posts

Mark Harris at The Guardian:

Apple is building a self-driving car in Silicon Valley, and is scouting for secure locations in the San Francisco Bay area to test it, the Guardian has learned. Documents show the oft-rumoured Apple car project appears to be further along than many suspected.

In May, engineers from Apple’s secretive Special Project group met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco that is being turned into a high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles.

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Joseph Keller:

Apple has introduced a new feature for iCloud on the web that allows you to restore deleted items. Not only can you recover files that you’ve deleted, but also restore contacts, calendars, and reminders. This new feature also shows you how long it will be until those items are permanently deleted if you choose not to restore them.

This is a huge addition to iCloud. While this still doesn’t seem as robust as Dropbox’s versioning system, it’s nice to know what I do keep in iCloud has an extra layer of protection.

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Apple:

You can use Boot Camp to install Windows 10 on supported Mac models that have OS X Yosemite installed.

Finally.

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Mitchel Broussard at MacRumors:

Apple yesterday began contacting some customers who recently purchased third-generation Apple TVs, informing them that their devices had shipped with an unspecified faulty part and offering an exchange for a brand-new unit shipped from the company.

As Broussard points out, this is a highly irregular way for the company to be dealing with this, leading many to believe (myself included) that this affects a very small number of units.

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This week on Connected:

This week, Federico returns to discuss Force Touch on the iPhone with Stephen and Myke, then the trio discuss the upcoming iOS 9 review on MacStories.

My thanks to our sponsors this week:

• Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Use code ‘CONNECTED’ to get 15% off.
• Hover: Simplified Domain Management. Use code ‘SUMMERTIME’ for 10% off your first purchase.
• Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. Use code WORLD for 10% off.

Next Tuesday at 1:15 PM Eastern, Myke and I will be taking questions on the live stream to celebrate the first anniversary of the network. You can submit questions on Twitter using #RelayQA and come hang out in the IRC with us.

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When the inevitable happens:

If your Newton freezes or “hangs,” take your stylus and press the Reset button in the battery compartment on the back of your Newton. This should allow you to restart your Newton.

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Today, astronauts on the International Space Station sampled space-grown lettuce:

The red lettuce eaten Monday – accompanied by a dash of vinaigrette dressing – was grown in a specialized canister aboard the International Space Station during recent weeks and had sprouted from seeds that were glued into place on Earth. Astronauts placed the seeds and their pouches in a system that provided the water and light needed to make the plants grow. Half of the landmark crop was eaten while the other half will be returned to researchers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for closer study.

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Larry Page:

What is Alphabet? Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity). Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related.

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IDG’s Jeremy Kirk:

Customers of the oft-criticized security and performance program MacKeeper have until Nov. 30 to file a claim for reimbursement, the result of a proposed class-action suit settlement.

Those who bought MacKeeper before July 8 are eligible, according to the settlement website where claims can be filed.

I wonder if this would cover the hours of my life spent uninstalling this junk for customers.

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You’ve crafted a wonderful app and put it out into the world. But now instead of focusing on how to make it even better, you’re fixing bugs and updating for new devices. Taphouse Software offers App Insurance that does this for you, giving you peace of mind.

With App Insurance you can know that your app is being loved and stewarded as well as you would, so that your customers continue to have a great experience using it. We will handle your bug reports and fix an unlimited number of small issues for a monthly charge. You can work on adding new features and enhancing your app.

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Mark Hackett — hey, brother! — writing about what he has learned in making films about Sudan:

If there’s one thing every human being in the world has in common, it is our collective love of stories and storytelling. The world’s most ancient texts are filled with sweeping stories of early civilization. Today, we can’t get enough of big-budget films, post-apocalyptic books, and real-life stories of ordinary people becoming heroes. We’re wired to come together around those who who create, write, and show.

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John Callaham at iMore:

Verizon Wireless will be making some big changes in both its device data plans and its smartphone purchase options, starting on August 13. On that date, Verizon will offer four data plans, with no more separate single-line or family plan options. The carrier will also do away with two-year contracts and their smartphone subsidies, with customers now offered the option of either paying for the entire retail price upfront or paying via a monthly installment plan.

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