An Apple manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California is misclassifying its hazardous waste and has more than a dozen other “potential violations” of environmental regulations, according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency. The report, released Friday, found that the site was also improperly treating corrosive chemicals and filtering airborne compounds.
The report, which the EPA said is part of an ongoing investigation of the facility, comes after two inspection visits to Apple’s Santa Clara manufacturing plant in August of 2023 and one follow-up visit in January, based on a “Tip and Complaint from the public.” It details 19 “potential violations” of EPA hazardous waste regulations, five of which Apple resolved in early September, and many of which are “still outstanding” as of the end of April, when the report was issued. The EPA published the documents on its website last week.
After several months of teasing, Beats is officially announcing the return of the Beats Pill today with a host of upgrades and a lower price point of $149.99. The new Pill features a completely redesigned speaker system consisting of a single tweeter and a single racetrack woofer, a removable lanyard, USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity, 24 hours of battery life, and IP67 water and sweat resistance.
There’s really not much to dislike about the remastered Beats Pill if you can get past its mono output — and I think many people will have no trouble doing so. It works well and can withstand any outdoor adventures you bring it along for. The battery lasts a long time, and you get plenty of bonus features beyond Bluetooth playback.
The Beats Pill gets almost everything right for a revival of an abandoned, fan-favorite product. It stays true to its iconic roots while also making several notable improvements. That includes better sound quality, improved battery life, improved connectivity, and USB-C.
In a new update posted to its website, Apple says that this new firmware updates addresses a Bluetooth vulnerability that could’ve allowed an attacker to gain access to your AirPods or Beats.
Apple today announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in Germany, providing a way for independent sellers, small businesses, and larger merchants in the country to use an iPhone as a contactless payment terminal.
A solid password manager with a good selection of features and reliable security protection. The interface isn’t as modern feeling as some competitors, but that shouldn’t detract from a service that will deliver all that most people need.
The ChatGPT Mac app mostly acts as a desktop window version of the web app, allowing you to carry on back-and-forth prompt-and-response conversations. You can select between the GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o models. It also supports the more specialized GPTs available in the web version, including the DALL-E image generator and custom GPTs.
You might think it would be just fine for iOS to work just like MacOS, where you can install whatever software you want. But Apple, expressly, does not. iOS is designed to be significantly more secure than MacOS.
Can we also get some batteries for the HomePod minis?
(Okay, I have never used a HomePod before, but I assume they are too big to be portable?)
(Also, can HomePods work outside of their usual Wi-fi connections?)
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Thanks for reading.