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The New-Progress Edition Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Apple Ramps Up Investment In Clean Energy And Water Around The World, by Apple

Apple today announced new progress to expand clean energy around the world and advance momentum toward Apple 2030, the company’s bold goal to be carbon neutral across its entire value chain by the end of this decade. More than 18 gigawatts of clean electricity now power Apple’s global operations and manufacturing supply chain, more than triple the amount in 2020. Apple is making new investments in solar power in the U.S. and Europe to help address the electricity customers use to charge and power their Apple devices.

As part of its broader environmental efforts, Apple also advanced progress toward another ambitious 2030 goal: to replenish 100 percent of the fresh water used in corporate operations in high-stress locations. This includes launching new partnerships to deliver nearly 7 billion gallons in water benefits — from restoring aquifers and rivers, to funding access to drinking water — over the next 20 years. As with clean energy, Apple has extended its commitment to clean water across the entire supply chain: Together, Apple suppliers saved over 12 billion gallons of fresh water last year, for a total of 76 billion gallons in water savings since the company launched its Supplier Clean Water Program in 2013.

Apple Promotes Recycling Your Devices 'For Free' Ahead Of Earth Day, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, Apple has added a banner to its website that reminds customers they can recycle their Apple devices "for free" with the company's recycling partners. The process can be initiated on Apple's trade-in page in many countries, with customers able to submit a form to receive a prepaid shipping label for their devices.

Apple Says 'Goodbye Leather' In New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch To 'FineWoven' Material, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called "Goodbye Leather" on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized "FineWoven" fabric material for accessories.

Stuff

Use ‘Shortery’ To Add Automations To Your MacOS Shortcuts, by Justin Pot, Lifehacker

With this application you can set up custom rules to trigger shortcuts. There are 17 different categories of triggers, like when the contents of a folder change or when it's a certain time of day.

Soulver 3 For iOS: Acqualia Software’s Unique Approach To Calculations Lands On The iPhone, by John Voorhees, MacStories

With Soulver on iOS for the first time, it’s easier than ever to explore numerical ‘what-ifs.’ For example, what would my payment be if I refinanced my mortgage? How close am I to spending my budget for that party I’m planning? The possibilities go on and on.

Native Microsoft OneNote App Now Available For Apple Vision Pro, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

The app can be used to write memos, notes, and digital notebooks, and there are options to sync content to OneDrive for access across multiple platforms. There is support for tags like Important and To Do, and notes can be protected with a password.

1Password Review – Keep Your Passwords Safe And Secure, by Martyn Casserly, Macworld

1Password is a mature and solid service, with useful features, strong security credentials, and most of all it’s easy and reliable to use. If you’re thinking of using a password manager for the first time or are unhappy with your current provider, 1Password should be top of your list.

Dashlane Review: Passwords And Plenty More, by Martyn Casserly, Macworld

While the individual account might cost slightly more than some of its closest rivals, the family plan offers outstanding value for money. If you’re looking for a password manager for your extended family or friendship group, Dashlane is an excellent choice.

I’m A Space Lover With A New Favorite iPhone App For Stargazing, by Becca Caddy, iMore

One of my favorite features of Night Sky is its augmented reality (AR) features. By simply holding up my iPhone to the sky, I can overlay images of planets, stars, and constellations onto my real-world view.

Develop

What Makes Concurrency So Hard?, by Hillel Wayne

As the old joke goes, concurrency one of the two hardest things in computer science. There are lots of "accidental" reasons why: it's hard to test, it's not composable, bugs can stay latent for a long time, etc. Is there anything that makes it essentially hard? Something that makes concurrent software, by its very nature, more difficult to write than synchronous software?

Notes

Apple Opens Web Distribution Option For iOS Devs Targeting EU, by Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch

Apple is opening up web distribution for iOS apps targeting users in the European Union starting Tuesday. Developers who opt in — and who meet Apple’s criteria, including app notarization requirements — will be able to offer iPhone apps for direct download to EU users from their own websites.

Apple CEO Says It Is Considering A Manufacturing Facility In Indonesia, by Stefanno Sulaiman and Ananda Teresia, Reuters

Apple Inc will look into building a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, its CEO said on Wednesday after meeting President Joko Widodo, who hoped the tech giant would increase its local content by partnering with domestic firms.

[...]

Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but since 2018 it has been setting up app developer academies, which including the new academy have a total cost of 1.6 trillion rupiah ($99 million).

Apple 'Beta' Update Addresses Jerusalem Emoji Controversy, by Chris Vallance, BBC

Apple has released a partial update to its iPhone software which stops the Palestinian flag emoji being suggested when users type the word "Jerusalem".

Not All Web APIs Are Good APIs, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

If you want web apps to have the same full range of capabilities as native apps, iOS is not the platform for you. PWA advocates treat it as axiomatic that web apps should be peers to native apps, but that’s not true for everyone. I think of native apps as software I carefully consider before installing, even from the App Store. I think of websites and web apps as software I will visit/run without consideration, because they’re so comparatively restricted.

Bottom of the Page

Remember when people wanted all browsers to display the same web page in exactly the same manner? We all shouted at them: use PDF, not HTML. The web is about having all kinds of browsers with different rendering engines and rendering capabilities, and web designers have to remember the phrase graceful degradation. If you only want your stuff to look exactly the same everywhere, the web is the not way to go about doing it.

We need to start shouting at all the web app developers who are demanding every web browser to implement all web APIs.

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Thanks for reading.