Technology - Google News

2019 iPhone clue hidden in iOS 13 beta and the future of 3D Touch - CNET
Snow Peak’s Fire Pit Makes Me Like Camping Again - WIRED
New Hampshire installs first historical marker to honor computer programming - The Verge

2019 iPhone clue hidden in iOS 13 beta and the future of 3D Touch - CNET

Posted: 16 Jun 2019 04:18 AM PDT

The iOS 13 developer's beta may have revealed a major clue about a new feature coming to the 2019 iPhones, and another long-time iPhone feature could be on the chopping block. In this week's Apple Core roundup, we're looking at what the latest rumors are speculating about the next iPhone and Apple's slip-up with the MacPro release date on its website.

Now playing: Watch this: iOS 13 beta hints at USB-C iPhone in 2019

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2019 iPhone lineup may switch to USB-C

WWDC 2019 may be over, but it's left behind a trail of clues that hint at what Apple is planning for its next batch of product announcements. The latest clue could suggest a USB-C on the 2019 iPhones. This week Apple user Raphaël Mouton published a picture on his Twitter account of the recovery screen on an iPhone running the developer's beta of iOS 13. At first glance it just looks like an image of a Mac and the top end of a cable -- but that's no Lightning cable.

The existing iPhone recovery mode image clearly shows a Lightning cable tip, while the one in the beta looks more like a USB-C tip as pointed out by Forbes. This could be a sign that Apple is planning to swap out the Lightning port for the more widely used USB-C port in its 2019 iPhone lineup, a rumor that's been making the rounds since before the 2018 iPhone launch cycle. Also, it wouldn't come as too much of a shock considering Apple has already made the change from Lightning to USB-C on its 2018 iPad Pros and MacBooks.

The more likely possibility is that the image refers to the USB-C end of a USB-C-to-Llightning cable going in to the Mac. Which hopefully means Apple is planning to include this type of cable as well as a 18W fast-charging USB‑C Power Adapter in the box with its new phones.

3D Touch may get the axe

The new features on the next batch of iPhones could come at a price though, as rumors about Apple eliminating 3D Touch continue to gain steam. After a visit with Apple suppliers in Asia, Barclay analysts, cited in MacRumors, seemed certain that Apple will eliminate this feature in the 2019 iPhone lineup.

This pressure-sensitive technology allows users to access more control options by pressing harder on the phone's screen. Apple first debuted 3D Touch in its iPhone 6S. It was meant to help with navigation once Apple decided to get rid of the home button with the iPhone X, but it hasn't proven to be critical. Apple replaced 3D Touch in last year's iPhone XR with Haptic Touch (its fancy term for a long-press with a slight vibration) to make room for a larger, nearly bezel-less LCD display. And though it doesn't have as much functionality as 3D Touch, it's proved to be a good compromise for users.

Now playing: Watch this: 5 best uses of 3D Touch on the iPhone

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We won't know for certain whether or not Apple will eliminate 3D Touch until the iPhone 11 launch in September, but we can rest assured that the functionality will remain, at least to some degree (whether via Haptic Touch or otherwise). The developer's beta of iOS 13 includes even more use-cases for it, and it's unlikely Apple would add more ways to use a defunct feature in iOS.

By the way, here are five more iOS 13 features that Apple could be holding back for the iPhone 11.

Did Apple leak the Mac Pro launch date?

Apple isn't just leaving clues in its software betas -- this week it published what seemed to be a pretty big slip up about the Mac Pro launch date on its website.

At WWDC, the company said the new MacPro and 6K display would be available this fall, but didn't specify when. Then for a brief moment, if you clicked on the "Notify me" link above the Mac Pro on the Apple.com homepage, the pop-up read "Coming in September." But then if you clicked on the product page and did the same, it read "Coming this fall".

screen-shot-2019-06-10-at-9-32-01-am — Justin Jaffe/CNET

By the time Apple noticed and corrected the slip, it has already been published on 9to5Mac and MacRumors, and made its way around the internet. It has since been corrected to match the other notifications, and Apple has not responded to a query about when the new products will ship.

That said, I'd definitely put my money on a September release date for the Mac Pro, maybe even the day of the iPhone reveal.

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Snow Peak’s Fire Pit Makes Me Like Camping Again - WIRED

Posted: 16 Jun 2019 04:00 AM PDT

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Snow Peak's Fire Pit Makes Me Like Camping Again WIRED

I first saw Snow Peak's pack-and-carry fire pit at Snow Peak Way, the cult outdoor brand's yearly camping retreat. A few fire pits were set up in the field, deep in ...

New Hampshire installs first historical marker to honor computer programming - The Verge

Posted: 16 Jun 2019 07:10 AM PDT

New Hampshire has installed what appears to be the first historical highway marker honoring computer programming, according to the Concord Monitor. The new sign honors BASIC, Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, a programming language that was invited at Dartmouth College in 1964.

The sign came about after Concord Monitor journalist David Brooks noted in a column that the state's 255 historical markers honored things like bridges and historical figures, but that there was "distressingly little celebration of New Hampshire's technical and scientific accomplishments." He went on to advocate for the state to install a sign for BASIC and the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System — a precursor to the internet. "They matter at least as much as a covered bridge," Brooks wrote.

Two mathematicians developed the language: John G. Kemeny, and Thomas E. Kurtz, who wanted to create an easily-accessible programming language for students, and Brooks notes that BASIC "has probably has done more to introduce more people to computer programming than anything ever created."

There are other historical markers for computer-related topics — one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania honors the creation of BINAC, the "world's first commercial electronic, stored program, digital computer program," while another in San Jose is for IBM's RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control), but this one appears to be the first specifically for the creation of a programming language. The state noted that it didn't have enough space to honor Dartmouth Time-Sharing System in the same sign.

The sign itself is located on New Hampshire Route 120 — a short distance away from the college and BASIC's creation. Brooks notes that there's a practical reason for that: state historical markers are reserved for state highways, and all of the roads in and out of Dartmouth are city streets. Already, Brooks notes that he's thinking of other potential signs — Dartmouth Time-Sharing System, a conference where "Artificial Intelligence" was coined in 1956, and other scientific innovations around the state.

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