October, 2021

• 18 October

  FCC to get tough on robotexts

  

  The Federal Communications Commission wants to put an end to illegal robotext messages. On Monday, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency will consider rules to require mobile wireless companies to block illegal text messaging. The FCC is already battling illegal robocalls — automatic dialers flood consumers’ phones with unwanted calls, many of them scams, such as …

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• 18 October

  Apple’s MacBook Pro display features a new notch, faster refresh rate

  

  Apple’s new MacBook Pro computers feature slightly larger displays, helped by smaller bezels and a new notch reminiscent of its iPhones, the company said during its Unleashed event Monday. Apple says it’s shrinking the borders around the laptops, which come in 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch sizes, wrapping its top menu bar around its cameras instead of placing them below it.   The company has boosted the …

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• 18 October

  Apple’s new MacBook Pro is a step backward. As a photographer, I love it.

  

  With a slew of critical ports around the edge, no Touch Bar and the return of MagSafe charging, Apple’s new 2021 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, announced at its October event Monday, have more in common with its 2015 MacBook Pro lineup than more recent laptops. But as a professional photographer, this is the step backward I’ve been hoping for. …

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• 18 October

  AirPods 3 could debut today, and there are a few upgrades I’m hoping for

  

  Apple’s rumored AirPods 3 didn’t make an appearance at the company’s California Streaming event, but Apple’s next-gen earbuds could still debut this year, possibly at Apple’s October event. (Here’s how to watch Apple’s Unleashed event live today and everything we could see like a new MacBook Pro.) Over the years, for some of us, AirPods have become an essential tool for work, school …

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• 18 October

  Apple 16

  

  Apple boasted about how efficient its new MacBook Pro laptops are during their debut Monday, but it takes Apple’s most power-hungry laptop charger, a beefy 140-watt brick, to top up the biggest of the new laptops. Apple’s previous 16-inch MacBook Pros, which use the Intel processors Apple is kicking out of its Mac family, came with a 96-watt charger. The 140-watt …

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• 18 October

  Apple 2021 MacBook Pros boast improved bass, better mics

  

  Apple says its new MacBook Pro models feature “the best audio system in a notebook” with better microphones and improved bass.   Both the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro feature a six-speaker sound system with 80% more bass. The speakers include two, larger tweeters and four force-canceling woofers that Apple says can go half an octave (or “so la ti …

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• 18 October

  Apple event 2021: Today marks a critical moment for Apple’s next M1 Macs

  

  Update, Oct. 18: Apple is hosting a launch today to show off its latest devices. You can follow CNET’s live blog here. So far we saw the AirPods 3, an Apple Music ‘Voice’ plan, new HomePod Mini colors and new MacBooks with Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops will ditch the Touch Bar but bring back MagSafe, add …

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• 18 October

  Facebook’s 3D social metaverse will be partly built in Europe

  

  Facebook will be building its metaverse out of Europe — at least in part. The company announced in a blog post Monday that it will be hiring around 10,000 people from within the EU to fill highly skilled roles working on Horizon Worlds, a 3D virtual play space, over the next five years. The idea of a metaverse — a …

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• 18 October

  Apple Store offline ahead of Unleashed event

  

  The Apple Store was inaccessible Monday, ahead of Apple’s Unleashed event. The virtual event begins at 10 a.m. PT Monday (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. GMT, 4 a.m. Tuesday AEST) and is likely to reveal next-generation Mac computers, powered by the company’s own Apple silicon chips.  “Be right back,” Apple’s message said. “We’re making updates to the Apple Store. Check back …

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• 18 October

  Apple really gave the MacBook Pro an HDMI port (and an SD card reader)

  

  Now playing: Watch this: New MacBook Pro: MagSafe returns 4:44 Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops mark the return of the HDMI port and SD card reader, the company said during its Unleashed event Monday. Apple removed the SD card slot and HDMI port in 2016, to the dismay of some users.  Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted the comeback earlier this year, after …

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