apple-list February 2015

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FYI: Apple MB Pro Repair: a small percentage of MacBook Pro systems (sold between February 2011 and December 2013) may exhibit distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts

by Wayne Billing

...from: http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/ MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues Apple has determined that a small percentage of MacBook Pro systems may exhibit distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts. These MacBook Pro systems were sold between February 2011 and December 2013. Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will repair affected MacBook Pro systems, free of charge. See below for details on affected models and service options. As of February 20, 2015, the repair process will be available in the U.S. and Canada. In other countries, it will be available as of February 27, 2015. Symptoms An affected MacBook Pro may display one or more of the following symptoms: * Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen * No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on * Computer restarts unexpectedly Products affected * 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models manufactured in 2011 * 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina models manufactured from Mid 2012 to Early 2013 Identify your model Use the "Check your Coverage<https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do>" tool on the Apple Support site to determine if your MacBook Pro model matches the list of affected products below. Sample results: [Check your coverage] Affected Models * MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011) * MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) * MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012) * MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011) * MacBook Pro (17-inch Late 2011) * MacBook Pro (Retina, 15 inch, Early 2013) Note: If your MacBook Pro is not experiencing any of these symptoms and is not one of the products affected, you do not need to contact Apple. Repair Process Please choose one of the options below for service. Your MacBook Pro will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program and is otherwise in working order. Note: If your MacBook Pro has any damage, which prevents the repair, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved during service. You will be notified about any additional repair charges that are required. Please back up your data before your MacBook Pro is serviced. Learn more about backup options.<http://www.apple.com/support/backup/> * Carry-in * Bring your MacBook Pro to a participating provider<https://locate.apple.com/> - Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. * A technician will run a diagnostic test on the MacBook Pro to verify eligibility. * Repair turn around time will vary based upon parts and technician availability. * You will be notified when your MacBook Pro is ready for pickup. * Mail-in * Call Apple and request a postage paid box to send your MacBook Pro to the local Apple Repair Center. * A technician will run a diagnostic test on your MacBook Pro to verify eligibility. * The repair process takes approximately 5-7 days from the time your MacBook Pro is received at the repair center until it is returned to you. * After it has been serviced, your MacBook Pro will be returned to you by mail. Additional Information Apple is contacting customers who paid for a repair either though Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to arrange reimbursement. If you have not been contacted, but paid for a repair that you think was due to this issue, please contact Apple. This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the MacBook Pro. The program covers affected MacBook Pro models until February 27, 2016 or three years from its original date of sale, whichever provides longer coverage for you. Information as of 2015-02-19

9 years, 2 months

INTEREST: Obama: “Everybody’s online and everybody’s vulnerable”

by Wayne Billing

...from: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/obama-everybodys-online-and-ever… Obama: “Everybody’s online and everybody’s vulnerable” [cid:35FD4F1C-650E-476F-8800-26270944CC66] White House<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlTo9hFAFXs&spfreload=10> President Barack Obama signed an executive order<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/12/fact-sheet-executive-…> on Friday that encourages more cybersecurity threat-related data sharing between the private sector and the government. Speaking at Stanford University in California, where many tech leaders and other government officials also assembled, the president acknowledged that federal authorities are in a bind. “I have to tell you that grappling with how government protects the American people from adverse events while at the same time making sure that government itself is not abusing its capabilities is hard,” he said. “This cyber world is the Wild Wild West, and to some degree we’re asked to be the sheriff. When something like Sony happens<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/sony-pictures-hack-gets-uglier-nort…>, people want to know what government can do about it. The technology so often outstrips whatever rules and structures and standards have been put in place.” “Everybody’s online and everybody’s vulnerable,” he added. In an online statement<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/13/fact-sheet-white-hous…>, the White House added: "We must have new technologies that combine greater security and convenience. This technology moves beyond usernames and passwords to employ multiple security steps to better ensure a person is who they say they are." The Obama administration has been actively working<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/13/fact-sheet-white-hous…> on this issue since 2013, when a previous executive order on Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity was signed. That, in turn, led to something called the “Cybersecurity Framework,” or a sort of blueprint that some Silicon Valley and other major firms have adopted, including Bank of America, Apple, and others. Last month, Obama announced<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/obama-calls-for-new-consumer-stu…> new legislation aiming to protect consumer privacy and student privacy and offer enhanced protection of home energy usage data, among other things. (Some of the new suggested policies were first put forth in 2012<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/02/white-house-announces-new-privac…>.) Some tech companies have butted heads with Washington and are dismayed that National Security Agency and other digital surveillance reforms have stalled. While Apple CEO Tim Cook did speak, executives from Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter were not in attendance. According to Reuters<http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/12/us-usa-cybersecurity-exclusive-id…>, copies of the executive order’s text have not been made available to top tech executives. A copy of the executive order has yet to be published on the White House website.

9 years, 2 months

FYI: iCloud beta now lets anyone create an Apple ID and use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free | iMore

by Doug Hamilton

http://www.imore.com/icloud-beta-now-lets-anyone-create-apple-id-and-use-pa… iCloud beta now lets anyone create an Apple ID and use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free Good news for people wanting to use Apple's productivity software: starting tonight, anyone, with or without a Mac or iOS device, will be able to create an Apple ID and sign in to the iCloud beta website to start using Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free. When users visit beta.icloud.com, they will be presented with a banner at the top of the page prompting them to create an Apple ID. Afterwards, in addition to gaining access to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, the free accounts will also grant 1GB of free cloud storage to users. This is a great way for Apple to extend its services beyond its own devices, as now even PC users can start using the company's productivity suite. It is important to note, however, that this currently only works from the beta version of the iCloud website. If you'd like to give it a shot, hit up that source link below to get started. Source: iCloud Beta Have something to say about this story? Share your comments below! Need help with something else? Submit your question!

9 years, 2 months

INTEREST: Busy week for Apple: conflict-free audit, new record market-cap, solar farm to offset electricity use; LOCK reducing iPhone theft

by Wayne Billing

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/12/apple-conflict-minerals/ Apple dropping four smelters from supply chain after they refused conflict-free audit<http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/12/apple-conflict-minerals/> Apple has revealed in its annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report<http://images.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple_Progress_Report_2…> that it has informed four smelters–who provide metals used in the production of the company’s devices–that they will be dropped from the supply chain after refusing to submit to “conflict mineral” audits … The audits are designed to ensure that the extraction of the minerals used does not finance armed groups associated with human rights violations: “Tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold are called conflict minerals because, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjoining regions, their extraction may finance or benefit armed groups associated with human rights violations. Apple is dedicated to using only conflict-free minerals in our products […] Unfortunately, even after extensive encouragement, there were four smelters that were unwilling to commit to be audited by a third party, so Apple put these smelters on notice that they will be removed from our supply chain.” [...] ...from: http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/10/apple-becomes-1st-company-ever-to-close-at-ma… Apple becomes 1st company ever to close at market cap of over $700B (AAPL)<http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/10/apple-becomes-1st-company-ever-to-close-at-ma…> Update 2/11: After passing $700 billion in market capitalization yesterday, Apple has been trading up<http://finance.yahoo.com/q?d=t&s=AAPL> as high as $124.43 a share raising market cap over $720 billion. Apple’s stock price closed <https://www.google.com/search?q=TSLA&oq=TSLA&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.957j0j4&…> up 2.3 points today [...] ..from: http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/10/apple-announces-850m-solar-farm-in-monterey-t… Apple announces $850m, 1600-acre solar farm in Monterey to offset all its CA operations incl. Campus 2<http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/10/apple-announces-850m-solar-farm-in-monterey-t…> [apple-Solar-reno] During Tim Cook’s talk at the Goldman Sachs Tech Conference 2015<http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/10/live-blog-tim-cook-goldman-sachs-conference/> today, the Apple CEO announced a new initiative that will see the company build a solar farm in Monterey County, California that Cook called Apple’s “biggest, boldest and most ambitious” energy project yet. “We know at Apple that climate change is real… our view is the time for talk is past and the time for action is now… we’re now running all of our data centres… off renewable energy.. Just today we’re announcing our biggest, boldest and most ambitious project ever…building a solar farm in Monterey County…” Apple says the new solar farm will offset all of its California operations including 55 retail stores, its entire under construction Campus 2,<http://9to5mac.com/tag/apple-campus-2/> its other offices in California, and at least one of its data centers. Apple’s new Campus 2 alone is scheduled to house approximately 16,000 of its employees in 2.8m square feet once complete. ...from: http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/11/iphone-thefts/ Activation Lock has reduced iPhone theft by 25% in NY, 40% in SF, 50% in London<http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/11/iphone-thefts/> [activation-lock-02] Officials in three major cities have reported dramatic reductions in iPhone thefts since Apple introduced Activation Lock<http://9to5mac.com/tag/activation-lock/> as part of iOS 7, preventing devices being re-activated without the original owner’s iCloud login. Reuters<http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-usa-smartphone-killswitch-idUS…> reports that the number of reported iPhone thefts has fallen year-on-year by 25% in New York, 40% in San Francisco and 50% in London … Activation Lock was originally announced<http://9to5mac.com/2013/06/10/apple-announces-activation-lock-theft-deterre…> in June 2013 as part of iOS 7, resulting in theft reductions<http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/18/police-ios-7s-activation-lock-has-helped-redu…>in the three cities of 19%, 24% and 38% respectively. Switching on Activation Lock by default in iOS 8<http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/17/apple-turns-activation-lock-on-by-default-in-…> has further boosted these numbers as thieves are discovering that stolen iPhones are little more than pretty-looking bricks.

9 years, 2 months

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apple-list February 2015