The global outage that last month prevented McDonald's from accepting payments prompted the company to release a lengthy statement that should serve as a master  class in how not to report an IT problem. It was vague, misleading and yet the company used language that still allowed many of the technical details to be figured out.  (You know you've moved far from home base when Burger King UK makes fun of you— in response to news of the McDonald's outage, Burger King played off its own slogan by posting on LinkedIn: “Not Loving I.T.”) The McDonald's statement was vague about what ..read more

With WWDC 2024 now set, Apple continues to work on bringing itself more in line with US government demands. What we don’t know yet is the extent to which these changes will be restricted to the EU, or whether Apple intends to make them available worldwide in an attempt to quell regulatory zeal. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

Have you ever had an unexpected direct phone call from Apple support? I have not, and if you do ever receive one, you probably aren’t talking to Apple. The company says you should immediately hang up. “If you get an unsolicited or suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple or Apple Support, just hang up,” the company support website states. Don’t fall for it Other things it warns against are suspicious calendar invitations in Mail or Calendar, annoying pop-ups in the browser, unexpected software download prompts, and fraudulent emails. To read this article in full, please cli ..read more

Apple has a lot to prove at WWDC 2024. Not only must it fend off the negative attention it has been picking up from regulators, but it must also galvanize loyal developers and disabuse the industry perception that it has fallen behind on AI. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

Who doesn't love Google Maps? The Maps Android app helps those of us with oatmeal for brains find our way anywhere, without having to fire any neurons or exercise any synapses. It even helps us find places to pick up tasty cuisine — like, uh, oatmeal (yum!). But there's much more to Google Maps than meets the eye — and odds are, you aren't taking advantage of at least a few handy hidden features lurking within the Maps Android app. With Android 15 right around the corner and more shiny new Googley goodies showing up by the day lately, I thought it'd be a fine time to dive deep into this ever-e ..read more

The challenge to build a more sustainable enterprise is high on the business agenda these days, in part to meet government-mandated climate goals, in part because consumers demand it, and — perhaps — simply because turning a business into a sustainable business is the right thing to do. Businesses are taking a multitude of approaches to becoming more sustainable. Apple CEO Tim Cook in China explained part of the strategy being followed by his company — to put a little AI (artificial intelligence) in sustAInability. As he sees it, AI “provides an enormous toolkit for every company that’s wishin ..read more

Perhaps seeking to grab the limelight from the Department of Justice’s ludicrously articulated antitrust suit against Apple, the European Commission this morning confirmed it will investigate the company, along with Google, Amazon, and Meta, for noncompliance with the Digital Markets Act. “The Commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA,” the statement says. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

“I’m telling you there is no merit to this case,” said Mad Money host Jim Cramer in reaction to the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Justice officials announced the lawsuit Thursday. Cramer's reaction reflects the opinion of most industry observers who see the weaknesses of the allegations it contains. Apple is facing regulatory action across the world. The EU has already forced the company to make changes that open its platform. But the Department of Justice (DOJ) litigation is far more ambitious and aims at Apple’s control of the ecosystem — it’s an existential ..read more

Hey. You. Yes, you — the one there with the moist eyeballs, staring at this suspiciously smudgy screen. I want to let you in on a little secret. It's technically a two-part secret, as the first part is something incredibly useful that hardly anyone realizes is possible — and the second part is a completely new twist on that same concept that virtually no one knows about yet. The concepts in question are both connected to Chrome and the timeless act of traipsing around this tumbleweed-laden web of ours. They give you an enchantingly easy way to peek in at a page without interrupting what you're ..read more

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 state Attorneys General have filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple and its business practices involving the iPhone.  Announced during a news conference in Washington, D.C. today, the 88-page lawsuit drew quick fire from Apple, which said it “threatens who we are.” The company vowed  to “vigorously defend’ itself against the DOJ. Following several years of investigation, the suit cites numerous internal Apple emails, makes numerous arguments about what the company is doing wrong, and demands that Apple’s anti-competitive busine ..read more