Say Hello to mac OS Sierra !

Your mac is about to change, and this time you really  will be saying "hello" with Siri's arrival on desktop.  Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) once again brought us the major software announcements that we expect to see in the middle of the year. This time around, updates were announced for each of Apple’s four operating systems at the same time, and their names were brought into line too. All of their names now end in ‘OS’, and so our beloved OS X made way for macOS, the new name for your Mac’s operating system. That wasn’t the only naming update: macOS is actually version 10.12, and carries the more casual-sounding name Sierra. If El Capitan felt like Yosemite enhanced, Sierra looks like it’s really going further, introducing a whole new way to control your Mac with Siri, more Continuity features, the ability to shop securely online with Apple Pay, copy and paste between macOS and iOS, and a new file system (though that won’t exit beta until 2017). iOS 10 goes even further in what looks like the biggest update in years. There’s a totally redesigned Lock screen, and more customisations in Messages than you’ll know what to do with! Siri has also been enhanced, and HomeKit finally gets its own app to make it easier to control your smart home. Here we get right to the heart of what matters and show you how many features, such as Photos, are changing across the whole Apple ecosystem. We can’t wait for September to come!

Apple Watch 2: Launching Soon September 2016 Date

Apple gets ‘aggressive’ in time for autumn Watch 2 launch Although Apple doesn’t want you to know the exact numbers, it’s the opinion of many that the Apple Watch has failed to sell as many units as the Cupertino giant had hoped. However, the latest news from the supply chain is that Apple is going on the offensive with Apple Watch 2. Tim Cook’s firm has reportedly placed a higher volume of orders for Watch components to its suppliers than expected – enough to ship up to two million units to customers per month. The supply chain source described these orders as “rather aggressive” given the apparent disappointing Watch sales so far.  The chips and components used to make the Apple Watch are expected to ship in the third quarter of 2016. That would place them in the region of July to September, potentially in time for Apple’s regular September event, provided the Watches themselves can be manufactured in time. Watch 2 could therefore launch alongside the iPhone 7, which certainly makes sense, given the close relationship between the two Apple devices. Apple will be hoping the introductionof watchOS 3 and better specs in Apple Watch 2 will further boost sales figures. Read our watchOS 3 highlights on page 41 for more.

iPhone 7 CPU Boost Made 10nm process faster more efficient A10 chip to be manufactured by TSMC

You won’t be surprised to hear that Apple is expected to include a new processor, the A10, in the iPhone 7 when it launches in September this year. But what is interesting about this news is that the manufacturing process is set to change, bringing with it important power and efficiency improvements.While the A9 processor in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is built on a 14nm process, the A10 is slated to debut on a smaller 10nm manufacturing process. In practice, this will result in a faster, better performing chip. At the same time, this should improve efficiency, meaning longer battery life in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus without Apple having to increase the size of the built-in batteries in its range of new smartphones. TSMC is expected to be Apple’s sole manufacturer of the A10 chip. The firm’s CEO, Mark Liu, has stated that the 10nm process will be ready for high-volume production by 2017 at the latest, leaving a small possibility that it could sneak into the iPhone 7 this year.TSMC has also disclosed that it is working on a 7nm chip, but this will not be ready for mass production until 2018 at the earliest.

ACTIVIST INVESTOR PUSHES SHUTTERFLY TO PURSUE A SALE

Activist investor Ancora Advisors is stepping up the pressure on photo sharing service Shutter y to negotiate a sale of the company or reshuffle its board of directors if a deal can’t be quickly worked out. Ancora outlined its demands in a letter sent Monday to Shutterfly’s interim CEO, Philip Marineau. The Cleveland investment fund wants Shutter y Inc. to reach out to potential bidders following the company’s disclosure last month that it had received an unsolicited offer from an unnamed private equity firm. Ancora's letter identified the suitor as Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm in Boston. Shutter y declined to comment on Ancora’s letter. Thomas Lee Partners also declined to comment. When it revealed the overtures about a potential sale, Shutterfly said that its board wasn’t negotiating a deal. “We believe it would be extremely irresponsible of the board to dismiss this unsolicited bid and eschew a strategic review,” Ancora CEO Fred DiSanto wrote in the letter. Ancora sent its letter a week after another Shutter y shareholder, Eastbay Asset Management, urged the company to explore a sale. Eastbay Asset is among Shutterfly’s largest shareholders with a 5.4 percent stake, according to FactSet. Ancora owns a 0.3 percent stake. Shutterfly is currently looking for a new CEO after its longtime leader, Je Housenbold, stepped down last month. Ancora contends the transition to a new CEO makes it an ideal time for Shutterfly’s board to gauge how much the Redwood City, California, company might fetch in a sale. Shutter y currently has a market value of about $1.6 billion. If no deal emerges before Shutterfly’s next annual meeting in June, Ancora wants the company to replace two directors, venture capitalists Eric Keller and Nancy Schoendorf, on its eight-member board. Keller has been on Shutter y’s board since 2006 and Schoendorf has held her seat since 2004.

 

EGYPT TAXI DRIVERS BLOCK MAJOR CAIRO STREET TO PROTEST UBER

Egyptian security forces red tear gas Tuesday to disperse taxi drivers who had blocked a major road in the capital, Cairo, to protest Uber and other car-hailing applications, which the head of the Cairo traffic police insists are illegal. The drivers stood in a roundabout on Gameat el- Dowal street after the canister was red at them when they left their cars, witness Lamia el-Etriby and taxi drivers at the protest said. They had blocked all but one lane, causing a major traffic jam as police vehicles arrived on the scene. “We are not leaving until an official comes and gives us his word that all these apps will be shut down in Egypt,” said Sherif Ali, a taxi driver and one of the protest organizers.Taxi drivers have been protesting Uber’s presence in the country in recent weeks. The application has very rapidly become popular in Cairo, a city of 20 million people with almost- constant tra c jams. Taxi drivers have complained that Uber drivers have an unfair advantage because they do not have to pay the same kind of taxes or fees, nor follow the same licensing procedures. Now the Egyptian government appears to be agreeing, and launching a crackdown on the service. Maj. Gen. Alaa el-Degwy, the head of Cairo’s tra c police insists Uber and a similar app named Careem are Illegal as taxis require different processes and rules. He said police in Cairo have begun clamping down on Uber drivers at checkpoints, and those who are caught must pay a fine. The police also cancel the driver’s license, take the car license, and refer the driver to public prosecutors, he said. In addition to paying specified taxes, drivers must carry a special license and be registered as a taxi, said el-Degwy, who added that officers have even brought disgruntled taxi drivers along to demonstrate the crackdown in action. Egyptian clients say they prefer the dependability of the app, complaining that normal taxi drivers often tamper with their meters or pretend the meter is broken in order to overcharge them. They also appreciate the safety provided by the app, especially for female passengers at night who fear being sexually harassed by drivers in a country where sexual harassment is endemic. Uber says it trains all drivers who enroll with the service, with particular emphasis on eliminating sexual harassment."As a victim of multiple sexual harassment incidents in cabs and by other drivers, Uber really made my life as a woman safer and easier in Cairo,” said 31-year-old Radwa Al Rifai, adding that she is “shocked” at the government’s measures “to take away from us the one safe means of transportation.” David Pouffe, Uber’s chief adviser and a member of the board of directors, is currently visiting Cairo. He told The Associated Press that the service has boomed in Egypt as both passengers and drivers embrace it. As many as 10,000 drivers have enrolled with Uber, including 600 who started on Monday alone, he said. “They are taking some of our livelihood and splitting it with us,” said taxi driver and protester Yasser el-Sharqawi. “We get fewer clients and when we get them they tell us, ‘We will be using Uber and Careem instead.’” In addition to the police crackdown, Uber drivers have faced vigilante violence from taxi drivers. In some instances, Uber drivers have responded to an order and found an angry mob of taxi drivers waiting to drag them to a police station. Uber Egypt General Manager Anthony el-Khoury said that he and Pouffe, the visiting board member, plan to meet with government officials this week to find solutions to this standford and ways to coexist. “There is still discussion that will happen between us and the government to see if they feel comfortable with these types of regulations, or we can work toward stronger regulations so that we can coexist in a more transparent way,” said el-Khoury. “I think there’s a misconception that this is a zero sum game.”Elkhoury said that Uber has brought some “healthy competition” that might be pushing taxi drivers to address their customer-service issues. Protest organizer Ali said that drivers have begun organizing training courses against sexual harassment and thinking about ways to improve their services. El-Khoury told AP that Uber drivers do pay Egyptian taxes through an indirect route. The company only hires drivers who are licensed through private limousine or car rental companies, which do pay their own corporate taxes, he said. “This is a circumvention of the law,”said el- Degwy, of the Cairo traffic police. “You cannot have a citizen riding in a car with someone he knows nothing about.” 

 

US SANCTIONS CHINESE TECH SUPPLIER OVER IRAN TIES

Washington has restricted the access of one of China’s biggest telecoms equipment makers, ZTE Corp., to American components after concluding the state-owned company improperly exported U.S. technology to Iran. The sanctions took effect this week after ZTE was found to be “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests” of the United States, the U.S. Commerce Department said. The department released documents it said showed ZTE set up front companies to evade U.S. controls on high-tech exports to Iran. The Chinese government said it opposes the U.S. sanctions. ZTE’s technology purchases support thousands of U.S. jobs that might be in jeopardy, the Commerce Ministry said."This approach will only hurt others without necessarily bene ting oneself,” said China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, at a news conference Tuesday during the meeting of the national legislature. ZTE said it was “fully committed” to obeying the law wherever it operates. “ZTE has been cooperating, will continue to cooperate and communicate with all U.S. agencies as required,” said a company statement. “The company is working expeditiously toward resolution of this issue.” The conflict reflects the complex ties between U.S. and Chinese technology companies despite Washington’s concerns about sharing advanced know-how with China. Most of the world’s smartphones and personal computers are assembled in China. ZTE and other Chinese companies are developing their own technology but rely on Western chipsets and other components. The sanctions could prompt Chinese leaders to push for faster development of their own edgling technology suppliers, said Nikhil Batra, research manager for Asia-Paci c telecoms for IDC. “It might be a boon” to officials who want to reduce reliance on foreign sources, said Batra. “It’s not likely to be their chief concern that one of their companies has been sanctioned when it can lead to better development of China as a technology marketplace,” he said. American companies also might be vulnerable to retaliation, Batra said. He noted Beijing fined American chip supplier Qualcomm Technologies Inc. 

and investigated software giant Microsoft Corp. on anti-monopoly charges after Huawei Technologies Ltd. was forced out of the U.S. server market following complaints it might be a security risk. Founded in 1985 as Zhongxing Semiconductor Co. Ltd., ZTE is a major supplier of network switching gear and other telecoms products. It assembles smartphones for other companies and has launched its own brand. ZTE and three other entities, including one in Iran, “were identi ed in the scheme developed by ZTE Corp. to re-export controlled items to Iran contrary to United States law,” said a Commerce Department announcement.  It said they will face additional requirements to apply for export licenses and gave no indication whether they would be granted. Two documents released by the department described a “detached (business) model” and “detached (shell) companies” set up to handle sales to Iran of products covered by U.S. trade embargoes. The documents were marked “Top Secret Highly Con dential.”The Commerce Department did not say how it obtained them. The sanctions threaten to disrupt sales by U.S. technology suppliers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm. They earn billions of dollars a year from chip sales, license payments and other revenue from Chinese customers. ZTE spends about $450 million every quarter on U.S. technology, according to Batra. In addition to Qualcomm and Intel, he said suppliers include Avnet Inc., which makes electronics used in routers. Intel is “still assessing the possible impact,” a company spokesman, Will Moss, said in an email. Potential non-U.S. suppliers include MediaTek Inc., a Taiwanese maker of chipsets used by Chinese smartphone brands Huawei and Xiaomi, and South Korea’s Samsung, said Batra. But he said for components in network routers and other advanced products, there is no alternative to Intel or rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. “It’s going to be a big impact for both sides - for ZTE as well as the U.S. companies,” he said. ZTE, headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, said it earned 2.6 billion yuan ($400 million) on revenue of 81.5 billion yuan ($12.5 billion) in 2014, the most recent year for which it has reported results. U.S. authorities earlier cited ZTE as a possible security risk. In 2012, a congressional panel said the company and rival Huawei were potential threats and Americans should avoid doing business with them. ZTE Corp.: http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/

GO MASTER: AI WILL ONE DAY PREVAIL BUT BEAUTY OF GO REMAINS

Computers eventually will defeat human players of Go, but the beauty of the ancient Chinese game of strategy that has fascinated people for thousands of years will remain, the Go world champion said Tuesday. South Korean Lee Sedol, a Go master who has won 18 international titles since he became a professional player at age 12, said the risk of human error means he may not win his match this week against Google’s artifficial intelligence machine, AlphaGo. “Because humans are human, they make mistakes,” the 33 year-old said a day before the first of the five games he is due to play against AlphaGo. “If there are human mistakes, I could lose.” 

It was Lee’s first admission of his weakness against Google’s AI machine and also a dialing down of his confidence from two weeks ago, when he had predicted a 5-0 result in his favor. After watching Google’s presentation of how AlphaGo works, Lee said he thought a machine might be able to imitate human intuition, even though the intuition may not be as sharp as a person’s. A loss for Lee would be a historic moment for the AI community. Human errors are not his only vulnerability. Lee said that in playing against a machine, the absence of visual cues that human players use to read the reactions and psychology of their opponents puts him in unfamiliar territory. “In a human versus human game, it is important to read the other person’s energy and force. But in this match, it is impossible to read such things. It could feel like I’m playing alone,” Lee said. Because the number of possible Go board positions exceeds the number of atoms in
the universe, top players rely heavily on their intuition, said Demis Hassabis who heads Google’s DeepMind, the developer of AlphaGo. This has made Go one of the most complex games ever devised and the ultimate challenge for the AI experts, who had expected that it would take at least another decade for a computer to beat a professional Go player. That changed last year when AlphaGo defeated a European Go champion in a closed-door match later published in the journal Nature. Google’s DeepMind team created a system to narrow down a vast search space of near-infinite possible sequences of moves in the game. AlphaGo was rst trained to mimic experts’ Go moves based on data from about 100,000 Go games available online. Then it was programmed to play against itself and “learn” from its mistakes. The team also designed a system that enabled AlphaGo to anticipate the long-term results of each move and predict the winner. Using this approach, AlphaGo beat the European Go champion by searching through far fewer positions than those a traditional AI machine like DeepBlue, the famed IBM computer that defeated the world’s chess champion in 1997, would have to consider, Hassabis said AlphaGo also has other strengths as a machine. “I think the advantage of AlphaGo is that it will never get tired and it will not get intimidated either,” Hassabis said Lee said he hopes to hold onto his title, but also wants to remind audiences that the game is not all about victory. Known as baduk in Korean and weiqi in Chinese, Go is more than a game in Asia. Players’ moves reflect their personalities and distinctive styles, and the life-and-death battles between black and white stones for territory on the 19 by 19 square grid are often used to illustrate important life lessons. “Of course I can lose. But a computer does not play by understanding the beauty of Go, the beauty of humans,” he said. “My job is to play Go more beautifully.” That beauty, many Go fans believe, is something a machine cannot replicate.