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Apple's new Air could be the MacBook for everyone – Engadget

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It’s been about a year and a half since Apple redesigned the aging MacBook Air. In a lot of ways, that model was a big step forward over its predecessor, with an upgraded display chief among the improvements. But it also came with its fair share of compromises, including a tempermental “butterfly” keyboard and an asking price that put it a little too close to the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro. But with today’s update, Apple seems to have addressed just about every issue with its flagship consumer laptop — including the price. After a few years where Apple made multiple mis-steps with both hardware and pricing, it’s encouraging to see the company make more customer-friendly decisions.

At $999, the MacBook Air is $200 cheaper than it was when Apple released the redesigned late-2018 model. The entry-level $999 model should be a logical choice for the majority of interested buyers, no upgrades necessary. For $100 less than the model Apple was selling yesterday, you get the same 8GB of RAM but double the storage: 256GB, up from 128GB. The default processor is still a dual-core Intel i3 CPU, but it’s Intel’s latest 10th-generation “Ice Lake” series, which should be a solid step up from the eighth-gen chips that were used in the Air until now.

Besides the price, the other big update here is that the Air makes use of the same keyboard design that was first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro last fall. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Apple spent much of the last four years pushing laptops with its so-called “butterfly” keyboard mechanism, which offered stable keystrokes but minimal travel. More importantly, it was prone to failure and difficult to repair. The company thankfully started phasing it out last November, and I’m glad it hasn’t wasted time releasing a more affordable laptop with a quality typing experience. And the Air has Touch ID, but skips the controversial Touch Bar, so you finally get a great keyboard and real function keys. It’s like 2015 all over again.

Add all these changes up, and it’s far easier now to recommend the base-level MacBook Air to shoppers looking for an all-purpose laptop. Less than a year ago, I wrote that the $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro was worth the $200 premium over the Air — primarily due to a better screen and vastly improved performance. But suddenly, that calculus has changed. By upgrading the Air’s base hardware, you can spec out a $1,299 machine with 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 10th-generation quad-core Intel i5 processor. That’s double the RAM and storage offered on the entry-level MacBook Pro. And while the Air’s chip is clocked slower than the eighth-gen i5 processor in the MacBook Pro, the overall performance gap between the Air and Pro has clearly narrowed.

Obviously, we haven’t put the Air through a full review yet, so there’s always the possibility it has have some serious flaws that we’re not aware of. But on paper, this is one of the more customer-friendly products Apple has released in a while. For years, it was easy to recommend the MacBook Air to anyone who wanted a Mac, until Apple abandoned it. The 2018 redesign checked a lot of boxes but was still compromised in serious ways, making it hard to fully recommend. But it looks like those days are over.

Of course, Apple brought most of the problems it’s had with its laptops over the last few years on itself. The obsessive pursuit of thinness led to the disastrous butterfly keyboard. It made sense in the old 12-inch MacBook, which emphasized a compact design above all else, but there was no need to bring it to Apple’s bigger laptops.

But Apple seems to be changing course, making the 16-inch MacBook Pro thicker and heavier than its predecessor to fit in a better keyboard and improve air flow for the sake of performance. It also released phones that were a little thicker than older models; the trade-off there was greatly improved battery life, a choice we lauded in our reviews of the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. And now the Air is cheaper and better than before, likely to reclaim its position as the best Mac for most people. Now if Apple can quickly fix the black sheep that is the 13-inch MacBook Pro, its Mac selection will be better than it has been in years.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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