It’s good Apple chose to bring its Magic Keyboard to the new $999 MacBook Air 2020. It could have just updated the smaller MacBook Pro after introducing the Magic Keyboard in the 16-inch MacBook Pro last fall. The MacBook Air is the best-selling computer in the lineup, so this brings the keyboard fix to a lot more people. The performance and storage bumps in this MacBook Air update are also welcome. But Apple left out one easy upgrade. With so many people working from home in 2020 because of global concern over the coronavirus, it’s one omission that has an even larger impact.
I’m talking about the fact that Apple still hasn’t updated the webcam on the MacBook Air — or the MacBook Pros, for that matter. It’s left us with the 720p FaceTime HD camera, which is a 1.2-megapixel webcam (with 1,280×720-pixel resolution) that badly lags behind the front-facing cameras on our smartphones. For example, the iPhone 11 features a 12-megapixel camera (4,000×3,000-pixel resolution) with a wide angle. Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra offers a 40-megapixel selfie cam. Even the front-facing camera on Apple’s new iPad Pro — announced Wednesday alongside the new MacBook Air — offers 7 megapixels and shoots 1080p video at 60 frames per second.
With so many people working from home and participating in video calls around the world in 2020, the usefulness of the front-facing webcams on our laptops is far higher than the value of taking selfies on our phones or tablets. It’s disappointing that Apple chose to leave its newest Mac with such outdated technology.
The 720p FaceTime HD camera launched in 2011, so it’s nearly a decade old at this point. Apple upgraded the 2017 iMac Pro to a 1080p webcam, so it has the technology and the components to make this better. It chose to save a few dollars in its laptops by not integrating the latest technology. That was a mistake that hurts customers who participate in video calls.
In fact, since the coronavirus outbreak, there has been a run on webcams on Amazon. Most of the popular models are sold out and won’t be restocked for weeks. Since virtually all of these models are 1080p or higher, we have to assume that some of them are actually being put on top of MacBook Airs and Pros. Logitech’s marketing for its popular C920 HD Pro Webcam even uses a MacBook Air in its promo photos to show that the Logitech webcam is the perfect replacement because of its superior technology, with greater clarity and a wider angle.
The problem with Apple’s 720p FaceTime HD camera isn’t just its low resolution. It also has poor white balance, which skews colors (for example, the blue walls in my home office often look purple). Even worse, its low-light performance is bad, and so the picture is grainy and the webcam is not terribly useful during nondaylight hours. The 1080p webcam in the iMac Pro has been an improvement. So, again, Apple has the components to fix this.
To be fair, Apple is not alone in this issue. Laptops from most of the major computer-makers, including Lenovo and HP, still include outdated 720p webcams that are far worse than the front-facing cameras on today’s budget smartphones — like last year’s Moto G7, which now costs less than $300 but has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera that can even shoot 4K video. That’s embarrassing for Apple and the other laptop-makers. The one small exception is the Microsoft Surface, which offers 5-megapixel front-facing cameras with 1080p video on its laptop-tablet hybrids.
This is quite a letdown for Apple, which was once a leader in pushing desktop video calls forward with its iSight line of webcams. Seeing how easily Apple could have integrated at least a decent 1080p camera into the 2020 MacBook Pro, that’s the biggest disappointment in what was otherwise a solid upgrade. And while this product was in development long before the coronavirus outbreak, the fact that it’s arriving now when people around the world are looking at having to work from home for weeks or months — and may have to augment a brand-new MacBook Air by buying a better webcam to place on top of it — is an unsatisfying reality.
MONTREAL – Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says it is conducting a review of its business and operations including talks relating to a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The Montreal-based payments technology company made the comments after reports concerning a potential transaction involving the company.
Lightspeed says it periodically undertakes a review of its business and operations with a view of realizing its full potential.
A strategic review is often seen by investors as a prelude to a sale by a company.
Lightspeed says its board of directors is committed to acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.
Company founder Dax Dasilva returned to the role of chief executive officer earlier this year and has been working to return the company to profitability.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
In a speech in Toronto at the Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference, the governor said Friday that the central bank is approaching the issue cautiously to get a better understanding of how AI could affect its job of keeping inflation low and stable.
“Be wary of anyone who claims to know where AI will take us. There is too much uncertainty to be confident,” Macklem said in prepared remarks.
“We don’t know how quickly AI will continue to advance. And we don’t know the timing and extent of its economic and social impacts.”
The governor said AI has the potential of increasing labour productivity, which would raise living standards and grow the economy without boosting inflation.
In the short-term, he said investment in AI is adding to demand and could be inflationary.
However, Macklem also highlighted more pessimistic scenarios, where AI could destroy more jobs than it creates or lead to less competition rather than more.
The governor called on academics and businesses to work together to shed more light on the potential effects of AI on the economy.
“When you enter a dark room, you don’t go charging in. You cautiously feel your way around. And you try to find the light switch. That is what we are doing. What we central bankers need is more light,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
