned by the Wall Street Journal) Google ga...

Privacy-focused messaging app Signal is back online after an outage lasting more than 24 hours, an extended downtime caused by a large rush of users switching to the app.Late on Saturday night, Signal posted to Twitter that it was operational once again. Expressing the news using a gif from the movie "Rocky," the app claimed it had "learned a lot since yesterday," as well as thanking the "millions of new Signal users" for their patience."Your capacity for understanding inspired us while we expanded capacity," the tweet concluded.

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As tech journalists (as well as their laptop fans) begin to recover and recuperate from the first all-digital CES, let’s take a quick look at some other headlights from this past week. chameleonseye via Getty Images NHTSA wants Tesla to recall 158,0...

If you hate cooking, but also don’t want to keep throwing money at your local eateries, this robotic chef might be the answer to your problem. Launched to help a friend who had found himself wheelchair-bound and struggling to keep up with daily living tasks, a startup is trying to make cooking healthy, delicious meals as easy as popping in a tray of ingredients and your favorite cookware.

From Tragedy to Inspiration

Michael Lemberg, a graduate of NYU’s business school, jumped to his friend’s aid when the young man suffered an accident that left him confined to a wheelchair. So did several others, and they managed for several years to keep the gent living well. Soon, though, they recognized they needed to help him maintain a sense of independence, especially when it came to meals.

While they could have completely remodeled his kitchen to make it more accessible to him from the wheelchair, the band of brothers and sisters also saw a missed opportunity for others...

Apple is expanding Apple Maps with new VolunteerMatch match integration. The new partnership between Apple Maps and VolunteerMatch will allow users to easily find ways to volunteer in their communities ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.

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The post Apple Maps adds VolunteerMatch integration with curated guides for giving back to communities appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Don’t even think of using a Bird rental scooter for a wild ride. The company has revealed a Skid Detection feature that, as the name implies, watches for moments when an e-scooter goes sideways. If there’s a pattern of skidding Bird can attribute to...

Ford technically started Mustang Mach-E deliveries in December, but some drivers will have to wait considerably longer. Electrek has learned that Ford has delayed several hundred deliveries of the electric crossover by up to a month for “additional q...

Science is poised to get a much more prominent role in President-elect Biden’s administration. Nature and Reuters report that Biden has named breakthrough geneticist Eric Lander (seen above in 2002) not only as the director of the Office of Science a...

Belkin wants you stop using its Portable Wireless Charger + Stand Special Edition device if you have one. The accessory-maker has issued a voluntary recall for the power bank/charging stand due to a manufacturing defect in the power supply unit. Belk...

While CES was a bit different this year, we still managed to check out a number of inspiring new devices, apps and services. While we acknowledged the most promising tech in Engadget’s Best of CES awards, there remain a bunch of gadgets that didn’t m...

iMac fans — which certainly include Yours Truly — have hoped for a redesign for some time (it’s been almost nine years since one happened). Now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says this is on tap for this year and will be “one of the biggest visual updates to any Apple product this year.” Quoting unnamed “people […]

The post 2021 iMacs will have ‘one of the biggest visual updates to any Apple product this year’ appeared first on Apple World Today.

Apple has removed social media app, Wimkin, from the App Store, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wimkin describes itself as a “free speech social networking” platform with “uncensored social media.” The Wall Street Journal says Apple suspended Wimkin on Tuesday over content that included calls for a civil war and the arrest of Vice […]

The post Apple removes social media app, Wimkin, from the App Store appeared first on Apple World Today.

Apple has shared the trailer for the second season of “For All Mankind,” its alt-history Space Race drama from Ronald D. Moore and Sony Pictures Television, on its Apple TV YouTube channel. Recently renewed for a third season, the second season will make its global premiere on Apple TV+ on February 19, 2021. “For All […]

The post Apple posts trailer for second season of ‘For All Mankind’ appeared first on Apple World Today.

Your massive collection of hit CDs has probably been collecting dust since MP3 players went mainstream, and that was over a decade ago! Still, you shouldn’t toss out those classics without saving them digitally, and Audio Toolbox by Gilisoft features...

Apple wants Siri, its personal digital assistant, to be able to identify special user voices (and where they’re coming from) as evidenced by a new patent filing (number 20210010797) for “self-mixing interferometry sensors used to sense vibration of a structural or housing component defining an exterior surface of a device.” Apple notes that sensor systems […]

The post Apple wants Siri to be able to identify special user voices (and where they’re coming from) appeared first on Apple World Today.

The trailer for season two of For All Mankind dropped Friday. The season will continue to tell a counter-factual story of the space race, starting this time in 1983. It will air on Apple TV+ from February 19.

Tags: Apple TV+

Production has commenced on the second season of the popular sports-comedy series "Ted Lasso," which could start airing on Apple TV by summer 2021.A second and third season of "Ted Lasso" has been confirmed to be on the way, with Apple ordering more seasons at the time the show became available on Apple TV+. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced many productions to be delayed or postponed, but now Apple has confirmed it is starting for the show.

Time to start warming those biscuits. Production for @TedLasso Season 2 has officially begun! pic.twitter.com/EHZWbwiY58

— Apple TV (@AppleTV)...

Kingston introduces DataTraveler Kyson to their line of high performance flash drives at Pepcom’s Digital Experience! at CES 2021. Lang Chheou, PR Coordinator, gave us the scoop on this new product line.

The DataTraveler Kyson is a Type-A USB flash drive with a stylish, capless metal case, so there’s no cap to lose. The drive supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds, with up to 200 MB/s read and 60 MB/s write. A functional loop can be attached to a keyring. Capacities range from 32 GB to 256 GB. 32 GB is US$8.45, 64 GB is US$13.97, 128 GB is US23.73, and 256 GB is US$52.00 from their store.

For those that prefer a USB-C connector, the DataTraveler 80 is an option that offers the same performance of 200 MB/s read and 60...

Level introduces Level Touch, a smart lock that doesn’t look like one, but packs in many advanced features, including HomeKit integration. At Pepcom’s Digital Experience! at CES 2021, Josh Hepburn, Product Marketing, helped us to understand why they claims it’s “the smallest, most capable lock ever.”

Looking at the Level Touch, with satin nickel and satin chrome finish, and upcoming polished brass and matte black finishes, you wouldn’t even realize it was a smart lock, with the traditional keyhole on the outside and a lever on the inside. But things change once you touch it, or use your phone, accessories and HomeKit.

Level Touch is built with a combination of 440C stainless steel and strengthened metal alloys. Certified BHMA AAA to meet the highest industry standard for security and durability, so no need to  worry about basic security without the smart features. 

To enter or exit your home, simply...

Apple this week expanded the first-party iOS Tips app to include a section covering hardware, software, and account privacy.The new Privacy collection consists of nine tips covering Sign in with Apple, Safari passwords, system-wide password security, camera and mic usage indicators, Messages previews, location, Photos, Private Browsing in Safari, and Safari's Privacy Report feature.Starting with Safari, Apple notes the web browser can create and remember passwords for specific websites. Users can elect to rely on iPhone's Strong Password generation or type in their own for later recall.

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In addition to upgraded MacBook Pros, Bloomberg reports that Apple is also "planning the first redesign of its iMac all-in-one desktop computer since 2012," as it shifts away from Intel to its own silicon. From the report: The new models will slim down the thick black borders around the screen and do away with the sizable metal chin area in favor of a design similar to Apple's Pro Display XDR monitor. These iMacs will have a flat back, moving away from the curved rear of the current iMac. Apple is planning to launch two versions -- codenamed J456 and J457 -- to replace the existing 21.5-inch and 27-inch models later this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the products are not yet announced. The new models will use next-generation versions of Apple's Mac processors like the upcoming 2021 MacBook Pros. The iMac redesign will be one of the biggest visual updates to any Apple product this year, according to people familiar with the company's roadmap.

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Apple will temporarily close more than 20 of its retail locations in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas as coronavirus cases continue to climb in those states. In an update on its website first spotted by Bloomberg, the company indicates five Apple St...

In which Adam Engst finally hops on the HomeKit bandwagon for real and gets totally sucked in, installing smart outlets, controlling motorized shades, and adding some Flic buttons. 

Compared to the changes that could grace the company’s iMac and MacBook Pro computers, Apple is reportedly planning more subtle improvements for its iPhone lineup in 2021. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company’s engineers see this as an “...