Following Launch of New App, Spectrum Users Can Get Apple TV for $7.50 per Month

http://bit.ly/2yXhhkr

Charter Spectrum subscribers can sign up to get an Apple TV for $7.50 per month following the release of the new Spectrum TV app for the 4K Apple TV, the company announced today.

Customers who want a 4K Apple TV as part of their charter subscriptions will need to pay $7.50 per month plus tax over a period of 24 months, making the total cost of the device somewhere around $180. That is the standard price for a 4K Apple TV purchased outright from Apple.


The Apple TV 4K is being offered in lieu of a traditional cable box, and with the Spectrum app, which was released yesterday, it allows Charter Spectrum subscribers to access all of their cable content.

The Spectrum TV app offers access to live channels and tens of thousands of OnDemand programs, as well as all of the other content that an Apple TV has to offer.

Charter's Spectrum TV app and the Apple TV 4K work with the Zero Sign-on feature, designed to let Charter Spectrum users automatically sign into apps that require cable authentication when connected to accompanying Charter Spectrum internet services.


Charter is the first cable operator in the United States to offer support for Zero Sign-on. Charter says that when an Apple TV is first set up in a Spectrum household, it will detect the Spectrum customer's broadband network, automatically signing them in to the Spectrum TV app and other supported apps without the need to enter a username or password.

To use the Spectrum TV app and take advantage of Zero Sign-on, customers will need to subscribe to both Spectrum TV and internet services.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12

Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Caution)

This article, "Following Launch of New App, Spectrum Users Can Get Apple TV for $7.50 per Month" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2SxoFfo

Trump Claims Apple Will 'Be Fine' Despite Earnings Downgrade and Erroneously Says Stock is Up 'Hundreds of Percent'

http://bit.ly/2iUrY2Y

In a press conference at the White House this afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on Apple's recent revenue woes, suggesting the company will "be fine" despite its downgraded Q1 2019 guidance.

When asked about Apple's announcement and its potential impact on the U.S. economy, Trump erroneously said that Apple has "gone up hundreds of percent" since he's been president. "Apple was at a number that was incredible and they're going to be fine. Apple is a great company," Trump said.

Image: Nicholas Kamm/Associated Free Press/Getty Images
Apple has not, of course, seen a "hundreds of percent" increase in its stock price, with the number instead at around 20 percent since Trump's January 2017 inauguration.

Trump went on to say that he's unconcerned about Apple because its devices are made "mostly in China," seemingly blaming that fact for Apple's financial issues. He also once again reiterated that should Apple move its manufacturing to the United States, and suggested he's friends with Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"Don't forget this Apple makes their product in China. I told Tim Cook, who is a friend of mine, who I like a lot: 'Make your product in the United States, build those big, beautiful plants that go on for miles it seems, build those plants in the United States.'"

Apple outlined many reasons for the change in its guidance, which is now at $84 billion and down from the $89 to $93 billion November estimate, but manufacturing problems in China were not among those reasons.

Instead, Apple said that the issue was caused by Chinese consumers not purchasing iPhones, which is unrelated to where iOS devices are assembled.

Apple also pointed towards iPhone launch timing, a strong U.S. dollar, supply constraints, trade tensions, and weak iPhone upgrade numbers due to fewer carrier subsidies and the low-priced battery replacements that were available throughout 2018.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China caused by Trump's trade war have had an impact on Apple's bottom line. Back in November, Trump suggested that a 10 percent tariff could be implemented on iPhones and laptops imported from China, but thus far, additional tariffs have not been imposed.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.


This article, "Trump Claims Apple Will 'Be Fine' Despite Earnings Downgrade and Erroneously Says Stock is Up 'Hundreds of Percent'" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2As89Gn

Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple Over Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities Dismissed

http://bit.ly/2Dy22US

Back in January 2018, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple for the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities that affected a wide range of processors from Intel and ARM, including those used in Apple's Macs and iOS devices.

Meltdown and Spectre were hardware-based vulnerabilities designed to take advantage of the speculative execution mechanism of a CPU, allowing hackers to gain access to sensitive information.


Apple quickly mitigated Spectre and Meltdown with software patches, but a class action complaint was filed against Apple alleging that Apple knew about the design defects in June 2017 and did not more promptly inform the public.

The complaint also suggested that Apple would not be able to adequately patch Meltdown and Spectre without slowing the performance of its processors by between five and 30 percent, a claim that turned out to be untrue.

As pointed out by AppleInsider, the class action lawsuit against Apple was today dismissed for "lack of standing and failure to state a claim."

According to the ruling, the plaintiffs in the case were not able to allege injury because none of their devices were accessed via Spectre or Meltdown and no degradation in performance was personally experienced by the plaintiffs.

Furthermore, the court said that even if some devices were affected by Meltdown and Spectre as evidenced in some of the benchmarks submitted by the plaintiffs, it does not suggest that all users experienced slower performance, nor were the plaintiffs able to prove that their iOS devices diminished in value.

Given these reasons, Apple's motion to dismiss was granted, though the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are able to provide an amended complaint by January 24, 2019.

Tag: Meltdown-Spectre

This article, "Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple Over Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities Dismissed" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2BZIGV2

Apple Phishing Scams Growing More Advanced, With Latest Spoofing Apple Phone Numbers

http://bit.ly/2F6HOlt

Phishing scams attempting to get info out of Apple users are nothing new, but scammers are growing more clever and scams are getting harder to distinguish from actual Apple communication.

On his Krebs on Security site, security researcher Brian Krebs today outlined one of the latest phishing scams he's seen, where an incoming phone call appears to be from a legitimate Apple support line.

As described by Krebs, Jody Westby, CEO of security consulting firm Global Cyber Risk, received an automated call on her iPhone warning her that services containing Apple user IDs had been compromised.

The message asked her to call a 1-866 number, and in the Phone app, the call looked like a call from Apple, with the number listed as 1(800)MYAPPLE, the name listed as Apple Inc., and with Apple's Infinite Loop website.

Westby contacted Apple support via the official Apple Support page and asked for an employee to contact her. She was assured that the call was not legitimate, but when looking in her recent calls list, she saw that real support call had been lumped in with the fake call.

Original scam call info on the left, with scam call info lumped in with actual Apple support call on right.
The scammers spoofed Apple's phone number and the iPhone was unable to distinguish between the real and fake calls, making it look like Westby had, in fact, been contacted by Apple multiple times, when that was not the case. Westby told Krebs that this is a convincing scam that people may fall for.

"I told the Apple representative that they ought to be telling people about this, and he said that was a good point," Westby said. "This was so convincing I'd think a lot of other people will be falling for it."

Krebs went ahead and called the number that the scammers had asked Westby to call, where an automated system claimed he had reached Apple Support. A minute later, a person came on the line and asked about the reason for the call. Krebs responded that he was told to call about a breach at Apple, was placed on hold, and the call disconnected with no resolution.

A similar report hit Twitter this morning from Fantastical developer Michael Simmons, who says he received a scam phone call that also spoofed Apple's number.

I just got a scam call from “Apple” with their caller ID spoofed! The voicemail was their robodialer, so it got clipped off, but I heard “So not perform any online activities. Press 1 to speak with an AppleCare agent.”

Be careful out there!!https://t.co/FqeYG8lvd9

— Michael Simmons (@macguitar) January 4, 2019

Krebs believes scammers are aiming to obtain personal and financial details from Apple users to get payment, perhaps for tech support services. As he rightly points out, it is both shocking and concerning that Apple devices are unable to tell the difference between a legitimate call from Apple and someone attempting to spoof Apple.

With these kind of phone-based scams, it's a good idea to disconnect the call and get in touch with Apple via the actual support site to avoid being fooled. Apple support does not cold call users in this manner, so these calls are almost always fake, but scammers are skilled social engineers and people do fall for these scams.

Apple has a dedicated support page with information on how to avoid fake support calls, phishing emails, and other scam techniques that malicious individuals employ to extract information from Apple users.

Tag: phishing

This article, "Apple Phishing Scams Growing More Advanced, With Latest Spoofing Apple Phone Numbers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2LPYiyS

Chrome OS Testing New Dark Mode

via Chrome Unboxed – The Latest Chrome OS News http://bit.ly/2CPT3MC

Apple Celebrates 15th Anniversary of GarageBand This Sunday

http://bit.ly/2Ttxuqx

Apple is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its popular music creation app GarageBand on Mac this upcoming Sunday, January 6.


Apple says GarageBand, introduced at Macworld 2004 by its late co-founder Steve Jobs and musician John Mayer, has grown to be the most widely used music app in the world and is now on over one billion iPhones, iPads, and Macs globally.

Apple provided a timeline of significant GarageBand milestones, including the releases of iPhone and iPad versions in 2011:

• January 2004: GarageBand debuted at Macworld by Steve Jobs with John Mayer
  
• April 2005: NIN release "The Hand That Feeds" as GarageBand project file that fans can remix
  
• December 2005: T-Pain creates his first album,"Rappa Ternt Sanga" in GarageBand for Mac
  
• March 2007: Rihanna "Umbrella" built with GarageBand bundled drum loop "Vintage Funk Kit 03"
  
• March 2007: Fall Out Boy records "Thnks fr th Mmrs" in GarageBand for Mac
  
• November 2007: Duran Duran releases GarageBand version of "Nite-Runner" that fans can remix
  
• February 2008: Usher "Love in This Club" built with GarageBand bundled synth loop "Euro Hero Synth 02"
  
• February 2008: Ting Tings record "Great DJ" on GarageBand for Mac
  
• April 2008: Radiohead release "Nude" as GarageBand project file that fans can remix
  
• 2008: "It Might Get Loud" documentary shows Edge from U2 using GarageBand on his laptop
  
• 2009: Learn to Play and Artist Lessons announced on GarageBand for Mac
  
• May 2009: St. Vincent creates "Actor" album in GarageBand
  
• March 2011: GarageBand for iPad announced
  
• November 2011: GarageBand for iPhone announced
  
• October 2013: GarageBand 10 for Mac with new design announced
  
• August 2014: Haim records "My Song 5" in GarageBand
  
• June 2015: Marc Maron interviews President Obama in a podcast recorded in his garage using GarageBand for Mac
  
• January 2016: Live Loops feature added to GarageBand for iOS
  
• May 2016: GarageBand for Greater China announced with traditional Chinese instruments
  
• April 2017: Steve Lacey produces the Kendrick Lamar song "PRIDE" using GarageBand for iOS

GarageBand is a free download on the Mac App Store and App Store for iOS devices.

Tag: GarageBand

This article, "Apple Celebrates 15th Anniversary of GarageBand This Sunday" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2VtNhHP

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a USB-C Mobile Pro Hub for the 2018 iPad Pro From Satechi

http://bit.ly/2TqW8Z5

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Satechi to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro Hub Adapter, which is designed to work with the 2018 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.

Apple's latest iPads replace the traditional Lightning connector with a new USB-C connector, allowing them to do more than ever before. Because they use USB-C rather than Lightning, the new models work with USB-C accessories like Satechi's adapter.


The Mobile Pro Hub Adapter, priced at $59.99, comes in either Silver or Space Gray to match the available iPad Pro models. Like many of Satechi's accessories, it features an attractive brushed aluminum finish.


There are multiple ports on the Mobile Pro Hub Adapter, which expands what you can do with an iPad Pro. It features a 4K 30Hz HDMI port for attaching a display, a USB-C power delivery port for charging purposes, a USB 3.0 port with support for 5Gb/s transfer speeds, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.


The 3.5mm headphone jack in particular is essential for those with standard headphones as Apple removed the native headphone jack from the 2018 iPad Pro.


All of the ports on the adapter can be used at once, so you can attach a display, charge, listen to music, and use a USB-A keyboard or photo accessory all at the same time.


We have eight of Satechi's Mobile Pro Hub Adapters to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveaway The contest will run from today (January 4) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on January 11. The winners will be chosen randomly on January 11 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Satechi When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Tags: giveaway, Satechi

This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win a USB-C Mobile Pro Hub for the 2018 iPad Pro From Satechi" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2RyIiXk