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The Overcoming-Disparities Edition Thursday, October 28, 2021

Google, Snap And Dozens Of Tech Companies Coordinate New Diversity Push, by Naomi Nix and Amy Yee, Bloomberg

The Catalyze Tech coalition, which was announced Thursday, aims to hold its members accountable for improving the representation and experience of women, people of color, first-generation college graduates and the LGBTQ community in the tech industry. Thirty-one companies and a group of nonprofits and researchers signed on to a 116-page report outlining their commitments to overcoming disparities in the tech sector.

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The coalition was convened by a working group of experts -- including representatives at Snap, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Aspen Institute and the National Center for Women & Information Technology -- that spent more than a year studying strategies that make companies more equitable places to work. Other participants include Etsy Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn, Apple Inc., Salesforce.com Inc., Spotify Technology SA and Uber Technologies Inc.

Apple Launches Ten New Initiatives To Help Communities Around The World, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

In its goal to become 100% carbon-neutral by 2030, Apple announced today that it has more than doubled the number of suppliers committed to using only clean energy over the last year. In total, 175 Apple suppliers will transition to using renewable energy, and the company and its suppliers will bring online more than nine gigawatts of clean power around the world.

Not only that, but the company is adding 10 new projects to its “Power for Impact” initiative to bring clean energy solutions to communities around the world.

Insanely Efficient

MacBook Pro M1 Max For Photographers, by Austin Mann

In summary, the most impressive performance from new MacBook Pro M1 Max wasn't just speed (it was about twice as fast) but it was insanely efficient in how it managed both its power and heat which matters as much or more than pure speed.

First Tests: Are The Apple M1 Pro And M1 Max Good For Gaming?, by Tom Brant, PC Magazine

Ultimately, the state of Mac gaming simply inches along with the introduction of M1 Max and M1 Pro, as good as the chips are. The hardware appears to be ready, but a critical mass of games that can take advantage of it simply doesn’t exist. On the other hand, if your preferred relaxation method at the end of a long day of content creation is revisiting classics like 2016's Hitman, your new MacBook Pro will happily oblige.

Stuff

Apple Releases Safari 15.1 With Classic Tab Design For macOS Big Sur And Catalina, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Earlier this week, Apple reverted the design of the Safari tabs to a more traditional look with the official release of macOS Monterey. Now the company is making this update also available to Mac users running macOS Big Sur and Catalina with Safari 15.1.

Apple Music Is Now Available On PlayStation 5, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Apple and Sony today announced that the Apple Music app is now available on PlayStation 5 consoles, joining the likes of Spotify as an official music service on the PlayStation system.

Apple Music is fully integrated into the PS5 with support for background music listening whilst gaming, 4K music videos, and access to the full Apple Music catalog.

The New AirPods Are Exactly The Wireless Earbuds That I Wanted Apple To Make, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

The AirPods third generation fit way better than AirPods Pro and they are still more comfortable than the second generation AirPods.

Apple Now Lets You Review Messages, Phone, Photos, And Safari On The App Store, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

About a month ago, Apple began letting users review some built-in apps via App Store review. Now, just after the release of iOS 15.1, the company is opening up Messages, Phone, Photos, and Safari to user’s scrutiny.

Notes

Spotify 'Internal' Metrics Suggest It Has Surpassed Apple Podcasts In US Listenership, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

After seeing a few reports earlier this year that Spotify was closing in on Apple Podcasts’ listenership, new data allegedly shows that Spotify has eclipsed Apple when it comes to US podcast listeners. If true, it looks like the shift may have happened as early as Q2 this year.

Bottom of the Page

Current read: Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
Current watch: Downton Abbey
Current re-watch: Big Bang Theory
Current emotion: Sad, with a tint of anxiousness.

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Thanks for reading.