Sir Apfelot newsreel week 20, 2023

Of course there is no break here at Sir Apfelot between the public holiday and the weekend. And so you will get a new newsreel for today's Friday. This time I'll show you which Apple and tech news I noticed in calendar week 20 of the year 2023. Among other things, the following reports are included: New satellite to find global sources of methane, Google wants to delete unused accounts, Burda-Verlag publishes booklet with unmarked AI content, chip production at TSMC from 2025 in the 2nm process, several messages in the Apple Newsroom, xrOS as a word mark in New Zealand, and more!

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Climate protection from orbit: satellite to locate methane sources

This week heise online reported that methane, as a greenhouse gas, is responsible for 30% of global temperature rise. It also noted that methane “contributes 20 times more to global warming than CO over a 84-year period₂“. In doing so, one refers to the Articles based on information from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and their Global Methane Tracker 2023. But that's only as an introduction. The MethaneSAT project of MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of the non-profit organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will be presented. 

This wants to bring a so-named satellite into earth orbit by the end of 2023 and use it from the beginning of 2024 to determine global methane sources. The measurement should be so precise that even pipeline leaks can be identified with pinpoint accuracy. Details are here: https://www.methanesat.org/. Among other things, the site contains information that the use of the satellite will reduce methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry by 2025  by up to 45% and by up to 2030% by 70. At heise online there is more information, for example on previous methane-seeking satellites and on the greenhouse gas itself.

Google will delete old accounts from December 2023

There are already some regulations at Google according to which private accounts that have not been used for a long time can be deleted. This is to minimize the risk of forgotten accounts (especially those without two-factor authentication) being taken over by others and misused for cybercrime. There was a new one on the Google blog this week Post , in which the whole thing is specified a little further. Accounts that have not been used for at least two years should be deleted. However, this does not apply to accounts of organizations, companies, educational institutions or the like. It is also important to know the following:

• Although already introduced, the deletion of inactive accounts will not really be tackled until December 2023.
• Accounts that were only set up once and have not been used since then come first.
• Before an account is deleted, users are informed of this several times in the months before by email (to the Gmail and recovery address).
• An account is considered active when logged in to read and send Gmail email, use Google Drive, watch YouTube videos, download apps from the Play Store, use Google Search, or "Sign In" to third-party services .
• Furthermore, a Google account is considered active if it has a subscription running, whether for a Google service, an app, or something else.

Macworld points to Apple's account elimination policy

Apparently there has been and still is some excitement on the web due to Google's new regulations. However, Macworld has one Entry point out that Apple has even stricter rules that have been in effect for a long time. For example, an inactive iCloud account can be deleted after just over a year, with a warning received just 30 days beforehand. This goes out VII. Term and in it B. Termination by Apple of the iCloud Terms and Conditions emerged:

[...]In addition, Apple may terminate your account after 30 days' prior notice by email to the email address associated with your account if (a) your account has been inactive for more than one (1) year, or (b) the Service or any part thereof is generally discontinued. [...]

Burda-Verlag publishes recipe booklet with unmarked AI content

The text AI "ChatGPT" and the image creation AI "Midjourney" were the main sources for a recipe booklet from the Burda publishing house, which is now supported by the Bavarian Journalists' Association eV, among others kritisiert becomes. Because the fact that the content was created automatically was completely concealed. In particular, it is about the supplement “99 Pasta Recipes” from the Burda publication “Lisa – Cooking & Backing”. The problem was made public in the article by the Süddeutsche Zeitung AI with sauce (behind a paywall), on the heise online here enters 

Bottom line of all the excitement: The press makes itself unbelievable if such "experiments" are not labeled. My personal opinion on this: What else can you expect from Burda-Verlag? At least since this post from ZDF Magazin Royale you should know that there is only nonsense there and that legal disputes and complaints from press associations are already included in the editorial effort. Last but not least, untrue news and interviews are regularly published, the circulation of which is intended to offset the calculated violation of the law.

From 2025, chips with 2nm architecture are to be manufactured at TSMC

Let's slowly dive into some more technical topics. Because the chip manufacturer TSMC is to produce the 2025nm chips with the improved N3P and N3X technologies by 3. The next step is production using the 2nm process. This is interesting here in the blog in that Apple is usually the first and largest customer for TSMC chips. These are used in the iPhone (A chip) and Mac (M chip), among others. In terms of M3 Pro information by Mark Gurman we recently discussed the 3nm process for its manufacture. This should bring even more transistors to a small area and increase performance. From 2025, another big leap in performance and efficiency is then possible. ( )

Interesting stories in the Apple Newsroom

Sometimes Apple releases so many press releases, updates, and features in a week that I can't fit them all into a single post, or even a single newsreel paragraph. I have converted an important message into a post – Apple introduces new accessibility features for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The others are there again in a summary with the corresponding links for further details:

• Apple investments in European suppliers exceed 20 billion euros in 2022; the iPhone maker supported more than 2,6 million jobs on the continent: Here all the details
• Apple Introduces New Discovery Features for Concerts in Apple Maps and Apple Music; this makes it easier for music fans to find local concerts: More information here
• The App Store prevented more than $2022 billion in fraudulent transactions in XNUMX; this is what Apple boasts about, while we know that rogue apps are still being released all the time: Here is the newsroom update
• AssistiveWare Heralds Next Generation Technology for Assistive and Alternative Communications; a feature about the use of apps like Proloquo, Proloquo2Go, etc.: Read the whole story here

Apple Support app in version 5.0 redesigned and more helpful

For the iPhone, among other things, you can download the free Apple Support App, which will help you with specific questions and problems with your Apple devices and services. It was updated to version 5.0 this week - so it now helps with finding providers nearby and simplifies the display of support calls, chats and appointments. Furthermore, the availability was extended to other countries and regions. It is now available in 32 languages ​​and there have also been performance improvements. You can find the app among others with this link. By the way, you can see how much of your iCloud storage is occupied directly on the start page of the app, so that you don't fall for such phishing mails.

Apple secures the "xrOS" word mark through a shell company

For the keynote of WWDC23 on June 5, 2023 the presentation of the mixed reality headset from Apple is expected. The operating system running on it should be called xrOS - this stands for "extended reality". This name has now been filed with the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office as a trademark and in an Apple-style font. Here you can watch the whole thing. Deep Dive LLC from Wilmington in the US state of Delaware is listed as the company behind the submission. I became aware of this through a Entry by iFun. MacRumors ergänztthat this (alleged) Apple shell company already registered the “Deep Screen” trademark in several countries years ago. This could be the screen technology of the MR headset.

If you are interested in Apple leaks, then here is a reading recommendation: How Apple locates internal leak sources.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.