Apple Announces New Macs Without Intel Inside

Apple Announces new M1 chip, and New Macs

• https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21558095/apple-silicon-m1-chip-arm-macs-soc-charge-power-efficiency-mobile-processor?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
• The new chips offer better battery life and up to 3 times the performance of “the best selling Windows laptop” 
• Also the ability to run iPad and iPhone apps on a Mac, with Big Sur, coming tomorrow. 
• Macs updated are the Macbook Air, the 13” Macbook Pro, and the Mac mini 
• Not a lot differentiates the Macbook Air and Pro, they’re pretty much the same specs, but the Pro has a fan, which will allow more sustained high power performance.
• A fanless Air is the most compelling computer in the line up for me. 
• Mac mini also updated – I’d expect new iMacs and 16” Pro in the new year
• One disappointment, both laptops still have the janky 720p Webcam, but Apple says the machine learning chip will improve performance. 
• PC guy John Hodgman made a brief appearance

EU Accuses Amazon of Breaching AntiTrust Rules 

• https://www.ft.com/content/4908995d-5ba4-4e14-a863-bcb8858e8bd2
• The EU files antitrust charges against Amazon, citing concerns over the company operating as both a marketplace and a retailer
• The EU has hit Amazon with formal antitrust charges over its treatment of the 150,000 European merchants selling goods through its website.
• Margrethe Vestager, who oversees the EU’s competition policy, outlined two sets of concerns against the world’s dominant online retailer. – Amazon has used non-public data from its website to advantage its own products &  Amazon gives preferential treatment to marketplace sellers who pay for specific services
• After a year-long probe, the European Commission reached the preliminary view that Amazon breached EU competition rules by using non-public data it gathers on sales on its website to boost its own-label products and services.

 

Parler, a Right Wing Twitter Clone, has topped the App Store since election day

• https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/9/21557219/parler-conservative-app-download-new-users-moderation-bias
• It is currently the #1 free app in the iOS App Store, up from #1,023 on November 2nd. It’s also #1 in the Google Play rankings, up from #486 the previous week. 
• The app has been downloaded approximately 3.6 million times in the US so far, per SensorTower.

 

Reviews of the PS5 are coming In

• And surprise! They read exactly like the Xbox Series X Reviews
• Much Better load times from a faster SSD
• Completely silent under load
• Where the consoles diverge: 
• Reviewers miss the “quick resume” feature of the Xbox
• The dual shock controller is excellent, with some interesting new haptic features
• And Sony has one tentpole exclusive, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – which is getting universally good reviews – sitting on 85% on Metacritic 
• The Verge has a good explainer on ray-tracing