As COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US approach the highest levels seen in the pandemic so far, national efforts to track patients and hospital resources remain in shambles after the federal government abruptly seized control of data collection earlier this
Month: July 2020
Telegram files EU antitrust complaint against Apple’s App Store
Telegram, the messaging app, has become the latest company to file a formal antitrust complaint to the EU over Apple’s App Store.
In a complaint to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, Telegram, which has more than 400 million users, said Apple must “allow users to have the opportunity of downloading software outside of the App Store.”
In June, Ms Vestager announced two antitrust investigations into Apple, one of which concerned the App Store. Apple’s conflicts with developers over the rules of the App Store have also escalated recently.
Both Spotify and Rakuten have previously complained to the EU that the
Galaxy Z Flip 5G now up for preorder if you’d rather not wait for the Note 20
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5G, the 5G version of the foldable phone it released earlier this year, is now available for preorder as an unlocked device on Samsung.com. Prices start at $1,499.99, a $70 premium over the previous LTE version. Along with 5G connectivity, that price gets you a slightly upgraded Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. Otherwise, the two phones are almost identical.
Samsung is widely expected to announce a host of new devices at its Galaxy Note 20 Unpacked event on August 5th, including the new Galaxy Z Fold 2. The Z Fold is a tablet-sized device
Huawei overtakes Samsung as world’s biggest smartphone vendor, says report
For the first time ever, Huawei has shipped more smartphones worldwide over a quarter than any other company, according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys. Huawei has long harbored ambitions to overtake Samsung as the world’s biggest smartphone seller, and going by the numbers from Canalys, that’s just what happened during the April-June period this year.
That doesn’t mean Huawei will hold onto the top spot for long, as the results were clearly influenced by the ongoing pandemic. Canalys’ figure of 55.8 million Huawei smartphones shipped is actually down 5 percent year-on-year, while Samsung slid 30 percent to
Samsung’s profits are up despite COVID-19 pandemic
Samsung posted better than expected earnings for the second quarter of 2020, with operating profit up 23 percent year-on-year to 8.15 trillion won ($6.84 billion) despite a 6-percent fall in revenue. The Korean conglomerate says it experienced a greater recovery from the impact of COVID-19 than it had initially forecast and managed to optimize its expenditure, even though sales of devices like smartphones were down from last year.
Samsung expects smartphone sales to rise next quarter due to the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 and an unnamed foldable phone, likely the leaked Galaxy Z Fold 2. Its display
The best noise-canceling headphones to buy in 2020
Noise-canceling headphones are an essential piece of kit during regular life when commuting to work, traveling, or if you’re trying to dull distractions at the office. But they’re also important as we continue to tally yet more weeks spent at home. It’s always nice to get a reprieve from the people you live with and be in your own private, serene bubble for a while — and noise-canceling headphones are a good way to find that peace and quiet. Since they envelop your ears, wireless headphones will always do better at erasing surrounding distractions than noise-canceling earbuds like the AirPods
TikTok chief Kevin Mayer launches stinging attack on Facebook
Kevin Mayer, the chief executive of TikTok, has accused Facebook of trying to destroy the Chinese app’s US business by smearing it with “maligning attacks.”
In his first public comments since joining TikTok from Disney, Mr. Mayer issued an 800-word defense of the viral video app, which is under pressure from US regulators and may even be banned by the White House.
Without TikTok, he said, American advertisers “would again be left with few choices”. He described Instagram Reels, a
Mac OS 8 is now an app you can download and install on macOS, Windows, and Linux
Slack developer Felix Rieseberg has transformed Mac OS 8 into an app you can install on your Mac or PC. After transforming Windows 95 into an app back in 2018, Rieseberg decided to turn an entire 1991 Macintosh Quadra with Mac OS 8.1 into a single Electron app. It even includes a number of apps and games, thanks to an old MacWorld demo CD from 1997. The app can be installed on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
The macintosh.js app is written entirely in JavaScript, and it uses a virtual machine to emulate a Macintosh Quadra 900 with the Motorola CPU