Sir Apfelot newsreel week 6, 2020

The first week of February of the year will soon be over, so we’ll be looking together on Friday at Apple and tech news that I have particularly noticed over the past few days. In the Sir Apfelot Wochenschau for calendar week 6 of 2020 you will find the following topics, among others: Virtual traffic jam in Google Maps as an art project, BlackBerry is being crushed, digitization in medium-sized companies, stop for mobile phone cost traps, car patent disputes, and much more. What messages have you noticed in the last few days? Feel free to leave a comment;)

Counselor: Nerdy Valentine's Day - gifts for girlfriend and boyfriend in 2020 

Virtual traffic jam - 99 smartphones and a handcart divert road users

What happens if you drag 99 smartphones across Berlin's streets with the Google Maps app open? Right, Google thinks that 99 cars are sneaking ahead at a snail's pace. For other users, it then looks as if there is a traffic jam at the relevant point. They will then be redirected by the navigation function. Who found out? The artist Simon Weckert, like Mobility Mag berichtet. Simon Weckert himself also documented the whole thing, for example in this video. It shows how he walks across the street with his little red handcart full of smartphones and how the traffic jam display appears in the Google Maps app.

TCL smartphones on the verge of collapse: “BlackBerry” brand is abandoned

Like, among other things, Netzwelt (here) as well as the mirror (here) report, the cell phone brand "BlackBerry" is about to be extinguished. According to the reports, the licensee TCL now wants to crush the device series after BlackBerry itself said goodbye to production in 2016. Official sales of BlackBerry smartphones are expected to end on August 31, 2020; Services and a guarantee should then exist for all previous devices until August 31, 2022. It is still pending whether BlackBerry is aiming for a new TCL licensee. TCL says it wants to concentrate more on its own devices.

Digitization in medium-sized businesses: there is (apparently) a lack

Is it because of the employees that digitization is not advancing in medium-sized companies? Or are further training not possible? Depending on the industry and company, this is certainly a matter of dispute. Added to this are the various competencies and motivations both at management level and in the departments. KfW wanted to know what is really lacking and what needs to be done and has started a survey. The results have t3n at this point summarized. "[...] 38 percent of the participating companies see a lack of employee knowledge as a hurdle in digitization", is it [called. But also: "More than a quarter [...] even gave […] [at]that further training primarily promotes the personal competence of the respective employee, which then does not belong to the company, but is taken to the next employer."

Ultrasound - rules for information transmission are necessary in addition to WLAN and Bluetooth

Ultrasound is not audible to humans, but smartphones can communicate excellently using the appropriate pitches thanks to their microphones and speakers. In the advertising sector in particular, so-called ultrasonic beacons are used to send frequencies from certain locations (supermarkets or individual shops) or in commercials that trigger a suitable advertisement on the mobile phone. The corresponding apps are of course required for this, but there are no regulations for these. There are also other problems with the technology, such as the Golem with this post illuminated. Interesting topic!

Patent dispute: do German automakers have to stop production?

"German automakers are threatened with a production stop" headlines heise online meanwhile. Because local car manufacturers are currently struggling with some patent lawsuits. Parallels are drawn in the linked article on the “Smartphone Patent Wars” from ten years ago. Only now it is not Samsung, Apple and Co., but BMW, VW and Daimler who are facing court because of 4G technology, chip technologies and certain functions. Among other things, Nokia is suing Daimler. But other examples and backgrounds are shown in the three-page article. So if you are interested in the car market, you can read it.

Cell phone cost traps are to be curbed

Heise online also recently received new regulations berichtetwhich should prevent expensive mobile phone bills. The crux of the matter is that third-party providers (e.g. app operators or online services) should no longer be able to obtain money so easily via mobile phone billing. There is also a money-back guarantee. Incidentally, the specifications come from the Federal Network Agency and have been valid since February 1, 2020. As a customer of mobile phone providers, of course, you benefit considerably from this. However, the providers have a massive effort, since the new regulations also have to be implemented technically, financially and organizationally. Further information on the subject is available from the link provided.

PS5 about to be released? Website suggests!

Let's get back to the topic of video games towards the end. Last week There was already a rumor of an imminent PlayStation 5 release in the room. The reason for this was the registration of the brand name "PS5" in Switzerland. Now the rumors harden that the new console is a own subpage on the official PlayStation website. However, the title of the same is somewhat confusing: “PlayStation 5 available soon” - and smaller below it: “From Christmas 2020”. For Sony, "in a nutshell" seems to take about 10 months: D

Nintendo Switch Special Edition for "Animal Crossing: New Horizons"

After the reports about a possible Pro version of the Nintendo Switch in 2020 have been dealt with, fans of the console are no longer looking forward to this wishful thinking. Friends of individual franchises can look forward to this. Because after some special editions of the Nintendo Switch console - for example for Zelda or Pokémon games - a special version of the game "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was announced. There is no question that it will find sales, because the Animal Crossing Games have a large fan base. The console will be released on March 20, 2020, but can already be pre-ordered.

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RAID: Shadow Legends - No role-playing game, but an expensive rip-off

Let's move from console to console-handheld hybrid to mobile gaming. Because, among other things, the advertising campaign for “RAID: Shadow Legends” is booming among the relevant target group on YouTube. The "game" advertised not only with commercials, but also with intrusive and always the same product placement with influencers, is basically just a rip-off that aims at basic satisfaction mechanisms. Wonderfully summarized That was from Ultralativ, an excellent analysis channel when it comes to media and YouTube in particular. The other videos on the channel are also recommended.

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.

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