Apple picker Black Thunderbolt cables and black stickers, FaceTime Audio for OS X, waiting for an agreement with China Mobile and bypassing the green light for cameras in MacBooks, that's what happened in the penultimate week of this year...
Apple forced to change complaint policy in Australia (18/12)
As the system Apple uses to complain about faulty products is in conflict with the new Australian consumer law, the Californian company has been forced to change its system. Apple told its Australian customers that in the event of a product failure, they could only proceed as determined by Apple. But that is not true and Apple's rules must fall under Australian law. Apple must therefore make several changes by January 6, including, for example, the retraining of its employees or the publication of consumer rights on its official website. Apple's system in Australia wasn't particularly bad, but one thing is clear from this decision: no matter how big a company is, it always has to obey local laws.
Source: iMore.com
Hackers were able to activate the camera in MacBooks without turning on the green light (18/12)
Students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have found a way to prevent the green light on MacBooks from turning on when the camera is turned on. Although this method only works on Macs that were manufactured before 2008, it is very likely that there is similar software that works for newer models as well. A former FBI employee even confirmed that they used similar software that allowed them to separate the camera from the signal light, allowing them to track different users, for several years. The surest security against monitoring your privacy is to place a thin strip of cardboard in front of the camera lens - but that doesn't exactly look the most elegant on a laptop for several tens of thousands.
However, it should be noted that bypassing the green light probably won't be as easy with newer MacBooks. There is a large amount of documentation on the cameras in MacBooks manufactured before 2008, so it was not so difficult to create the software. There isn't as much public documentation and information about the newer cameras that Apple uses, so the whole process would understandably be more complicated.
Source: MacRumors.com
In 2015, Apple should produce chips using the 14nm process (18/12)
Samsung reportedly signed an agreement with Apple to produce 2015 to 30 percent of A40 processors in 9. Another supplier, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), will make the larger part. The A9 processor should already be manufactured using a 14nm process, which would be another significant shift compared to the current generation, which was manufactured using a 28nm process.
Source: MacRumors.com
FaceTime Audio Appears in OS X 10.9.2 (19/12)
Apple released a new OS X 10.9.2 update to developers on Thursday, just three days after it was released to the general public last Update 10.9.1. The company is asking developers to focus on testing in the areas of email, messaging, VPN, graphics drivers, and VoiceOver. According to the latest news, Apple has added FaceTime Audio to OS X, which until now was only available on iPhones running iOS 7.
Source: MacRumors.com
Apple started offering a black Thunderbolt cable with the new Mac Pro (19/12)
With the new Mac Pro, Apple also started selling a black version of the half-meter and two-meter Thunderbolt cable. These cables have Thunderbolt ports on both sides and are especially suitable for transferring data between Macs, connecting to hard drives or other Thunderbolt 1.0 or 2.0 peripherals. The white version is still available - a longer cable for 999 crowns, the shorter one for 790 crowns. The users of the new Mac Pro were certainly pleased with the stickers with the Apple logo in black, which they found in the package with the computer, until now Apple only included white ones. However, many users are now also calling for black keyboards, the current white ones really don't go well with the black Mac Pro.
Source: 9to5Mac.com
Apple still hasn't reached an agreement with China Mobile (December 19)
It was originally expected that when China Mobile, China's largest and the world's largest carrier, unveils its new fourth-generation network on December 18, it will also announce a much-anticipated partnership with Apple and start selling the new iPhone 5S and 5C. But the new network was launched, but China Mobile and Apple still did not shake hands. Thus, Apple continues to wait when it will be able to offer its phones to up to 700 million potential customers through the largest mobile operator in the world. Apple shares fell nearly two percent shortly after the announcement that a deal was not yet in place. On the contrary, it can be expected that when Apple announces the deal, the stock will fly higher.
Source: MacRumors.com
In short:
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17. 12.: US President Barack Obama met with top representatives of companies from Silicon Valley, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Yahoo's Marissa Mayer, Zynga's Mark Pincus and others. There was talk of HealtCare.gov, digital surveillance, and all the representatives pressed Obama with their requests for reform.
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19. 12.: Apple originally promised that the new Mac Pro would be released this year, and although it finally happened, the new Apple computer will not be in the hands of customers until much later. The Californian company has practically launched orders now to keep its word, but the delivery time was initially planned for January and a few hours after the first orders were placed, it was moved to February next year.
Other events this week:
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"offer your phones to up to 700 potential customers."