CloudTalkin
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US Customs seize fake AirPods worth $7M in Cincinnati
From the article: "Apple has configuration trademarks that apply to AirPods, representing the physical design and shape among other attributes, which are recorded with CBP. While the fake AirPods don't use Apple's product name nor the Apple wordmark at all, the design of the products was enough to be considered a violation."beowulfschmidt said:How in the world does something with a different name, in a different color, and in different packaging qualify as "fake" AirPods?
Given the vague criteria, there are lots of "fake" products running around.
↑↑↑ That's their reasoning. In this particular case, I think they're pretty spot on. The problem is counterfeit is based on their interpretation of what "looks" like an AirPod. A while back, using the same criteria, they seized some OnePlus earbuds claiming they were counterfeit AirPods. The obviously weren't.
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Apple awards iPhone glass maker Corning a further $45 million
Corning didn't need the funding. Apple uses their Advanced Manufacturing Fund to entice companies to collaborate on projects that have a specific interest for Apple. In this instance, Apple's funding allowed a collaboration on cover glass formulation that probably wouldn't have happened under Corning's regular R&D budget. It's essentially "here's some money, lets work on this thing" They've used the fund to foster research with a number of companies.sflocal said:I do wonder why Corning needs this. I haven't looked at their financials, but I would think the amount of money being invested here is not much compared to the bigger picture. I presume this cash comes with a gentleman's agreement that benefits Apple of course.
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Actual US broadband penetration & speed falls far short of FCC claims
The data shows broadband usage, which doesn't draw any distinctions between areas where higher speeds aren't available or areas in which the people can't afford faster connections. In Apache County, Arizona, broadband usage clocks in at about 5%. Among the 70,000 that live in the county, about 23,000 are in poverty -- the highest poverty rate in the state. - Seems they did pick up on it.steven n. said:This is the telling part:
“The blue-colored areas are U.S. counties where less than 15% of people are using the internet at a 25Mbps download speed, which is the FCC's definition of high-speed internet.”
The FCC judges by available. Microsoft judges by using. Two very different metrics. I would not expect The Verge’s sophomoric “journalism” to pick up on this.
The FCC doesn't judge by available. The FCC judges by what the ISP's say is available. What the ISP's say isn't reflected in actual deployment. Ars Technica does a great job of covering the debacle of broadband deployment. You should check out some of their coverage. Suffice it to say, Microsoft's data isn't a revelation. We already knew the ISP's were doing a crappy job.
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Actual US broadband penetration & speed falls far short of FCC claims
Why publish it? Microsoft published this info as part of their Airband Initiative to help close the rural broadband gap. How much are they selling it for? $0. It's free for all to analyze. https://github.com/microsoft/USBroadbandUsagePercentages ;rob53 said:@Cg27--you typed faster than me....)
This means only people accessing Microsoft cloud services would have been included in this data. Which Microsoft cloud services are used by non-Microsoft client software (Office suite, etc.)? I know Microsoft collects all kinds of data but I have to wonder why they're publishing it and how much they're selling it for.
When you look at the map, I can totally understand the results for the western states. There's nothing but desert in the blue area of Nevada. The northern end of California is mountains on the west and high desert (Mt. Lassen) on the east. This is grazing land for the most part. That swath of Washington state is interesting but it's also not a highly populated area until you get closer to the eastern border. Alaska is a no-brainer. There's almost no towns in most of that state. In most of these internet-limited areas I see the Starlink satellite access as being the most cost-effective way to deliver internet. Installing fiber/coax cables just won't work.
The surprising part is the midwest and south where it should be easier to install landlines but I see this as being a political problem with taxpayers money not being spent on services to enhance internet access.
--What I'd like to see is more cellular access in many of these blue areas because more people drive through these areas than live in them.
You seem to be missing the overarching point which is broadband coverage isn't actually what the government says it is because the government is relying on self reporting from ISP's who have continually lied about the state of broadband coverage in the US. Not only have they lied, they've taken tax payer funds to strengthen broadband coverage without actually doing it.
What MS's data shows is only a small part of the disparity between paid for promises and unfulfilled delivery. As long as the telecom lobbying arm pumps inordinate amounts of money into political coffers... ain't nuttin' gon change.
You won't see more cellular access in those blue areas for some of the same reasons the areas are blue. The telecoms don't have to offer coverage because no one is making them do it. Can't say they aren't being incentivized because the government continues to give them money to do it but won't make them actually do it.
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Seven Apple suppliers linked to Chinese forced labor programs
1. From the article you're quoting:radarthekat said:No word from these reports as to whether any other companies get parts from these companies. Surely they aren’t solely Apple suppliers.
"According to The Information, other U.S. and Western companies that work with the seven identified suppliers include Google, Samsung, Amazon, Tesla, Dell, Lenovo, BMW, Cisco, and HP, among others."
2. Why am I not surprised the first response to the article is a quote looking to point the finger elsewhere and spread the blame. If the rumors are true, involvement by other companies doesn't lessen the impact of Apple's involvement. "They do it too has never been a good excuse" I'm also sure Apple would never use it. That's an excuse some Apple fans like to trot out when Apple could be involved with something less than respectable. Apple has shown time and again, when verifiable evidence exists, they act on it. No need to attempt deflection towards other companies.
